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Coping with the loss of a child and protecting your time | Brian Balfour (father of 2, CEO and founder Reforge, venture partner)

Startup Dad

The Importance of Finding Support

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"It's very counterintuitive because it's like, wait a second, like this thing happened to me. Why do I have to tell other people?" she says. "Other people just don't know. They don't know what you want," he adds. "And as a result, they evade around these topics and then nobody wins." She writes: "I feel like a huge obligation to like for those who go through it is to help them"

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 took to fatherhood right away

The tragedy of losing his first child at birth and challenges of conceiving

How to protect your time as a CEO and a father

Brian's frameworks for parenting

How to align with your partner

Life during the pandemic with a partner who is a nurse, young kids and a fast-growing startup

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Where to find Brian Balfour

- Twitter: https://twitter.com/bbalfour

- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/bbalfour/

- Personal Website: https://www.brianbalfour.com

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:

[1:40] Intros

[2:06] Professional background

[3:28] Personal background

[6:38] Parents' opinion of his career

[9:33] Uncle’s influence on his entrepreneurial spirit

[11:59] About his family

[14:39] Decision to start a family

[18:07] Whether or not he took to Fatherhood right away

[18:30] Losing a child at birth

[21:29] The “Instagramification” of parenting

[22:52] Parenting reality check

[25:26] Most surprising thing about Fatherhood?

[28:08] How to protect your time as a parent and a CEO

[30:21] More discussion of losing a child and Brian's coping strategies

[37:09] Parenting frameworks

[41:34] Aligning as a couple

[45:11] Life during pandemic

[48:58] Rapid fire round

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Show references

- www.reforge.com

- H.A.N.D. - Helping After Neonatal Death

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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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