Stew Bradley is a former linebacker in the National Football League and played for the Philadelphia Eagles, Arizona Cardinals and the Denver Broncos. Following a successful NFL career he joined Goldman Sachs and then found his way into co-founding the early stage venture firm El Cap Holdings. He's also a husband and the father of two kids. In today's conversation we discussed:  * His unique career path in navigating from professional football to finance and investing * His earliest memories...

Stew Bradley is a former linebacker in the National Football League and played for the Philadelphia Eagles, Arizona Cardinals and the Denver Broncos. Following a successful NFL career he joined Goldman Sachs and then found his way into co-founding the early stage venture firm El Cap Holdings. He's also a husband and the father of two kids. In today's conversation we discussed:  His unique career path in navigating from professional football to finance and investing His earliest memories and...

Brian Rothenberg is a general partner at Defy, an early-stage venture firm. He was the former Head of Growth at Eventbrite and has been a serial marketplace founder; starting a services marketplace that was acquired by TaskRabbit in 2011. He's also a husband and the father of four kids. In today's conversation we discussed: * Pivoting your plans to follow your future spouse * How to divide and conquer when you've got four kids * How the family dynamic changes as it grows from one to four...

Brian Rothenberg is a general partner at Defy, an early-stage venture firm. He was the former Head of Growth at Eventbrite and has been a serial marketplace founder; starting a services marketplace that was acquired by TaskRabbit in 2011. He's also a husband and the father of four kids. In today's conversation we discussed:  Pivoting your plans to follow your future spouse How to divide and conquer when you've got four kids How the family dynamic changes as it grows from one to four kids How...

Tye DeGrange is the founder and CEO of Round Barn Labs, a performance and affiliate marketing company that has worked with companies like Oculus, thredUp, ModCloth and Nextdoor. Prior to that he had career stints at Amazon, eBay and Commission Junction. He grew up on a horse ranch in Northern California!  He's also a husband and the father of two kids. In today's conversation we discussed: * What life was like growing up on a ranch and the work ethic that instilled in him * Tye's parenting...

Tye DeGrange is the founder and CEO of Round Barn Labs, a performance and affiliate marketing company that has worked with companies like Oculus, thredUp, ModCloth and Nextdoor. Prior to that he had career stints at Amazon, eBay and Commission Junction. He grew up on a horse ranch in Northern California!  He's also a husband and the father of two kids. In today's conversation we discussed: What life was like growing up on a ranch and the work ethic that instilled in him Tye's parenting...

Casey Handmer is the founder of Terraform Industries, a company that is turning CO2 into natural gas through solar electricity. He's an astrophysicist with a PhD from Caltech who has worked on frontier technologies at NASA and Hyperloop. He's also a husband and the father of three kids. Including a newborn! In today's conversation we discussed: * Productivity and priorities * How to make it work without a support structure * How to work on having optimism be the default so you can build a...

Casey Handmer is the founder of Terraform Industries, a company that is turning CO2 into natural gas through solar electricity. He's an astrophysicist with a PhD from Caltech who has worked on frontier technologies at NASA and Hyperloop. He's also a husband and the father of three kids. Including a newborn! In today's conversation we discussed: Productivity and priorities How to make it work without a support structure How to work on having optimism be the default so you can build a better...

Patrick Moran is the Head of Growth Marketing at Robinhood, a fintech platform helping to democratize finance. Prior to that he had an illustrious career at Houzz, Spotify, YikYak, Netflix and more. He is a loving husband and the father of two kids (and one Golden Retriever). In today's conversation we discussed: * His childhood moving back and forth from the Philippines to the US * The value system of families in the Philippines * What it's like having a 10+ year gap between his children *...

Patrick Moran is the Head of Growth Marketing at Robinhood, a fintech platform helping to democratize finance. Prior to that he had an illustrious career at Houzz, Spotify, YikYak, Netflix and more. He is a loving husband and the father of two kids (and one Golden Retriever). In today's conversation we discussed: His childhood moving back and forth from the Philippines to the US The value system of families in the Philippines What it's like having a 10+ year gap between his children How to...

Mike Smith is General Partner and co-founder at Footwork, an early stage venture capital firm. Previously, Mike was President, COO, and interim CFO at Stitch Fix, the online personal styling service where he oversaw operations, styling, client experience, merchandise, and finance. Prior to Stitch Fix, Mike was COO at Walmart.com, overseeing all operations for a $5 billion division, including one of the most successful multi-channel offerings in the industry. Mike serves on the boards of...

Mike Smith is General Partner and co-founder at Footwork, an early stage venture capital firm. Previously, Mike was President, COO, and interim CFO at Stitch Fix, the online personal styling service where he oversaw operations, styling, client experience, merchandise, and finance. Prior to Stitch Fix, Mike was COO at Walmart.com, overseeing all operations for a $5 billion division, including one of the most successful multi-channel offerings in the industry. Mike serves on the boards of...

Chris Miller is the VP of Product at Hubspot focused on Growth and AI where he has worked for nearly 8 years. I consider Chris to be one of the most forward thinking leaders on AI, monetization and growth. Prior to Hubspot he built product at companies like Runkeeper and Roam. Chris is a loving husband and the father of a two-year-old son. In our conversation today we discussed: * His personal and professional background, including how he got into AI * The influence of Chris' upbringing in...

Chris Miller is the VP of Product at Hubspot focused on Growth and AI where he has worked for nearly 8 years. I consider Chris to be one of the most forward thinking leaders on AI, monetization and growth. Prior to Hubspot he built product at companies like Runkeeper and Roam. Chris is a loving husband and the father of a two-year-old son. In our conversation today we discussed: His personal and professional background, including how he got into AI The influence of Chris' upbringing in New...

Darin Swanson has been a technical advisor to founders and CEOs for the last 7 years at companies like Pipefy, Outreach, Kite, Edify, and Gatsby. Prior to that he was the VP of Engineering for New Relic and led engineering teams there for 6+ years. In many ways, Darin is a glimpse into the future for a lot of listeners to this show. He is a father of two kids (now adults) and a loving husband to his wife. In our conversation today we discussed: * Darin's transition into advisory work after a...

Darin Swanson has been a technical advisor to founders and CEOs for the last 7 years at companies like Pipefy, Outreach, Kite, Edify, and Gatsby. Prior to that he was the VP of Engineering for New Relic and led engineering teams there for 6+ years. In many ways, Darin is a glimpse into the future for a lot of listeners to this show. He is a father of two kids (now adults) and a loving husband to his wife. In our conversation today we discussed: Darin's transition into advisory work after a...

Matt Ragland focuses on the intersection of productivity and the creator economy. He started an online community for creative Dads called Digital Dads. Matt was the 5th employee at ConvertKit, ran Creator Success at Podia, and has built an audience of over 100,000 fans across his newsletter, YouTube channel, and social media channels. He lives in Nashville with his wife of 17 years and 3 (almost 4) kids. In our conversation today we discussed: * Matt's childhood as the son of a pastor * The...

Matt Ragland focuses on the intersection of productivity and the creator economy. He started an online community for creative Dads called Digital Dads. Matt was the 5th employee at ConvertKit, ran Creator Success at Podia, and has built an audience of over 100,000 fans across his newsletter, YouTube channel, and social media channels. He lives in Nashville with his wife of 17 years and 3 (almost 4) kids. In our conversation today we discussed: Matt's childhood as the son of a pastor The...

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...

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...

Welcome to another special Holiday Edition of Startup Dad! I went back and talked to many of my guests about their most memorable holiday traditions, the best and most secret family recipes, and most disastrous holiday memories as parents. No matter who you are or what you celebrate my hope is that hearing this helps to normalize just how different and hectic everyone's holidays can be. You'll hear from past guests Alex Cohen, Gaurav Vohra, Nick Soman, Ryan Johnson, Trae and Michelle...

Lloyed Lobo is the co-founder of Boast.ai and the author of Wall Street Journal best-selling book From Grassroots to Greatness. After escaping the Gulf War as a child and seeing the power of community in helping navigate impossible situations he ended up on a path of entrepreneurship and community building. He is a husband and the father of three kids. In this episode we discuss: His childhood as a Gulf War refugee His mother's influence on his entrepreneurship Losing one of his twins The...

Welcome to a special Holiday Edition of Startup Dad! As parents we all need to go easy on ourselves at this time of the year. To bring a little holiday cheer to your lives I went back through 2023's roster of guests and highlighted their best and worst parenting purchases. You'll also hear a series of never-before-shared thoughts on the best and worst holiday presents they've ever given their spouse and the best and worst gifts they've ever received. You'll hear from past guests Adam Grenier,...

In this special Startup Dad (and Mom) episode I interviewed husband and wife team Eric and Sara Mauskopf. Sara is the co-founder and CEO of Winnie, a platform that helps parents find much needed childcare and helps childcare providers find parents and run their business. She founded Winnie after a decade-plus career in product at Postmates, Twitter, and Google. Eric is a product leader at Winnie where he joined about 18 months ago after leaning in as a stay-at-home-Dad for 3.5 years. Prior to...

Guy Yalif is the co-founder and CEO of Intellimize, a platform that helps optimize web experiences through testing, personalization and AI. He has been an ad tech and product leader at companies like Brightroll, Twitter and Yahoo. He is a husband and father of two teenagers.    In this episode we discuss: His mother's career as a banker in the 70's The unique experience of founding a company with good friends How his role as a father influences his professional decisions Founding a company...