Someone who creates or who establishes something which is meant to last for a long time; such as, a business, an educational institution, etc.: "Jonathan is the founder of a newspaper empire."

"Estella is the daughter of the university's founder."

1. A ship filling with water and sinking: "The ship foundered during the severe storm."
2. To become submerged; to become filled with water and to sink: "The crew escaped as the ship was foundering, but before it sank into the ocean."
3. To experience failure: "Jacob's career foundered and he had to move from job to job for many years."
4. The term founder also has an established pleonastic sense as part of the idiomatic "founder and sink".