Startup Dad

Kyle Lacy is the Chief Marketing Officer of Jellyfish—a platform that helps developers make data-backed decisions on resource investments. Across two decades he has built companies like Lessonly, Openview, Salesforce and ExactTarget. He’s also a husband and the father of two kids. In our conversation today we discussed:

* Managing work, life and parenting appropriately

* Handling stress across the different facets of your life

* Dispelling the myth about separation of ‘church and state’ between family and work

* Learning how to put your kids before yourself

* The role of nature vs. nurture in parenting

* The most important invention ever - the pee pee teepee

* How most parenting advice is complete crap

—

Where to find Kyle Lacy

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

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

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:

[1:33] Welcome

[2:10] Kyle’s Professional background

[4:26] What life was like growing up

[6:12] Siblings

[6:24] Do your siblings have give you parenting advice?

[6:53] His family now and how he met his wife?

[9:06] Are his kids back to school?

[10:59] Decision to start a family

[12:34] Work/life balance

[15:27] Support network

[17:23] Separation of “church and state”

[19:58] Earliest memory after becoming a father?

[22:43] Dads and emotions

[24:11] Putting kids before yourself

[26:37] Surprising aspect of fatherhood

[28:18] Advice for younger Kyle?

[29:55] Advice to ignore?

[31:29] Fav book to read to kids

[32:14] Nature vs. Nurture

[33:27] Parenting frameworks

[35:29] How Kyle’s parenting style evolved

[38:02] Did parenting change you as a manager?

[40:53] When do he and his partner not align

[44:02] Kid’s relationship to tech

[47:42] Mistake as a father?

[48:33] Follow along

[50:11] Rapid fire

—

Show references:

Jellyfish:https://jellyfish.co/

ExactTarget (now Salesforce): https://www.salesforce.com/

Lessonly (now Seismic): https://seismic.com/lessonly/

OpenView: https://openviewpartners.com/

Sam Richard LI: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sam-crowell-richard/

Sam Richar Twitter: @SamCRichard

Spokane, Washington: https://www.visittheusa.com/destination/spokane

Indianapolis, Indiana: https://www.visittheusa.com/destination/indianapolis

Anderson University: https://andersonuniversity.edu/

Twitter Marketing for Dummies: https://www.amazon.com/Twitter-Marketing-Dummies-Kyle-Lacy/dp/0470930578

Branding Yourself: How to Use Social Media to Invent or Reinvent Yourself

by Erik Deckers & Kyle Lacy: https://www.amazon.com/Branding-Yourself-Social-Reinvent-Biz-Tech/dp/0789749726

CodeSweep (now HCL Software): https://www.hcl-software.com/appscan/products/appscan-codesweep

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/

Orange Theory: https://www.orangetheory.com/en-us

Greenlight: https://greenlight.com/

Linda Flanagan Episode: youtube.com/watch?v=YLqEX8lZeFI

Pee pee tee pee: https://www.amazon.com/Peepee-Teepee-Sprinkling-WeeWee-Cellophane/dp/B000NM3DFY

What to Expect When You’re Expecting: https://www.amazon.com/What-Expect-When-Youre-Expecting/dp/0761187480

Boston, MA: https://www.boston.gov/

Calvin & Hobbes: https://www.amazon.com/Complete-Calvin-Hobbes-Bill-Watterson/dp/1449433251

Dogman: https://pilkey.com/series/dog-man

Gemstone Dragons: https://www.samanthamclark.com/gemstone-dragons/

Diary of a Wimpy Kid: https://wimpykid.com/

Big Nate: https://www.amazon.com/Lincoln-Popularity-Nothing-Possibly-Strikes/dp/0062968610

Crocs: https://www.crocs.com/

Jibbitz: https://www.crocs.com/c/jibbitz

Josh & Carla’s Episode: youtube.com/watch?v=YiaE6ZmaOIQ

New Balance white shoes: https://www.newbalance.com/men/shoes/all-shoes/

Nike: https://www.nike.com/

Bush’s beans: https://www.bushbeans.com/en_US/

The Anxious Generation: How the Great Rewiring of Childhood Is Causing an Epidemic of Mental Illness by Jonathan Haidt: https://www.amazon.com/Anxious-Generation-Rewiring-Childhood-Epidemic/dp/B0C9N2L56X/

Apple Vision pro: https://www.apple.com/apple-vision-pro/

Tesla: https://www.tesla.com/

iPad: https://www.apple.com/ipad/

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/

Diaper Genie: https://diapergenie.com/

Colts: https://www.colts.com/

Corvette: https://www.chevrolet.com/upcoming-vehicles/2025-corvette-zr1

Pink Fong: https://www.pinkfong.com/en/

Baby Shark: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCNVE4szbMrOZk9IheX8vHbQ

Home Alone: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0099785/

Gettysburg: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0107007/

—

For sponsorship inquiries email: podcast@fishmana.com.

For Startup Dad Merch: www.startupdadshop.com 

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

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.