Podcast Summary: So Money with Farnoosh Torabi

Episode 1904: This Is the Formula Behind Every Big Idea That Succeeds

Guest: Jen Kim (Brand Strategist, Entrepreneur, Author of "Unicorn: The 9 Leadership Types You Need to Launch Your Big Ideas with Speed and Success")
Date: November 12, 2025

Episode Overview

In this episode, award-winning host Farnoosh Torabi sits down with brand strategist and entrepreneur Jen Kim to explore the real formula behind every big idea that succeeds. Drawing from her book "Unicorn," Jen shares a groundbreaking framework identifying nine leadership types (organized under three core archetypes) vital for turning ideas into impactful realities. The conversation delves into how teams and even solopreneurs can identify and embody these archetypes to accelerate innovation and avoid burnout. The discussion also includes a powerful case study of Moderna's COVID-19 vaccine launch, the implications of technology and AI on leadership, and a passionate call for greater diversity in leadership narratives.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. The Myth of the Lone Visionary

• Main Idea: Success isn’t just about vision; it takes a team with diverse leadership energies (Visionizer, Strategizer, Mobilizer).
• Jen notes our culture over-glorifies visionary leaders without acknowledging that innovation truly takes a blend of energies and roles.
• Quote:

  "A lot of people think that it's just about vision or it's just about execution. We also put visionaries on pedestals, which actually is a big problem, because visionaries don't actually do much except vision, which is critical... It's the strategizing and mobilizing energy that actually makes the thing happen."
  — Jen Kim (02:31)

2. The Unicorn Team Framework

• Three Core Types:
  • Visionizer (V): Energized by ideas of the future and their potential.
  • Strategizer (S): Energized by figuring out how to make ideas work and get results.
  • Mobilizer (M): Energized by accomplishing and executing tasks—getting things done.
• Everyone has a dominant and a secondary type, forming nine possible combinations.
• Notable Quote:

  "Each one of us is a mix of the top two types. That's why there are nine types central to the book... Strategy is the glue between vision and execution."
  — Jen Kim (09:19)

• Key Point: Even if your “team” is just you and a freelancer, understanding and representing these energies is crucial.

3. Why Most People Don't Succeed

• 97% of people don’t achieve their desired outcomes because they lack a sound strategy and ignore key roles on their teams, especially the strategizer.
• Quote:

  "...They're energized by doing. They are energized by accomplishment. And by accomplishment, they don't care if it works, they just care that it's done."
  — Jen Kim describing Mobilizers (13:14)

4. The Moderna Vaccine Case Study (15:28 – 22:39)

• Jen opens her book with the story of how Moderna, a then-unknown name with only 900 employees, outpaced pharmaceutical giants to deliver a highly effective COVID-19 vaccine in just 42 days.
• The unsung hero: Tracy Franklin, head of HR, who wasn’t in the C-suite but rallied the company’s scientists and staff during a global emergency.
• Quote:

  "They decided to get into the game of the external product because they realized that if they focused their energy of all the research they had already done on vaccines, they felt like they could throw their hat in the ring and help support getting us through one of the worst pandemics in humankind."
  — Jen Kim (16:45)

• The story illustrates how big ideas need all three types—vision, strategy, and mobilization—and that leadership can come from unexpected places.

5. Using the Framework as a Solopreneur or Small Business

• The framework is “size-agnostic”—it's about understanding and filling functional/energetic gaps, not building a huge team.
• Even small projects require you to recognize which archetypes you bring and which you need to supplement.
• Practical Application: There’s a 51-page "Unicorn Leadership Type Assessment" (ULTA) included in the book for listeners to identify their types.

6. Are Leadership Types Fixed?

• Nature vs. Nurture Debate: Kim sees your dominant type as partially innate and partially developed through experience.
• Energy comes from what intrinsically motivates you: Ideas (V), Results (S), or Accomplishment (M).

7. Iconic Examples: Martha Stewart as a Mobilizer Visionizer

• Martha’s daily routines and relentless execution embody the Mobilizer energy, showing that you can be a unicorn in any field.
• Quote:

  "She wanted to change the way people looked at homemaking... she basically showed you how to do that. And so M mobilizers are doers first."
  — Jen Kim (28:10)

8. The Impact of Technology and AI on Leadership (30:41–35:10)

• Technology is a tool born out of human innovation, but intrinsic leadership energies remain vital.
• Quote:

  "If you actually embody your unicorn self fully, work will always be available to you because you're gonna find you..."
  — Jen Kim (32:22)

• The path forward is not defaulting to technology for answers, but re-centering human-led innovation.

9. Diversity and Representation in Leadership Thought

• Kim’s hope is that “Unicorn” sits alongside other business classics (e.g., “Tipping Point,” “Four-Hour Workweek”), not pigeonholed as “women’s leadership.”
• Quote:

  "We default to men's voices in general as kind of like this leadership conversation. And I don't think this is a gendered conversation at all... If more women read this too, they would find their own courage to show their unicorn more..."
  — Jen Kim (35:40)

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On Visionaries:

  "Visionaries don't actually do much except vision, which is critical, yes, but it's the strategizing and mobilizing energy that actually makes the thing happen."
  — Jen Kim (02:31)

• On the Power of Small Teams:

  "Unicorn team is a size agnostic idea... it's not about the size of the team, it's about that you understand that these roles are important for any size idea."
  — Jen Kim (22:29)

• Moderna Case Study:

  "They got to market faster. And their vaccine, even at the time of this recording, is the most effective vaccine of the three that were rolled out—meaning they didn't have any huge adverse side effects."
  — Jen Kim (19:44)

• On Technology:

  "Technology, AI, automation, outsourcing... are the innovations of unicorns. They were innovated by humans. That's why this book is so important right now and in the future, because right now humans don't know where they belong."
  — Jen Kim (31:11)

Key Timestamps

• [02:31] – Essential roles beyond the visionary; myth-busting around solo innovation
• [09:19] – Explaining the core archetypes: Visionizer, Strategizer, Mobilizer
• [13:14] – Deep dive into each type’s motivations; importance of strategy
• [15:28] – Farnoosh introduces the Moderna case study
• [16:45] – Jen tells the story of Tracy Franklin and Moderna’s COVID response
• [22:29] – Why unicorn teams aren’t about size but roles, with an emphasis on small teams/solopreneurs
• [25:37] – Can you shift your archetype? Nature vs nurture in leadership types
• [28:10] – Martha Stewart case study—Mobilizing Visionizer energy
• [30:41] – The impact of technology and AI on leadership
• [35:40] – On the need for diversity in leadership narratives
• [37:41] – Closing thoughts and hopes for the book’s reach

Final Takeaway

Jen Kim’s "Unicorn" leadership model reframes what’s necessary to launch big ideas: it’s not just vision, but strategy and mobilization—energies accessible at any scale. Her stories underscore the vital contributions of overlooked leaders, challenge traditional ideas about innovation, and call for a greater diversity of voices in business leadership. Whether a solopreneur or CEO, embodying your unicorn type—and building teams that embrace all three core energies—is the true formula behind every big idea that succeeds.