Rillet Fireside Chat Recap: Kristen Faulker

We had the privilege of welcoming Kristen Faulkner alongside a16z and Stifel Financial Corp. to Rillet's SF headquarters last week for a fireside chat with our CEO, Nicolas Kopp. Between the detailed Q&A about her journey to gold at the Paris Olympics and the French-themed desserts (macarons, anyone?), it's safe to say everyone left feeling more inspired.

If you don't know Kristen, get familiar. She's a 2x Olympic gold medalist, 3x Pan American gold medalist, 2x USA National Road Race Champion, and has three Grand Tour stage wins to her name.

We talked through the overlap of startup life and cycling, the unglamorous aspects of everything in between, and the payoff of hustle.

From Homer, Alaska to Harvard to the Olympics

Kristen grew up in Homer, Alaska, which is already an unlikely starting point for someone who'd go on to attend Harvard, earn a degree in Computer Science, and land a coveted job as an investor at Threshold Ventures. By any measure, she was already as well accomplished as they come.

But her childhood dream of going to the Olympics lingered. 

She came to cycling later than most, already in her 20s, and wasn't sure it was worth trading in the comfortable life she'd built for herself for the unglamorous work and meager salary of cycling full-time. Then her older brother asked her a simple question: "Is this a dream, or just something you want to do?"

For her, it was always a dream.

"Then why are we even having this conversation?" he said.

And just like that, she had all the answers she needed to go full tilt.

What followed wasn’t glitzy: months of hardcore training in harsh conditions, living alongside other roommates. But it was that very training that built the mental toughness and grit that led to gold. 

For example, she told us about the time she got a flat tire in the pouring rain. While covered in mud and soaking from head to toe, her hands were so cold she had to do push ups on the side of the road to get feeling back in them, enough to fix her tire. After all that, she returned home to a house full of fellow cyclists, all vying for first in line for a hot shower.

The Morning of the First Olympic Race

On the morning of her first Olympic race in Paris, Kristen was calm. She had studied the course. She knew her competitors. She knew when to lean into her strengths and when to hedge her weaknesses.

When the race started, she found herself in fourth. She rode behind third place, biding her time, careful not to reveal how she was feeling. In her words, sprinting wasn’t her strongest suit, so the timing of her break had to be perfect; too early and she'd be outrun, too late and the moment would pass.

Then she turned a corner and had a feeling to go for it.

She passed second. Then first. She didn't know she'd struck gold until she crossed the finish line, even though she was significantly ahead of the competition.

That night, instead of drinking champagne and basking in her glory, she was in bed by 9:30 to prepare for her next event, just forty-eight hours later. Phone off, no contact with family, adrenaline managed. She called it the most disciplined she's ever been in her life.

Then she won gold. Again. And immediately headed to compete in the Tour de France. 

A Call to Women's Sports

Winning gold didn't slow Kristen down. If anything, it lit a bigger fire. As two examples of her forward momentum: she's heading to LA in 2028 and is writing a book.

Kristen's ask is a simple one: show up for women's sports the way you show up for men's—more sponsorships, more representation, more eyes on the game. Watch women's sports with your daughter. Put on a women's event when you have people over. Root for them.

We left that conversation with a lot to think about: discipline, dreams, and what it actually takes to go for something. We're grateful Kristen shared her story with us.

We'll be cheering you on in LA, Kristen!

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