Startup Dad

Ryan Johson is the Chief Product Officer at CallRail a marketing and AI technology company. He was an early pioneer in the AI industry doing fascinating work on computer vision for anomaly detection in videos and images. Ryan is a husband and father of two kids and a fellow Midwesterner. In this episode we discuss: His Midwestern upbringing and the work ethic that instilled in him The challenges o...

Ben Wiliams is a product and engineering executive and was most recently the VP Product at Snyk; an $8B developer tools company. He is currently a Product and Growth advisor and owner of PLGeek.com as well as The Product Led Geek Newsletter. Ben is a husband and father of two kids and my first international interview (he hails from the UK). In this episode we discuss: The importance of therapy in...

In this special, 10th episode I interviewed husband and wife team Josh Herzig-Marx and Carla Naumburg, PhD. Josh is a product executive and coach, a former VP of Product, founder and ex-Googler. He is also the "default" parent to two teenagers having chosen to step back as Carla leaned more into the workforce as a best-selling parenting book author. Carla is a clinical social worker and mother. Sh...

Matt Greenberg is a product and engineering executive and was most recently the CTO at Reforge. He was previously the VP of Engineering at Credit Karma. Matt is a husband and father of three boys and one dog. In this episode we discuss: Matt's father being his hero and the wisdom he gained from him The work required in raising three boys The decision to have a third kid What to do when you get a p...

Mike Duboe is a General Partner at Greylock, one of the most well-known venture firms in Silicon Valley. Prior to that he was a Growth leader at Stitch Fix through their IPO and Tilt which was acquired by AirBnB. He is a husband and the father of two kids. In this episode we discuss: Cultural influences from his grandparents and parents Getting into alignment on the right time to have kids Having...

Darius Contractor is the Chief Growth Officer at Otter.ai , prior to that he was Chief Product and Technology Officer at Vendr, a Growth and Product leader at Airtable and Facebook, and an Engineering leader at Dropbox. He is also a fantastic angel investor and advisor, a husband and the father of two kids. In this episode we discuss: His parents influence on his career His earliest memories of be...

Brian Balfour is the founder and CEO of Reforge, former VP of Growth at Hubspot, and a venture partner at Long Journey Ventures. He is one of the foremost experts on Growth and also a husband and the father of two young kids. In this episode we discuss: His parents opinion of his profession Other family members' influence on his entrepreneurial spirit His decision to start a family and whether he...

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 h...

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 bro...

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 hi...

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...

Nick Soman is the founder and CEO of Decent, a healthcare company that helps small businesses band together to get more affordable health insurance for their employees. Prior to that he led growth for Gusto, was a product manager on the Kindle at Amazon, and started a company that he sold to Napster! In this episode we discuss: How Nick's parents influenced his own parenting The challenging early...

Welcome to the very first episode of Startup Dad! Every week, Adam Fishman will interview entrepreneurs, leaders, founders, and many people you may have heard advice from before. This time it's different because they're also all fathers. Instead of talking about product development, the latest growth strategies, or fundraising we talk about balancing work with family life, parenting strategies, an...