DeepSummary
In this episode, serial entrepreneur Immad Akhund, co-founder and CEO of Mercury, discusses his experience of starting a family at a young age and navigating the challenges of founding and running multiple companies while being a father. He emphasizes the importance of finding energy from family and work, rather than just focusing on time management. The conversation delves into skill building for kids, dealing with disagreements with a spouse, and the parallels between being a co-founder of a company and a family.
Akhund shares his earliest memories of becoming a dad and the initial challenges of parenthood. He talks about the advice he would give his younger self and the mistakes he made as a dad. The discussion also covers topics like managing kids' relationship with technology, restoring batteries as an entrepreneur and parent, and the evolution of his parenting style.
The episode concludes with a rapid-fire round, where Akhund answers questions about parenting products, favorite kids' movies, and his take on minivans.
Key Episodes Takeaways
- Find energy, not just time, when balancing entrepreneurship and parenthood; activities that energize you allow you to do more.
- Building a company and raising a family have parallels; both involve being a co-founder and require effective communication and division of responsibilities.
- Skill building for kids should focus on their existing interests and strengths, rather than forcing activities they don't enjoy.
- Managing kids' relationship with technology requires balance and encouraging interactive activities over passive ones.
- Clear communication and dividing responsibilities based on individual interests can help avoid conflicts with a spouse.
- Being a role model for kids requires actively embodying the values and traits you want them to aspire to.
- Parenthood involves constant learning and adaptation, including mistakes, but a loving and secure environment is most important.
- Practical considerations like visas, schooling, and daily logistics can significantly impact family planning decisions.
Top Episodes Quotes
- “So, for example, I care a lot about sports, and my wife doesn't necessarily, you know, I end up organizing most of them and, like, taking my kids and things like that. And my wife cares a lot about education, and she ends up doing a lot of it. And, yeah, it doesn't mean we don't help each other, but it does, like, avoid arguments. When you have, like, you know, like, zones of control, it's like, hey, this is your zone of control. This is mine.“ by Immad Akhund
- “I think everything has to be in balance. But, like, I actively encourage my six year old to play games on her iPad. And, yeah, there's obviously some slightly more educational games or even non educational ones. I think I would rather she spend time playing a game on her iPad than, like, watching a tv show on her iPad.“ by Immad Akhund
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Episode Information
Startup Dad
Adam Fishman
4/4/24
Immad Akhund is the co-founder and CEO of Mercury, a business banking platform that has raised over $160M in funding and has over 100,000 customers. He has also founded two other companies – Clickpass and Heyzap; the latter of which was acquired in 2016. Immad is a husband and the father of two kids. In today's conversation we discussed:
* Starting a family at a very young age (by San Francisco standards)
* Navigating founding and running several companies, including Mercury
* The difference between finding more time and finding more energy
* How to think about skill building with your kids
* Dealing with disagreements with your spouse
* The parallels between being the co-founder of a company and the co-founder of a family
Listen now on Apple, Spotify, Overcast and YouTube.
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Where to find Immad Akhund
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/iakhund/
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/immad
- Curiosity Podcast: https://curiositypodcast.substack.com/
Where to find Adam Fishman
- FishmanAF Newsletter: www.FishmanAFNewsletter.com
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/adamjfishman/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/startupdadpod/
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In this episode, we cover
[1:31] Welcome
[1:46] Childhood
[2:44] Where does your extended family live now?
[3:19] Why keep doing startups?
[6:52] How did you meet your partner?
[7:56] Tell me about your kids
[8:42] Decision to start a family
[9:51] What does your wife do?
[10:59] Why did it feel like the right time to start a family?
[17:13] Earliest memory of being a dad?
[19:29] Advice for his younger self
[22:36] What is something you worked on after having kids?
[23:56] Skill building and teaching kids finance
[27:46] How has his parenting style evolved?
[30:29] What is an example of you getting out of balance w/kids
[31:29] Has being a dad changed how you run companies?
[34:36] Conflict/managing through disagreements
[39:10] Kids relationship w/tech
[42:07] Restore batteries
[44:08] What is a mistake you made as a dad?
[46:32] Follow along
[47:23] Rapid fire round
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Show references:
Mercury: https://mercury.com/
Model X: https://www.tesla.com/modelx
The Matrix: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0133093/
Union Square Ventures: https://www.usv.com/
Bloomberg: https://www.bloomberg.com/
ClickPass: https://www.crunchbase.com/organization/clickpass
Hayzap: https://www.linkedin.com/company/heyzap-com/
Inside Out: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt2096673/
Frozen: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt2294629/
Teen Titans: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0343314/
Doona: https://www.doona.com/en-us
Juni Learning: https://junilearning.com/
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Production support for Startup Dad is provided by Tommy Harron at
http://www.armaziproductions.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