Startup Dad

Darius Contractor is the Chief Growth Officer at Otter.ai, prior to that he was Chief Product and Technology Officer at Vendr, a Growth and Product leader at Airtable and Facebook, and an Engineering leader at Dropbox. He is also a fantastic angel in...

Show Notes

Darius Contractor is the Chief Growth Officer at Otter.ai, prior to that he was Chief Product and Technology Officer at Vendr, a Growth and Product leader at Airtable and Facebook, and an Engineering leader at Dropbox. He is also a fantastic angel investor and advisor, a husband and the father of two kids. In this episode we discuss:


  • His parents influence on his career

  • His earliest memories of being a Dad

  • Freak out moments

  • Watching your kids experience the world for the first time

  • Frameworks for parenting

  • Sacrifices you make when becoming a parent

  • Acknowledging your mistakes


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Where to find Darius Contractor


- Twitter (aka X): https://twitter.com/dariusmc


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


 


Where to find Adam Fishman:


- Newsletter: https://www.fishmanafnewsletter.com


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


- Twitter (aka X): https://twitter.com/fishmanaf


- Threads: https://www.threads.net/@fishmanaf


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In this episode, we cover:


[1:24] Darius introduction and professional background


[2:46] His personal background


[4:05] His parent’s influence on his life


[5:30] Info on his family


[6:50] Decision to start a family


[9:53] Parenting during the Pandemic


[12:41] Earliest memory of being a Dad


[15:06] A freak out moment


[17:22] Most surprising part of being a Dad


[21:40] Watching your kids experience the world the first time


[24:22] Parenting frameworks


[30:25] Disagreements with your partner


[34:16] Successes!


[35:31] Sacrifices made in becoming a parent


[39:12] Mistakes as a Dad


[42:17] Hustle culture vs. Parenting


[46:57] Rapid fire round


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Show references:


Doona Stroller: https://www.doona.com/en-us/car-seat-stroller/discover-doona


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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

What is Startup Dad?

Adam Fishman (author of a top business newsletter on Substack with 11K+ subscribers) interviews executives, entrepreneurs, and company leaders in technology companies who are also fathers. They discuss the tough aspects of work, parenting, family, the mistakes made and lessons learned along the way. All episodes at www.startupdadpod.com.