Startup Dad

Your Family Is Your #1 Investor | Cory O'Daniel (Dad of 2, co-founder and CEO, Massdriver)

Jan 23, 2025

Cory O'Daniel, co-founder and CEO of Massdriver, shares his journey of balancing entrepreneurship and fatherhood. He humorously compares enterprise sales to parenting challenges, highlighting the need for patience. Cory discusses how his family has shifted towards anti-tech practices to boost creativity and presence at home. He emphasizes the importance of individual time with family and the imaginative play that nurtures kids' brains. Through engaging anecdotes, he reflects on the chaos and joy of parenting while building a startup.

01:18:50

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Episode guests

Cory O’Daniel

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Episode notes

Podcast summary created with Snipd AI

Quick takeaways

Cory O'Daniel highlights the significance of financial sacrifices and emotional support from his wife when launching MassDriver, emphasizing partnership trust.

He discusses the importance of time management in balancing family life and work, implementing dedicated days for rest and connection with his spouse.

Cory underscores the need for intentional technology use in parenting, advocating for creativity and presence over mindless screen time.

Deep dives

Financial Sacrifice for a Dream

Corey O'Daniel shares the financial sacrifices he made when starting his startup, MassDriver. He took money out of his retirement savings to cover three months of personal expenses, knowing it was a risky decision with potential tax implications. The conversation highlights the emotional support he received from his wife, who acted as a safety net, encouraging him to stop withdrawing if it seemed impractical. This moment underscores the personal stakes involved in entrepreneurship and the importance of communication and trust in a partnership.

Intro

2min

Balancing Parenthood and Entrepreneurship

8min

The Balancing Act: Family and Entrepreneurship

26min

Reflections on Fatherhood

5min

Joyful Reading Adventures with Children's Books

3min

Parenting and Leadership: A Balancing Act

5min

Navigating Parenting and Technology

22min

Parenting Adventures: Biking, Chaos, and Reflections

8min

Cory 'O’Daniel is the co-founder and CEO of Massdriver, a platform designed to simplify and streamline the management of cloud infrastructure and DevOps processes. Cory had been a software architect and engineer for 20 years leading up to the founding of MassDriver. In addition to being an incredible founder he’s also a husband and the father of two young kids. We discussed:

* Conversations he and his wife had had as he was borrowing from retirement to start Massdriver

* Why enterprise sales is like your kid pooping in the bathtub

* Time dedication - to yourself, your spouse and your kids, individually

* Why kids brains are much bigger than we typically think

* How he and his wife have become more anti-tech in their household

* The benefits of being present

* Practicing “over-the-top” play and fostering imagination

Where to Cory O’Daniel

* LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/coryodaniel/

* X: https://x.com/coryodaniel

Where to find Adam Fishman

* FishmanAF Newsletter: www.FishmanAFNewsletter.com

* LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/adamjfishman/

* Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/startupdadpod/

In this episode, we cover:

[1:43] Welcome

[2:54] Cory’s Professional background

[4:13] How old is MassDriver?

[4:33] Kids poop & enterprise sales

[6:57] Cory’s Childhood

[10:33] Family

[12:38] Nickname Coconut for daughter

[15:35] Wife’s career

[16:36] Conversation about having kids and starting a company

[21:58] How he prioritizes his time

[23:38] Conferences for MassDriver

[27:38] Most surprising thing discovered as a dad

[33:29] Over the top play

[36:20] Advice for younger Cory

[39:08] Advice to ignore

[41:12] Favorite book to read to your kids

[44:54] Connecting parenthood to being a company leader

[46:15] Area where you don’t align with your spouse

[50:57] Kid’s relationship to tech

[58:55] Mistake as a dad

[1:01:36] Follow along

[1:03:27] Lightning round

[1:17:50] Thank you

—

Show references:

Reddit: https://www.reddit.com/r/massdriver/

Blue Sky: https://bsky.app/profile/coryodaniel.com

MassDriver: https://www.massdriver.cloud/

KubeCon: https://events.linuxfoundation.org/about/calendar/?_sft_lfevent-category=kubecon-cloudnativecon-cncf-events

re: Invent: https://reinvent.awsevents.com/

Little Blue Truck by Alice Schertle: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/little-blue-truck-board-book-alice-schertle/1120880415

Ada Twist, Scientists by Andrea Beaty: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/ada-twist-scientist-andrea-beaty/1123236059

Iggy Peck, Architect by Andrea Beaty: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/iggy-peck-architect-andrea-beaty/1103278969

Dragons Love Tacos by Adam Rubin: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/dragons-love-tacos-adam-rubin/1107389326

The Book with No Pictures by B. J. Novak: https://www.amazon.com/Book-No-Pictures-B-Novak/dp/0803741715

Pete The Cat by Eric Litwin: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/i-love-my-white-shoes-eric-litwin/1104911441

Baby University Complete "for Babies" Board Book Set by Chris Ferrie (Author), whurley (Author), Cara Florance (Author), Julia Kregenow (Author), Marco Tomamichel (Author), Sarah Kaiser (Author): https://www.amazon.com/dp/1728232309

Toot Toot Beep Beep by Emma Garcia: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/toot-toot-beep-beep-emma-garcia/1009185692

Tap Tap Bang Bang by Emma Garcia: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/tap-tap-bang-bang-emma-garcia/1018125516Ignition by R. Kelly: www.youtube.com/watch?v=lCPdtMbw7zg

The Grinch: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt2709692/

Coco Melon: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt12427840/

Blippi: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt6594882/

Caillou: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0262153/

Tumble Leaf: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt2948562/

Puffin Rock: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt3590338/

Daniel Tiger: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt2014553/

Lego Batman: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt4116284/

Jitterbug Perfume by Tom Robbins: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/jitterbug-perfume-tom-robbins/1100623043

Cozy couch: https://www.cozey.com/

Evil Knievel: https://evelknievel.com/

The Weekend: https://www.theweeknd.com/

Marine Layer joggers: https://www.marinelayer.com/

Toy Story: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0114709/

Paw Patrol Movie: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt11832046/

Jim Henson’s Labyrinth: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0091369/

Back To The Future: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0088763/

Model Y: https://www.tesla.com/modely

For sponsorship inquiries email: podcast@fishmana.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

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Startup Dad

Your Family Is Your #1 Investor | Cory O'Daniel (Dad of 2, co-founder and CEO, Massdriver)

Episode guests

Podcast summary created with Snipd AI

Quick takeaways

Deep dives

Financial Sacrifice for a Dream

Balancing Work and Family Life

The Impact of Technology on Parenting

Creative Learning Through Play

Navigating Parenthood with Humor

The Reality of Parenting Decisions

Remember Everything You Learn from Podcasts