University of Minnesota - UMN Executive Leadership Insights
Startup Life
Book

Startup Life

Surviving and Thriving in a Relationship with an Entrepreneur

Brad Feld and Amy Batchelor
Wiley, 2013
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Editorial Rating

7

Qualities

  • Applicable
  • Well Structured
  • Inspiring

Recommendation

Starting your own company while maintaining a romantic relationship can be difficult. Entrepreneurs Brad Feld and Amy Batchelor, who are husband and wife, show business-owning couples how to manage their work-life balance. Although many couples struggle with work-life balance, entrepreneurial couples face unique challenges, whether they run a start-up together or one partner is involved and the other is not. (The book uses “partnership” or “relationship” to refer to all committed couples, regardless of gender orientation or marital status). Feld and Batchelor discuss how entrepreneurs and their romantic partners can communicate openly about kids and family, money, romance and sex, and how to handle success as well as hard times. getAbstract recommends this advice from the frontlines to current and aspiring entrepreneurs, their significant others, their relatives and anyone seeking work-life balance.

Summary

Starting Up

You and your start-up company will be better off if you make time for your personal life. Entrepreneurial couples must communicate openly and share the same values. Shared values “initially brought you together as a couple” and sustain your relationship. To nurture it, define your priorities, examine your motivation, analyze your long-term relationships and know how much time you can spend with your partner. Be persistent, stay ready to cope with uncertainty and learn to delegate. Before anything, decide whether you want to be in the relationship as well as in business.

Entrepreneurial Extroverts

Decide how much of your work you want to share with your significant other. Establish your boundaries right at the beginning. While most people consider entrepreneurs extroverts, many are actually introverts who are able to function as extroverts when necessary. Even genuine extroverts get tired of being “always on,” as entrepreneurs must be when launching a company. “Often, when Brad ‘runs out of extrovert,’ he crashes and needs to completely recharge.” Both Amy and Brad know when that happens, “and Amy gives him space.” Brad lets Amy choose which events...

About the Authors

Brad Feld and Amy Batchelor are married entrepreneurs. Feld runs the Foundry Group, a venture capital fund in Boulder, Colorado. Batchelor is a director at the Anchor Point Fund, which provides grants to nonprofit organizations.

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