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 that he was a long-time product leader at Google and YouTube for over 10 years.
In this episode we discuss:
* Eric and Sara's personal and professional backgrounds including how their parents shaped them and how they met
* Their decision to start a family and whether three kids was the goal
* Eric's cancer diagnosis, treatment, recover and raising a young daughter during this process
* How to prepare for your family's future when you have a serious illness
* Eric's decision to step back from the workforce and why that is so hard for men
* Eric's transition back to work and what it's like to work with your spouse
* How to take your kids on exciting adventures
* Philadelphia sports (if you know Sara this is a requirement)
* Rapid fire!
Listen, watch and subscribe: Apple, Spotify, YouTube, and Overcast.
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Where to find Eric Mauskopf:
- LinkedIn: https://twitter.com/mauskopf
- Twitter: https://linkedin.com/in/mauskopf
Where to find Sara Mauskopf
- Twitter / X: https://twitter.com/sm
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/smausk/
Where to find Adam Fishman
- Newsletter: http://www.startupdadpod.substack.com
- Newsletter: http://fishmanafnewsletter.com
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/adamjfishman/
- Twitter / X: https://twitter.com/fishmanaf
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/startupdadpod/
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In this episode, we cover:
[2:56] Professional backgrounds
[5:28] Personal backgrounds
[7:52] Their parent’s careers
[11:38] How did you meet?
[13:00] Tell me about the kids?
[15:29] Decision to start a family
[17:52] Was 3 kids ideal?
[18:52] Kids' interaction with each other
[20:26] Eric’s cancer/perspectives
[24:23] Preparing for the future with cancer
[27:53] Family support
[32:28] Earliest memory of being a dad
[33:54] Eric’s decision to step back/why is that hard for men?
[40:32] Transition back to work
[42:30] Eric’s Winnie interview
[46:10] Taking kids on adventures
[49:35] What has been the most fun adventure?
[53:10] Sharing your kids online
[56:02] Where Sara and Eric don’t align
[57:56] One mistake you made as a dad?
[59:11] Where can we follow along?
[1:00:01] Detroit Lions VS. Philadelphia Eagles
[1:01:05] Rapid fire round
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Show references:
Winnie - https://winnie.com/
Kobe Bryant - https://www.britannica.com/biography/Kobe-Bryant
Google - https://www.google.com/
YouTube - https://www.youtube.com/
Phil Simms - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phil_Simms
Phillies - https://www.mlb.com/phillies
Giants - https://www.mlb.com/giants
Warriors - https://www.nba.com/warriors
Traveling Wilburys - https://www.travelingwilburys.com/
Bob Dylan - https://www.bobdylan.com/
Seahawks - https://www.seahawks.com/
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Thanks to my sponsor for this episode: unitQ!
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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
