a day ago
- Took over eight weeks off as a solo founder, with customers barely noticing.
- Learned from earlier experiences: with first two kids felt pressure to return early; with third felt true choice.
- Prepared business by removing himself from loops: made support self-serve, eliminated non-scalable dependencies, hired out operations, cleared distractions.
- Gradually built up from short vacations to extended paternity leave.
- Anxiety faded because prior optimization solved issues that used to pull him back.
- Key insight: founders can take time away if they reduce dependency on themselves; focus on fixing input-based output.
- Encourages changing business to fit desired lifestyle rather than following conventional paths.