THE POWER SEAT: WOMEN I’D BET ON MANY FOUNDERS WANT THE VIRAL MOMENT. I’D BET ON
By Jenniferdimotta · October 10, 2026 · Curated by George's Blog
THE POWER SEAT: WOMEN I’D BET ON
MANY FOUNDERS WANT THE VIRAL MOMENT. I’D BET ON THE ONE WHO KNOWS WHAT TO DO WITH IT.
Aliett Buttelman has had some pretty ridiculous moments as the co-founder of Fazit. Taylor Swift wore her glitter freckles to a Chiefs game. The brand did seven figures in sales in the 48 hours that followed. Fazit has since found its way onto more celebrities, into major retailers, and right into the middle of the World Cup conversation.
But that’s not actually why I’d bet on Aliett.
A few years ago, she and co-founder Nina La Bruna were building Fazit with $13,000 of their own money and hearing no from more than 100 investors. They started with skincare patches. Those did okay but didn't take off, so they pivoted to glitter freckles.
Thankfully, nobody had handed them a pile of money and expectations about what the company was supposed to become.
With no investors to answer to, they could follow what customers were telling them, change direction, and find the real demand. They learned to stretch a dollar, negotiate, and market without much budget.
Then Taylor Swift happened.
That kind of moment can make a company. It can also bury one.
Fazit didn't sell out. Aliett and her team were watching inventory, content, PR, retail, and what customers did next. So when the World Cup hit, they weren't figuring out the playbook for the first time. After Mexico won, Fazit saw a 3,600% sales spike on its Mexico Glitter Freckles.
They had already built for it.
WHY I'D BET ON HER
Not because Taylor Swift wore the product. Not because 100 investors said no. Rejection doesn't magically make you a better founder.
I'd bet on Aliett because she learned the right lessons from all of it: do a lot with a little, listen when the market talks, change your mind when the evidence changes, and be ready when the big break finally comes.
THE LESSON FOR EVERY WOMAN
Sometimes the thing you're pissed didn't work out is what forces you to build differently.
Aliett wanted the funding. She didn't get it. So she learned to operate without it, and when the attention came, there was a real business underneath it.
YOUR NEXT CONTROLLABLE STEP
Three things I'd steal from how Aliett is building:
1. Let the market open your mind.
If you're pushing one product uphill while customers pull another out of your hands, pay attention.
2. Build before the moment comes.
Everybody wants the big customer, the press hit, the viral post. Is your business ready if you get it?
3. Don't confuse attention with a business.
Getting people to look once isn't the hard part. Giving them a reason to keep looking is.
Aliett Buttelman is building the kind of company I want to keep watching. She's a woman I'd bet on.
Know another woman building something I should be paying attention to? Send her my way.
#ThePowerSeat #WomenIDBetOn #WomenFounders #FounderLeadership #Uprisors