Switching from Full-Time Parent to Startup Strategy
From Scaling Startups to Scaling Family Life
After several years helping grow Render Networks from a small team of seven to almost a hundred people, it felt like the right time to move on. My wife had an opportunity to launch her own startup, and we decided I’d take on the role of primary carer for our two kids before school began for the eldest.
The biggest shift wasn’t the daily routines — it was learning to quiet the constant startup energy and be fully present with my family. That year was intense, grounding, and something I wouldn’t trade. Ever.
Starting Fresh with Pelagic.earth
Now that one child is in school, I’ve joined Pelagic.earth — a system‑changing Startup with a brilliant leader and an impressive approach to tackling a global problem: transforming ocean and landfill plastics waste into something beautiful and valued. It’s about rethinking circular economies, value sets, supply chains and how we deal with waste plastics altogether.
This is a new venture for me and a new kind of challenge. It’s energising to put my brain back into strategic mode and work on something that my kids might one day look at and hopefully with an undertone of pride ask, “Is this what you did to help?”
Navigating Two Currents
The hardest part has been recalibrating my brain to switch between reactive, always on parenting (or maybe ten-X startup growth) brain and focused, deep strategy, rapid, lean outcome brain. Not sure if it was the last Startup or a full on parenting year that caused come scatterbrain. But I digress.
That said, some skills transfer: patience, emotional intelligence, and clearer boundaries about what really matters. My wife and I are still figuring out balance — both trying to kick goals in our work while staying present at home.
Boundaries, Balance, and Buffer Time
Buffer time is essential. Shifting from parenting to work mode (or even between work tasks) needs mental space, or I end up context‑crashing. Having a great boss and mentor helps — something I hadn’t realised I’d missed for quite a while until now.
Balancing these two worlds isn’t solved; it’s something I’m still mapping day by day.
Writing This With AI (of course?)
I used AI to write this — deliberately and openly. The fingerprints are obvious anyway, and I’d rather call it out than try and hide it like so many. There seems to be an odd stigma in using AI, I prefer transparency and dialogue as everyone is working this new thing out.
For me, AI isn’t “the prompt.” I use AI to prompt me — to surface angles I might not have thought of, not to replace creative thinking. We’re all still figuring out how these tools fit into our work without letting them take over. That’s okay.
Still Charting the Course
I’m still wayfinding. Rediscovering deep work feels rewarding, and I’m grateful to have this time with my kids while working on something that might just genuinely matter.
If you’re a parent or regular human navigating similar waters, I’d love to hear how you do it. No polished takeaways here — just a logbook entry in 2025.