Ryan Johson is the Chief Product Officer at CallRail a marketing and AI technology company. He was an early pioneer in the AI industry doing fascinating work on computer vision for anomaly detection in videos and images. Ryan is a husband and father of two kids and a fellow Midwesterner.
In this episode we discuss:
His Midwestern upbringing and the work ethic that instilled in him
The challenges of maintaining friendships with parents who have kids at different ages than yours
The worst parenting advice he's ever received
How to foster interests in his kids without coming on too strong
How he and his wife navigated the decision for one of them to step back from the workforce during the pandemic
Muckle-Wells Syndrome - his daughter's rare autoinflammatory disease and the process for figuring it out and getting her treatment
Mistakes he's made as a dad and lessons learned
Listen, watch and subscribe: Apple, Spotify, YouTube, Overcast and Google.
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Where to find Ryan Johnson
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ryandjohnson/
- Twitter (aka X): https://twitter.com/rydavidjohnson
Where to find Adam Fishman
- Newsletter: https://www.fishmanafnewsletter.com
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/adamjfishman/
- Twitter (aka X): https://twitter.com/fishmanaf
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/startupdadpod/
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In this episode, we cover:
[1:47] Ryan's professional background
[5:56] Ryan's Midwestern childhood
[8:54] His family's influence on his career
[10:30] How he met wife and an introduction to his kids
[11:45] Maintaining friendships with parents of different aged kids
[14:20] Worst parenting advice he's ever received
[16:05] About Becky, his wife
[18:00] Why his wife stepped back from work during the pandemic and the conversation around that decision
[23:00] Their decision to start a family
[24:08] His earliest memory of being a dad
[26:04] The most surprising parts of being a dad
[27:46] Which of his kids are like him or his wife
[28:23] Fostering kid’s interests in art, sports and other creative pursuits
[32:08] His daughter’s auto inflammatory disease
[41:44] Where he and his wife don’t align sometimes
[43:44] Sacrifices he's made as a parent
[46:12] His version of work/life balance
[48:50] Mistakes made and lessons learned as a dad
[51:00] Rapid fire round
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Show references:
Oracle: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oracle_Corporation
ChatGPT: https://chat.openai.com
General Motors: https://www.gm.com/
University of Michigan: https://umich.edu/
Albion College: https://www.albion.edu/
Muckle-Wells Syndrom: https://rarediseases.org/rare-diseases/muckle-wells-syndrome/
Mario Kart: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mario_Kart
CallRail: https://www.callrail.com/
The NoseFrida: https://frida.com/products/nosefrida
Saginaw, Michigan: https://www.saginaw-mi.com/
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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/
Fostering interests in your children, maintaining friendships and pandemic tradeoffs | Ryan Johnson (father of 2, CPO at CallRail)