Entrepreneurs are oftentimes uniquely suited to addressing new challenges: making tough decisions, pivoting when necessary and going into "hack mode" to solve new problems.
As it turns out, those challenges apply to parenthood as well. And when you're double-dutying as a parent and a startup leader, it can be a real team effort to address them—a fact compounded by the special circumstances that 2020 has brought about.
In our latest virtual State of Innovation, "The Double Shift: Parenting and Entrepreneurship in 2020," we discussed what it’s like to fundraise, build products and teams and get a startup off the ground, all while expecting or raising a child. We also had the chance to touch on how Boston’s startup scene might adapt to accommodate new parents.
"One really big parallel between parenting and running a company is all your issues become the issues in [both]," said Suelin Chen, co-founder of end-of-life planning startup Cake and one of our panelists. "Knowing yourself really well is really important for both. All your weaknesses perpetuate themselves."
Joining us along with Chen were Aceil Halaby, co-founder and COO of Bloomer Tech; Heather Ames Versace, co-founder and COO of Neurala; and Nic Mendoza, co-founder and CTO of Statera.
The discussion was moderated by Stephanie Rampello, co-founder of WellNested, a startup offering personalized postnatal care for the modern parent, with fast, on-demand access to the best in-home or virtual lactation care and 24/7 text-based nursing support.
Here are some takeaways from our conversation.
Your family priorities will affect your startup priorities, and vice versa.
Ames Versace, who leads Neurala with her husband, talked about the difficulty of "risk-balancing." Founding Neurala meant frank discussions about what that would mean for their retirement savings, as well as college funds for their four children.
"When you found a startup, you're all in, financially," she said. "You're basically betting the family on the success of your company."
The two had to be on exactly the same page—a theme that came up when each panelist talked about partner support.
It's important to have a support network, both inside and outside your company.
Support can look like many different things. Family and partner support is often a key aspect of raising a child, but so is having support from those in your professional network: your coworkers, your team leaders and even your investors.
Halaby joked that her son, Romy, is a "startup baby," and there are plenty of other kids who have found themselves immersed in the startup environment from the very beginning of their lives.
As a leader, you have to model your company values from the get-go.
Especially amid the ongoing pandemic, with working parents trying to balance their careers with childcare and remote schooling, startup leaders have an opportunity to provide flexibility for their team members. Ames Versace said Neurala has tried to ensure the company provides comprehensive health coverage as well as flexibility in terms of scheduling, for example.
Panelists also found themselves setting examples in terms of how involved their kids could be day-to-day, how much parental leave they took and more.
Couldn't join us, or want an opportunity to dive deeper into some of these points? We captured the whole thing on video. Watch below.
