Balancing Work, Family, and Sustainability

Tony Fadell, often referred to as the father of the iPod is one of the leading product thinkers of the last 30 years as one of the makers of some of the most revolutionary products in society from the iPhone and iPod to more recently founding Nest, creating the Nest Thermostat, leading to their $3.2BN acquisition by Google. Tony recently released Build, a masterclass taking 30 years of product and company building lessons and packaging them for you, check it out here.

1.) On reflection, what would Tony most like to change about his childhood?

• How did moving so much as a child change who Tony was as a person?
• How can parents instill that same grit and desire in their kids today?
• What does Tony think is the biggest problem with modern parenting?

2.) As a leader, should the company you are building be a family or a team?

• What does Tony believe are the 3 hats of being a great CEO?
• What is the biggest challenge in the transition between hats?
• Where does Tony see many founders make the biggest mistake?
• Which hat was Tony strongest with? What was he weakest with?

3.) How to solve the loneliness of being a solo founder?

• Why does Tony believe that everyone needs a co-founder?
• Why does Tony not like to invest in teams with a solo founder or more than 4 founders?
• For Tony, what is the ideal composition of that founding team?
• How does he test for these skills and traits pre-investing?

4.) How to think differently in the face of adversity?

• Tony has made bold bets when everyone says he is crazy, how does he not question himself and remain strong in the face of criticism?
• How does Tony know when to change his mind? When to accept that the bold idea was not right?
• Is Tony concerned in the face of macro challenges today, investment and commitment to climate change will be cut heavily?