Startup Dad

Andrew Capland is the founder of Growth coaching and advisory, Delivering Value. He’s also been the Head of Growth at Postscript and Wistia and was an early employee at Hubspot. He’s a loving husband and the father of two kids, including one who was 6 weeks old during our chat! In our conversation today we discussed:

Going from one kid to two and thriving with a newborn

Managing your life and paternity leave as a Solopreneur

The support structures needed with a second kid

Bottle washing hacks!

What do you do when you and your spouse are both exhausted?

What to do with different religious values in the household

How to set yourself up for success with clients and a newborn

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Where to find Andrew Capland

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/andrewcapland/

X: https://x.com/acapland

Delivering Value: https://deliveringvalue.co/

Where to find Adam Fishman

FishmanAF Newsletter: www.FishmanAFNewsletter.com

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/adamjfishman/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/startupdadpod/

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In this episode, we cover:

[1:24] Welcome

[1:42] Professional background

[3:02] Inspiration for pod

[4:52] Childhood

[8:12] Family now

[9:15] First date with wife?

[9:56] How old are your kids?

[10:34] What does your wife do for work?

[10:58] Decision to start a family

[13:17] First thing you remember when 6 week old was born?

[15:15] Support structures w/ second kid

[17:41] Paternity leave as a solopreneur

[19:17] How to manage new parenthood and soloprenuer

[21:19] Transition from 1 to 2 kids

[24:00] Any bottle washing hacks?

[24:50] Earliest memory of becoming a dad

[25:59] Emotions w/ first child vs. second

[27: 22] What are some surprising things you discovered?

[28:14] Advice to younger Andrew

[29:57] Advice to ignore

[31:10] Favorite books to read to your kids?

[32:09] Frameworks

[32:59] What do you do if you’re both exhausted?

[33:59] How has parenting evolved

[36:10] Where do you and your partner not align?

[37:45] Differences in religions amongst couples

[40:14] Kid’s relationship to technology

[42:25] What is something you gave up to be a dad?

[43:59] Recharge batteries

[44:59] Mistake as a dad

[46:31] Follow along

[47:47] Rapid fire

—

Show references:

Andrew’s Podcast: https://media.deliveringvalue.co/t/show

Adam’s episode of Andrew’s Podcast: https://media.deliveringvalue.co/p/how-to-deal-with-overwhelm-imposter

Delivering Value: https://deliveringvalue.co/

PostScript: https://postscript.io/

Wistia: https://wistia.com/

HubSpot: https://www.hubspot.com/products/get-started-f049

Kings: https://www.playatkings.com/

Bright Horizons: https://www.brighthorizons.com/

Little Blue Truck Makes a Friend: https://www.amazon.com/Little-Blue-Truck-Makes-Friend/dp/0358722829

Little Blue Truck Leads the Way:https://www.amazon.com/Little-Blue-Truck-Leads-board/dp/0544568052

iPad: https://www.apple.com/

MiniMeis backpack: https://us.minimeis.com/

Be Prepared: A Practical Handbook for New Dads by Gary Greenberg & Jeannie Hayden:

https://www.amazon.com/Be-Prepared-Gary-Greenberg/dp/0743251547/

Toy Story: https://toystory.disney.com/

Jaws: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0073195/

Nantucket: https://www.nantucket-ma.gov/

Kia Telluride: https://www.kia.com/us/en/telluride

—

For sponsorship inquiries email: [email protected].

For Startup Dad Merch: www.startupdadshop.com

Production support for Startup Dad is provided by Tommy Harron at http://www.armaziproductions.com/

In this special Startup Dad (and Mom) episode I interviewed husband and wife team Trae Stephens and Dr. Michelle Stephens. Trae is a partner at Founders Fund, and is also co-founder and Executive Chairman of Anduril Industries, a defense technology company focused on autonomous systems and a co-founder of Sol, a wearable e-reader. Prior to that he was an early employee at Palantir and was an adjunct faculty member at Georgetown University.

Dr. Michelle Stephens is the co-founder and Chief Nursing Officer of Oath Care which aims to provide instant answers to all your parenting questions. She has practiced nursing with a focus on pediatrics in Philadelphia, Maryland, and Washington, DC. She has been an adjunct professor at Georgetown University and received her PhD at UCSF.

In this episode we discuss:

• Their professional background and a shared hobby
• What childhood was like (spoiler: very different for each of them)
• Their decision to start a family
• Navigating miscarriages
• Faith and religion in their childhood and family life now
• Helpful parenting frameworks
• How to take care of yourself and your relationship
• How they make it all work with busy careers and busy kids

—

Where to find Trae Stephens

Twitter / X: https://twitter.com/traestephens

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/trae-stephens-485a811/

Where to find Dr. Michelle Stephens

Twitter / X: https://twitter.com/mddstephens

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/michelle-stephens-oath-care/

Where to find Adam Fishman

Newsletter: https://www.fishmanafnewsletter.com

Newsletter: http://startupdadpod.substack.com

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/adamjfishman/

Twitter / X: https://twitter.com/fishmanaf

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/startupdadpod/

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In this episode, we cover:

[1:53] Welcome to the show!

[2:30] Professional backgrounds

[8:34] Shared hobby

[9:19] Childhood and growing up

[13:25] How they met

[17:40] All about their kids

[18:56] Decision to start a family

[21:47] Navigating miscarriages and support

[23:29] Faith/religion

[27:54] Having 2 kids vs. big family

[30:57] Trae's earliest memory of being a dad

[33:28] Most surprising thing about being a dad

[38:05] Company as “kids” / non-traditional roles

[42:15] Parenting frameworks

[45:44] Where they don’t agree

[47:30] Taking care of yourself/your relationship

[51:28] Pet peeves

[54:30] What a great sleep day looks like

[57:14] Thoughts on hustle culture

[59:30] Awe & wonder with your kids

[1:00:58] How to reach them

[1:01:33] Rapid fire

—

Show references:

Trae Stephens Twitter - https://twitter.com/traestephens

Oath Care- https://www.oathcare.com/

Enneagram Type Eight - https://www.enneagraminstitute.com/type-8

Enneagram Type Three - https://www.enneagraminstitute.com/type-3

SNOO - https://www.happiestbaby.com/products/snoo-smart-bassinet

The Intentional Father by Jon Tyson - https://www.amazon.com/Intentional-Father-Practical-Courage-Character/dp/0801018684

Emily Oster - “Crib Sheet” and “Expecting Better” - https://emilyoster.net/

Magic: The Gathering - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Magic:_The_Gathering

Bluey - https://www.bluey.tv/

Angel's Landing - Zion National Park - https://www.nps.gov/zion/planyourvisit/angels-landing-hiking-permits.htm

Hook - https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0102057/

Palantir - https://www.palantir.com/

Anduril - https://www.anduril.com/

Founders Fund - https://foundersfund.com/

Philadelphia Eagles - https://www.philadelphiaeagles.com/

Walsh School of Foreign Service at Georgetown University - https://sfs.georgetown.edu/

Georgetown University - https://www.georgetown.edu/

UCSF - https://www.ucsf.edu/

Wedding Crashers - https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0396269/

Peter Thiel - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peter_Thiel

SpaceX - https://www.spacex.com/

PayPal - https://www.paypal.com/us/home

Taekwondo - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Taekwondo

Monty Python and the Holy Grail - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Monty_Python_and_the_Holy_Grail

—

Bonu...

Immad Akhund is the co-founder and CEO of Mercury, a business banking platform that has raised over $160M in funding and has over 100,000 customers. He has also founded two other companies – Clickpass and Heyzap; the latter of which was acquired in 2016. Immad is a husband and the father of two kids. In today's conversation we discussed:

• Starting a family at a very young age (by San Francisco standards)
• Navigating founding and running several companies, including Mercury
• The difference between finding more time and finding more energy
• How to think about skill building with your kids
• Dealing with disagreements with your spouse
• The parallels between being the co-founder of a company and the co-founder of a family

—

Where to find Immad Akhund

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/iakhund/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/immad

Curiosity Podcast: https://curiositypodcast.substack.com/

Where to find Adam Fishman

FishmanAF Newsletter: https://www.fishmanafnewsletter.com

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/adamjfishman/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/startupdadpod/

—

In this episode, we cover

[1:31] Welcome

[1:46] Childhood

[2:44] Where does your extended family live now?

[3:19] Why keep doing startups?

[6:52] How did you meet your partner?

[7:56] Tell me about your kids

[8:42] Decision to start a family

[9:51] What does your wife do?

[10:59] Why did it feel like the right time to start a family?

[17:13] Earliest memory of being a dad?

[19:29] Advice for his younger self

[22:36] What is something you worked on after having kids?

[23:56] Skill building and teaching kids finance

[27:46] How has his parenting style evolved?

[30:29] What is an example of you getting out of balance w/kids

[31:29] Has being a dad changed how you run companies?

[34:36] Conflict/managing through disagreements

[39:10] Kids relationship w/tech

[42:07] Restore batteries

[44:08] What is a mistake you made as a dad?

[46:32] Follow along

[47:23] Rapid fire round

—

Show references:

Mercury: https://mercury.com/

Model X: https://www.tesla.com/modelx

The Matrix: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0133093/

Union Square Ventures: https://www.usv.com/

Bloomberg: https://www.bloomberg.com/

ClickPass: https://www.crunchbase.com/organization/clickpass

Hayzap: https://www.linkedin.com/company/heyzap-com/

Inside Out: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt2096673/

Frozen: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt2294629/

Teen Titans: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0343314/

Doona: https://www.doona.com/en-us

Juni Learning: https://junilearning.com/

—

For sponsorship inquiries email: [email protected].

For Startup Dad Merch: www.startupdadshop.com

Production support for Startup Dad is provided by Tommy Harron at http://www.armaziproductions.com/

Welcome to the last Startup Dad episode of 2023! It has been one hell of a year. Starting in June I released a show a week for the entire rest of the year; 27 episodes in total. Talking parenthood with dozens of startup dads and a few startup moms blew away all of my expectations. For this episode I pulled together the best of over two dozen conversations covering everything from mistakes made to frameworks for parenting success. At the end I asked many of my guests what they're most looking forward to in 2024.

This episode includes excerpts from nearly every one of my conversations. Guests include: Nick Soman, Buster Benson, George Arison, Guy Yalif, Jake Wood, Gaurav Vohra, Tobi Emonts-Holley, Ben Williams, Lloyed Lobo, Ryan Johnson, Mike Duboe, Sara and Eric Mauskopf, Trae and Michelle Stephens, Aaron Huey, Will Rocklin, Tom Willerer, Darius Contractor, Adam Grenier, Alex Cohen, Brian Balfour, Josh Herzig-Marx and Carla Naumburg, Casey Woo, Fareed Mosavat, and Matt Greenberg.

In this episode we discuss:

• Mistakes made as a Dad
• The successes and high points of parenting
• Frustrations and challenges with parenting
• Frameworks for success
• Advocacy and raising children with special needs
• Coping with loss
• Startup Dads' optimism for 2024

Where to find Adam Fishman

Newsletter: https://www.fishmanafnewsletter.com

Newsletter: http://startupdadpod.substack.com

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/adamjfishman/

Twitter / X: https://twitter.com/fishmanaf

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/startupdadpod/

—

In this episode, we cover:

[0:00] Hello & intro from Adam

[01:15] Mistakes made as a parent

[01:22] Ryan Johnson (CPO, CallRail) - thinking your kids are older than they are

[02:41] Tobi Emonts-Holley (CEO, Tiphereth) - losing your temper, recovering and learning to let go

[04:20] Nick Soman (CEO/founder, Decent) - when I felt like I was drowning

[05:45] Mike Duboe (General Partner, Greylock) - being too hard on yourself

[07:12] Lloyed Lobo (Co-founder, Boast.ai) - yelling at your kids

[07:54] Jake Wood (Founder, Groundswell and Team Rubicon) - avoiding mistakes of the heart

[08:42] Guy Yalif (Co-founder/CEO, Intellimize) - quality minutes with your kids vs. quantity of hours

[09:29] Gaurav Vohra (Founding team, Superhuman) - taking advice from other parents; not getting a crib

[11:50] Buster Benson (Product leader, Medium) - thinking your kids are more mature than they are

[14:27] George Arison (CEO, Grindr) - not explaining why to kids

[14:46] Ben Williams (PLG Advisor, PLGeek) - thinking it would be easy

[15:15] Parenting successes

[15:24] Will Rocklin (Product Advisor) - marriage and parenthood unlocking your best self

[17:25] Tom Willerer (COO, Reforge) - watching your kids be successful

[21:51] Trae and Michelle Stephens (Partner, Founders Fund, Co-founder Anduril, Co-founder Oathcare) - watching kids learning new things and experiencing the world

[22:53] Eric and Sara Mauskopf (Product leader, Winnie; CEO/co-founder, Winnie) - rejoining the workforce and working with your spouse

[027:20] Guy Yalif - seeing your kids navigate transitions; college and high school

[28:06] Darius Contractor (CGO, Otter.ai) - helping your kids be centered and defining success with them

[28:59] George Arison - watching your kids learning

[29:28] Aaron Huey (Founder, National Geographic Photographer, 3rd Coolest Dad in America) - being named the 3rd coolest Dad in America

[31:07] Parenting frustrations and challenges

[31:19] Will Rocklin - conception struggles and a positive experience with IVF

[33:23] Alex Cohen (Product leader, Carbon Health) - not having family or a support network nearby

[34:25] Nick Soman - starting a company and becoming a husband and father at the same time

[35:13] Eric and Sara Mauskopf - navigating cancer; a dismembering experience; family planning with cancer

[42:28] Adam Grenier (VP Growth, Eventbrite) - having a child with special needs

[44:17] Buster Benson - navigating separation and divorce; talking to your kids about it; advice for others

[53:03] Tobi Emonts-Holley - getting intense feedback online and saying the wrong thing

[01:00:20] Best parenting frameworks

[01:00:30] Nick Soman - irrevocable guidelines

[01:00:59] Tobi Emonts-Holley - personal discipline equals freedom

[01:02:57] Mike Duboe - making time for date night

[01:04:04] Lloyed Lobo - positive di...

Sean Ellis is a growth legend and the creator of the term “growth hacker.” He has built a legendary framework (the “Sean Ellis test”) for determining product/market fit, wrote the original book on Growth (“Hacking Growth), and has founded several companies along with working at or advising companies like LogMeIn, Dropbox, Eventbrite, Bounce and more. In addition to his role as the Godfather of Growth he’s also a husband and the father of two adult children.

Maintaining strong relationships with your daughters during the tumultuous teenage years and into their 20’s

Sean’s philosophy on not waiting until it’s convenient

Navigating big challenges with kids—from autoimmune disorders to depression

Balancing the approach between letting kids figure stuff out on their own vs. jumping in to help them

When to push and when to back off

Sean’s meteoric rise as a CEO and head coach of a youth soccer team

Some controversial approaches that worked for his family

—

Where to find Sean Ellis

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/seanellis/

X: https://twitter.com/SeanEllis

Sean’s Newsletter: https://substack.com/@seanellis

Where to find Adam Fishman

FishmanAF Newsletter: www.FishmanAFNewsletter.com

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/adamjfishman/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/startupdadpod/

—

In this episode, we cover:

[2:05] Welcome

[2:42] Sean’s professional background

[7:49] Childhood

[9:13] How Sean met his wife; all about their kids?

[11:18] Are 20 year olds “kids”?

[12:00] Decision to start a family

[13:01] Earliest memory of becoming a Dad

[15:31] Maintaining relationship w/daughters into adulthood

[20:55] Surprising thing you learned as a Dad?

[22:28] Advice for younger Sean

[23:41] Shared advice to friends

[25:31] Balancing parenting techniques

[30:20] Did the kids come back home while working?

[31:54] Sean the soccer coach

[37:05] Parenting style evolution

[41:41] Where Sean and his wife don’t align on parenting

[43:36] Kid’s relationship with technology

[45:36] What he gave up to become a dad?

[47:24] Mistakes he made as a dad?

[49:10] Where to follow along

[49:55] What inspired you to write again?

[52:00] Lightning Round

[55:38] Thank you

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Show references:

LogMeIn: https://www.logmein.com/

Dropbox: https://www.dropbox.com/

Eventbrite: https://www.eventbrite.com/

Bounce: https://usebounce.com/

UC Berkeley: https://www.berkeley.edu/

UCLA: https://www.ucla.edu/

Breathalyzer: https://www.amazon.com/BACtrack-Breathalyzer-Professional-Grade-Smartphone-Connectivity/dp/B079XXNBF3/ref=zg_bs_g_15992781_d_sccl_1/143-4646178-9363038?psc=1

Vuori: https://vuoriclothing.com/

Anastasia: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0118617/

National Lampoon’s European Vacation :https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0089670/?ref_=fn_al_tt_1

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For sponsorship inquiries email: [email protected].

For Startup Dad Merch: www.startupdadshop.com

Production support for Startup Dad is provided by Tommy Harron at http://www.armaziproductions.com/