Startup Dad

Mike Yan is the co-founder and CEO of Manychat, a chat automation tool for social platforms with over 250 employees, 1 million customers and growing 2x year over year. With his team, Mike has built the fastest growing platform on Whatsapp and the largest on Instagram. He’s also a husband and a new dad. We discussed:

* How he thought he was going to become a magician rather than a founder

* Starting a family as the founder of a fast-growing, 250+ person company

* How he prepared himself, his team and his board for paternity leave

* Advice he’d give to founders who are considering starting a family

* How becoming a Dad has changed him as a CEO

* Navigating the disruption of changes in childcare

* Sleep training

* The paradox of the Unhappy Achiever

* Supporting your partner

Where to find Mike Yan

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

* Telegram: @MikeYan

Where to find Adam Fishman

* FishmanAF Newsletter: www.FishmanAFNewsletter.com

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

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

_

In this episode, we cover:

[01:46] Introduction

[02:15] ManyChat Background and Growth

[05:05] Mike's Early Life and Path to Entrepreneurship

[12:32] Decision to Start a Family

[14:49] Sleep Challenges and Sleep Training

[19:47] Taking Paternity Leave as CEO

[22:56] What He'd Tell His Pre-Dad Self

[25:26] The "Unhappy Achiever" Philosophy

[32:57] Navigating Childcare Transitions

[39:38] Thoughts on Kids and Technology

[46:07] Connecting with Mike Yan

[47:12] Lightning Round

—

Show references:

Mike Yan LI:https://www.linkedin.com/in/mikedyan/

Email Address: mike@mikeyan.com

Telegram: @mikeyan

ManyChat: https://manychat.com/

Rubik’s cube: https://www.rubiks.com/

Counter Strike: https://www.counter-strike.net/

World of Warcraft :https://worldofwarcraft.blizzard.com/en-us/

Lilo and Stitch: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0275847/

The Matrix: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0133093/

The Truman Show: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0120382/

Existence: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt2402107/

The Game: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0119174/

_

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.