Two married company founders on starting companies and family | Trae Stephens & Dr. Michelle Stephens (parents of 2, Founders Fund, Anduril, and Oath Care)

Startup Dad

In this special Startup Dad (and Mom) episode I interviewed husband and wife team Trae Stephens and Dr. Michelle Stephens. Trae is a partner at Founders Fund, and is also co-founder and Executive Chairman of Anduril Industries, a defense technology company focused on autonomous systems and a co-founder of Sol, a wearable e-reader. Prior to that he was an early employee at Palantir and was an adjunct faculty member at Georgetown University.

Dr. Michelle Stephens is the co-founder and Chief Nursing Officer of Oath Care which aims to provide instant answers to all your parenting questions. She has practiced nursing with a focus on pediatrics in Philadelphia, Maryland, and Washington, DC. She has been an adjunct professor at Georgetown University and received her PhD at UCSF.

In this episode we discuss:

• Their professional background and a shared hobby
• What childhood was like (spoiler: very different for each of them)
• Their decision to start a family
• Navigating miscarriages
• Faith and religion in their childhood and family life now
• Helpful parenting frameworks
• How to take care of yourself and your relationship
• How they make it all work with busy careers and busy kids

—

Where to find Trae Stephens

- Twitter / X: https://twitter.com/traestephens

- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/trae-stephens-485a811/

Where to find Dr. Michelle Stephens

- Twitter / X: https://twitter.com/mddstephens

- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/michelle-stephens-oath-care/

Where to find Adam Fishman

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

- Newsletter: http://startupdadpod.substack.com

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

- Twitter / X: https://twitter.com/fishmanaf

- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/startupdadpod/

—

In this episode, we cover:

[1:53] Welcome to the show!

[2:30] Professional backgrounds

[8:34] Shared hobby

[9:19] Childhood and growing up

[13:25] How they met

[17:40] All about their kids

[18:56] Decision to start a family

[21:47] Navigating miscarriages and support

[23:29] Faith/religion

[27:54] Having 2 kids vs. big family

[30:57] Trae's earliest memory of being a dad

[33:28] Most surprising thing about being a dad

[38:05] Company as “kids” / non-traditional roles

[42:15] Parenting frameworks

[45:44] Where they don’t agree

[47:30] Taking care of yourself/your relationship

[51:28] Pet peeves

[54:30] What a great sleep day looks like

[57:14] Thoughts on hustle culture

[59:30] Awe & wonder with your kids

[1:00:58] How to reach them

[1:01:33] Rapid fire

—

Show references:

Trae Stephens Twitter - https://twitter.com/traestephens

Oath Care- https://www.oathcare.com/

Enneagram Type Eight - https://www.enneagraminstitute.com/type-8

Enneagram Type Three - https://www.enneagraminstitute.com/type-3

SNOO - https://www.happiestbaby.com/products/snoo-smart-bassinet

The Intentional Father by Jon Tyson - https://www.amazon.com/Intentional-Father-Practical-Courage-Character/dp/0801018684

Emily Oster - “Crib Sheet” and “Expecting Better” - https://emilyoster.net/

Magic: The Gathering - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Magic:_The_Gathering

Bluey - https://www.bluey.tv/

Angel's Landing - Zion National Park - https://www.nps.gov/zion/planyourvisit/angels-landing-hiking-permits.htm

Hook - https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0102057/

Palantir - https://www.palantir.com/

Anduril - https://www.anduril.com/

Founders Fund - https://foundersfund.com/

Philadelphia Eagles - https://www.philadelphiaeagles.com/

Walsh School of Foreign Service at Georgetown University - https://sfs.georgetown.edu/

Georgetown University - https://www.georgetown.edu/

UCSF - https://www.ucsf.edu/

Wedding Crashers - https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0396269/

Peter Thiel - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peter_Thiel

SpaceX - https://www.spacex.com/

PayPal - https://www.paypal.com/us/home

Taekwondo - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Taekwondo

Monty Python and the Holy Grail - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Monty_Python_and_the_Holy_Grail

—

Bonus!

If you can figure out Trae's AIM screen name you can DM him for some Founders Fund Swag!

—

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/