Startup Dad - Raising kids without a support network, surprising aspects of being a new dad, frameworks for parenting | Alex Cohen (father of 2, Carbon Health, Spendoso, Angel Investor)

Raising kids without a support network, surprising aspects of being a new dad, frameworks for parenting | Alex Cohen (father of 2, Carbon Health, Spendoso, Angel Investor)

07/02/23 • 43 min

1 Listener

Alex Cohen is Sr. Director of Product at Carbon Health, a modern health clinic that provides urgent and primary care for easier everyday health. He is also a serial entrepreneur, investor, and one of the most prolific "shitposters" on Twitter. He's a loving husband and the father of 1 kid, born during the peak of the pandemic. In this episode we discuss:

Getting fired from Office Depot

Marrying his high school sweetheart and prom date

Being the youngest parent in your neighborhood

His wife's take on his internet celebrity

How "shitposting" has made her choice to not work outside the home easier

The difficulties of parenting without community, family, or friends

Bringing home a baby during the peak of the pandemic

—

Where to find Alex Cohen

Twitter: https://www.twitter.com/anothercohen

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/alexander-cohen/

Where to find Adam Fishman:

Newsletter: https://www.fishmanafnewsletter.com

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

Twitter: https://twitter.com/fishmanaf

—

In this episode, we cover:

[1:30] Introductions [2:02] Professional background

[5:16] Angel investing

[7:51] Marrying your high school sweetheart

[12:26] Leaving California for Texas

[17:51] His wife's decision to stay home

[18:32] Her take on his internet fame

[20:22] Starting a family

[21:46] Earliest fatherhood memory

[22:53] Lack of support network

[23:53] Instagram VS. real life

[25:56] Most surprising about being a new Dad

[27:38] Frameworks for parenting

[29:26] Having a Pandemic kid

[31:05] What his kid's reaction to an internet famous Dad will be

[33:33] Establishing strong partnership with his wife

[35:42] What did you give up to be a Dad?

[38:08] Rapid fire round

—

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

Episode art designed by Matt Sutherland at https://www.mspnw.com/

This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit startupdadpod.substack.com

Getting fired from Office Depot

Marrying his high school sweetheart and prom date

Being the youngest parent in your neighborhood

His wife's take on his internet celebrity

How "shitposting" has made her choice to not work outside the home easier

The difficulties of parenting without community, family, or friends

Bringing home a baby during the peak of the pandemic

—

Where to find Alex Cohen

Twitter: https://www.twitter.com/anothercohen

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/alexander-cohen/

Where to find Adam Fishman:

Newsletter: https://www.fishmanafnewsletter.com

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

Twitter: https://twitter.com/fishmanaf

—

In this episode, we cover:

[1:30] Introductions [2:02] Professional background

[5:16] Angel investing

[7:51] Marrying your high school sweetheart

[12:26] Leaving California for Texas

[17:51] His wife's decision to stay home

[18:32] Her take on his internet fame

[20:22] Starting a family

[21:46] Earliest fatherhood memory

[22:53] Lack of support network

[23:53] Instagram VS. real life

[25:56] Most surprising about being a new Dad

[27:38] Frameworks for parenting

[29:26] Having a Pandemic kid

[31:05] What his kid's reaction to an internet famous Dad will be

[33:33] Establishing strong partnership with his wife

[35:42] What did you give up to be a Dad?

[38:08] Rapid fire round

—

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

Episode art designed by Matt Sutherland at https://www.mspnw.com/

This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit startupdadpod.substack.com

Previous Episode

undefined - The importance of role models, raising a child with special needs, advocating for your kids | Adam Grenier (father of 3, Eventbrite, Masterclass, Uber)

The importance of role models, raising a child with special needs, advocating for your kids | Adam Grenier (father of 3, Eventbrite, Masterclass, Uber)

Adam Grenier is VP of Growth at Eventbrite, a ticketing company that is bringing the world together through live experiences. Prior to that he led growth for Masterclass and Lambda School, was an EIR at Reforge and was Head of Growth Marketing at Uber. He's also a loving husband and the father of 3 kids, including an autistic son. In this episode we discuss:

Adam's humble upbringing in the Midwest

How he got into improv and made his way to California

Poop (of course)

Raising a child with special needs

How to communicate your capacity to your spouse

Advocating for your children

Some of the shame around parenting

Setting up family guardrails and balance

—

Where to find Adam Grenier

Twitter: https://twitter.com/AKGrenier

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

Where to find Adam Fishman:

Newsletter: https://www.fishmanafnewsletter.com

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

Twitter: https://twitter.com/fishmanaf

—

In this episode, we cover:

[1:23] Introductions

[2:11] Adam’s Background

[7:12] Parents

[9:26] Discussing Role Models

[11:19] Arriving in California, Adam’s wife and kids

[20:08] Talk about Poop

[21:45] What it’s like with a special needs child

[24:15] Discussing capacity and Brene Brown

[26:06] How to advocate for your child

[31:55] Shame around parenting

[33:38] New parent support group anecdote

[34:06] Family guard rails

[37:12] Parenting disagreements

[39:03] How to balance work and family

[45:25] Rapid fire round

[51:21] Parting advice

—

Links we reference:

Second City
https://www.secondcity.com/

SNL
https://www.nbc.com/saturday-night-live

Brene Brown
https://brenebrown.com/

Butt Cream
https://www.forbes.com/health/family/best-diaper-rash-cream/

—

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

Episode art designed by Matt Sutherland at https://www.mspnw.com/

This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit startupdadpod.substack.com

Next Episode

Starting a family while broke, how to navigate divorce with young kids | Buster Benson (father of 2, PM at Medium, Author, Founder)

Buster Benson is Principle Product Manager at Medium, the platform creating a new model for digital publishing. He a published author of the book Why Are We Yelling? The Art of Productive Disagreements, the founder of 750Words, and most importantly the father of two boys. In this episode we discuss: