Yana Welinder, founder and CEO of Kraftful, shares her dynamic journey from law professor at Stanford to a product leader whose company was acquired by Amplitude. In this episode, Yana discusses Kraftful's evolution, the importance of pivoting, and the steps involved in a successful acquisition. She underscores the significance of leveraging user feedback, optimizing fundraising speed as a solo founder, and maintaining product focus amid growth. With actionable insights for founders, Yana sheds light on the strategic considerations and personal resilience required to navigate the startup landscape.

00:00 Introduction and Guest Welcome

00:37 Yana Weller's Journey to Kraft Full

02:31 The Birth and Evolution of Kraft Full

06:01 Product Hunt Success and Fundraising

12:39 Navigating Acquisition Offers

21:49 The Acquisition Process

24:18 Post-Acquisition Reflections

35:59 Lightning Round and Closing Thoughts

Links & Resources

• Check out the products Yana built at Kraftful & Amplitude
• Kraftful's Acquisition Announcement
• Follow Yana on LinkedIn and X
• Yana's insights on getting into Y Combinator

Khadijah Robinson’s entrepreneurial journey didn’t begin in a startup accelerator — it began in her childhood home, where her parents were intentional about shaping how she saw beauty, possibility, and Black excellence. That foundation led her to build the Nile List as a “therapeutic exercise” during her full-time legal career, eventually growing it into a platform supporting thousands of Black-owned businesses around the world.

In this episode, she traces the purposeful thread from her mom’s early entrepreneurial success, to launching the Nile List during a pandemic from Nigeria, to navigating an unexpected acquisition. Today, that same thread shows up in her roles as GP at Fictive Ventures, leader of the LIFT Incubator, and community architect behind The Pit in Atlanta.

For founders across industries and backgrounds, Khadijah offers something rare: a blueprint for building rooted in identity, community, and clarity — not hype.

Show Notes:
In this episode:

• The childhood lessons that shaped how she sees community, beauty, and entrepreneurship
• Why her mom’s early business success quietly set the stage for her own founder journey
• How the Nile List began as a spreadsheet for stress relief during a painful clerkship
• Launching March 1, 2020 — and why that timing unexpectedly accelerated growth
• Bootstrapping, burning personal savings, and learning she had a real business
• Subscription boxes, early customers, and community pulling the product forward
• Navigating valuation, negotiation, and leadership through her legal lens
• The realities of being a Black woman founder leading inside a larger org
• What she brought forward into investing — and what she refuses to repeat
• How she now supports founders through Fictive, LIFT, and The Pit

Links & resources mentioned:

• Khadijah Robinson on LinkedIn – https://www.linkedin.com/in/khadijahrobinson/
• Fictive Ventures – fictiveventures.com
• The Pit Atlanta – thepitatlanta.com
• Center for Black Entrepreneurship + LIFT Incubator – cbecenter.org

What does it look like to build a social app from an Instagram project into a VC-backed global community — and then let it go?

In this episode of Founded On Purpose, Kt McBratney talks with Kel Rakowski, artist, strategist, writer, and founder of Lex, the beloved queer social app acquired by 9Count in 2024. Kel opens up about the origins of Lex in vintage lesbian personal ads, the early explosive growth, and the challenges of scaling a community-centered product inside a venture-backed structure.

Kel also shares the deeply personal side of stepping back as CEO, navigating burnout, building with love, and finding the courage — and clarity — to start a new chapter after the acquisition.

We talk about:

• The moment Kel knew Lex was bigger than a side project
• How the community shaped the app’s evolution
• Burnout, identity, and the stigma around stepping back
• What it really means to hand your company to someone else
• Why love — in all forms — has always been Kel’s purpose
• The return to creativity through writing, Herstory, and storytelling
• Redefining success after an exit

This conversation is honest, tender, and expansive — perfect for founders navigating identity, impact, burnout, and reinvention.

Resources & Links

• Lex – https://www.lex.lgbt/
• Herstory (Kel's Instagram project) – https://www.instagram.com/h_e_r_s_t_o_r_y/
• Kel’s Substack: Work Unseen – https://rakowwwski.substack.com/
• NTS Radio – https://www.nts.live/