CEOs reveal their New Year’s resolutions for 2026: From 8-day bike races and AI training, to finally cracking 7 hours of sleep a night

CEOs from consumer, health-tech and identity firms outlined personal and professional 2026 priorities that highlight strategic emphasis rather than near-term financial moves: Incode’s founder is prioritizing staying ahead in AI and identity, Wellhub’s CEO set quantified wellness targets (7+ hours sleep five nights/week, 240 minutes weekly cardio/strength) tied to product tracking, and Insomnia Cookies is focused on geographic expansion. Other leaders emphasized customer experiences, brand and culture initiatives (Eventbrite, Glowbar, Sweet Loren’s) and personal-brand activities that could influence talent and consumer engagement but are unlikely to move markets in the near term.

Analysis

Market structure: Winners are experiential consumer platforms (Eventbrite - EB) and identity/security vendors that embed AI (Okta - OKTA, CrowdStrike - CRWD); losers are low-margin traditional retail and legacy identity providers with weak AI roadmaps. Pricing power shifts to SaaS/marketplace platforms that can monetize scarcity (limited-event inventory) and subscription identity services; expect 5–15% EBITDA margin expansion for best-in-class platforms over 12–24 months if demand reallocation continues.

Risk assessment: Tail risks include rapid regulatory action on biometric/AI identity (6–18 months) and a discretionary-spend shock from a sharper-than-expected US slowdown (GDP negative surprise >1% q/q annualized), both of which could knock 20–40% off valuations in affected names. Immediate (days) impacts are minimal; watch Q4 bookings/holiday data (next 2–6 weeks); medium-term (3–12 months) depends on CPI/Fed path and CES/AI announcements; long-term (12–36 months) driven by adoption of AI-enabled identity.

Trade implications: Direct plays: allocate small conviction positions now (2–3% portfolio) into EB for exposure to experiential rebound and into OKTA/CRWD for identity+AI secular growth, adding on >10% pullbacks. Use 9–12 month call spreads on CRWD/OKTA (buy 20% OTM, sell 35% OTM) to control cost; hedge consumer cyclicality with long-dated 3–6% OTM S&P puts if CPI prints >0.3% m/m.

Contrarian angles: Consensus underestimates re-rating potential for identity vendors that can demonstrate defensible AI IP—this could produce 30–50% upside on proof points within 12 months, meaning current sell-offs may be overdone. Conversely, Eventbrite upside is often binary (event cancellations, venue constraints); a successful tourism/experience surge could create a rapid re-rating, but expect higher idiosyncratic volatility (IV spikes 40–80% around earnings/events).

Key Decisions for Investors

• Initiate a 2–3% portfolio long in Eventbrite (EB) now for a 12-month horizon; target +30% upside and set a tactical stop-loss at -12% (cut if bookings sequentially decrease for two quarters).
• Establish a 2% total-portfolio exposure split between OKTA and CRWD (1% each); add to positions on >10% drawdowns and target 20–40% upside within 12–24 months as identity+AI adoption accelerates.
• Execute 9–12 month call spreads on CRWD or OKTA to express convex upside with defined cost (buy ~20% OTM, sell ~35% OTM); allocate 0.5–1% portfolio to each spread and roll/add if IV compresses >25%.
• Implement macro hedge: buy 6–9 month S&P 500 puts 3–6% OTM sized at 1–2% portfolio if CPI prints >0.3% m/m or Fed signals further hikes—protects against discretionary-spend shock that would hit experiential names hardest.