In this holiday special episode of First Builders, hosts Amber Illig and Rachel Tsui sit down to reflect on 2025, what it was like to build The Council in this tumultuous year, the launch of First Builders, and some predictions for 2026. 

In this conversation, Amber and Rachel discuss: 

• Firm highlights like Rachel joining full time, starting to deploy Fund II, and launching the podcast 
• Viral moments from 2025 like Soham Parekh going viral, PR being handled well and not well (i.e. Bryan Johnson’s love letter vs. Coldplay video cam) 
• 2025 market reflections, especially how everyone entered the year with optimism on IPO and M&A market opening up and then tariffs were announced 
• The AI boom and predictions on the bubble, and what companies are more durable vs. others 
• Amber and Rachel’s predictions for the market in 2026! 

Thank you to all of our listeners for an amazing first year of First Builders! 

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