
Starting a family while broke, how to navigate divorce with young kids | Buster Benson (father of 2, PM at Medium, Author, Founder)
07/10/23 • 46 min
1 Listener
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:
- Joining and leaving companies in pursuit of being a better father
- Starting a family while being broke with no insurance
- Home birthing
- Having a kid who doesn't sleep for more than 30 minutes at a time
- Separation and divorce
- How to talk to your kids about divorce
- Maintaining an amicable relationship with your ex and connection to your kids
—
Where to find Buster Benson:
Twitter: https://twitter.com/buster
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/busterbenson/
750 Words: https://750words.com/
Amazon: Why Are We Yelling?
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:
[1:26] Introduction
[2:30] Background
[6:22] Decision to start a family
[7:49] Homebirth
[9:28] Homebirth community
[11:06] About Buster’s kids
[12:47] Why parenting is hard
[14:40] Buster’s earliest fatherhood memories
[17:53] Surprising fatherhood things
[19:45] External pressure
[21:45] Frameworks for parenting
[24:14] ADHD/Diagnosis
[25:13] The story of his separation and divorce
[28:43] Telling the kids about their separation
[31:04] Advice for separation
[34:46] Agreements in parenting
[36:42] Managing complex demands
[39:46] Mistakes in fatherhood
[43:33] 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
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:
- Joining and leaving companies in pursuit of being a better father
- Starting a family while being broke with no insurance
- Home birthing
- Having a kid who doesn't sleep for more than 30 minutes at a time
- Separation and divorce
- How to talk to your kids about divorce
- Maintaining an amicable relationship with your ex and connection to your kids
—
Where to find Buster Benson:
Twitter: https://twitter.com/buster
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/busterbenson/
750 Words: https://750words.com/
Amazon: Why Are We Yelling?
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:
[1:26] Introduction
[2:30] Background
[6:22] Decision to start a family
[7:49] Homebirth
[9:28] Homebirth community
[11:06] About Buster’s kids
[12:47] Why parenting is hard
[14:40] Buster’s earliest fatherhood memories
[17:53] Surprising fatherhood things
[19:45] External pressure
[21:45] Frameworks for parenting
[24:14] ADHD/Diagnosis
[25:13] The story of his separation and divorce
[28:43] Telling the kids about their separation
[31:04] Advice for separation
[34:46] Agreements in parenting
[36:42] Managing complex demands
[39:46] Mistakes in fatherhood
[43:33] 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

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)
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
Next Episode

Consistency in parenting and having teenagers | Fareed Mosavat (father of 2, CDO at Reforge, Product Leader)
Fareed Mosavat is Chief Development Officer at Reforge, former Director of Product at Slack, Instacart, Zynga and more. He's a husband and father of two teenagers (!). In this episode we discuss:
- Lessons from being raised by his Mom
- His decision to start a family
- Earliest memories of being a Dad
- Regrets he's had as a father
- Tweens vs. Teens and which is worse
- Establishing family guard rails
- What he and his wife don't agree on
- Hilarious rapid-fire round
—
Where to find Fareed Mosavat
Twitter: https://twitter.com/far33d
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/fareed/
Where to find Adam Fishman:
Newsletter: https://www.fishmanafnewsletter.com
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/adamjfishman/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/fishmanaf
Threads: https://www.threads.net/@fishmanaf
—
In this episode, we cover:
[1:35] Introductions
[2:25] What is a CDO?
[5:19] Fareed’s career background
[8:19] Childhood
[11:04] Lessons from Mom
[13:49] How he met his partner
[16:36] Their decision to start a family
[20:51] More about his wife
[21:39] Earliest memories of being a Dad
[27:50] Work/life balance and a career story
[32:33] Regrets
[36:38] Tweens vs. Teens and which is worse
[39:46] Establishing family guard rails
[43:44] Where he and his partner don't agree
[46:23] Rapid fire round
—
Companies referenced: www.reforge.com
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
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