Luke Millar is the SVP of product and engineering at Medium, where you can discover stories, thinking and expertise from writers on just about any topic. He joined there after the company he co-founded was acquired by them in 2021. He has been a technology leader at Shift, Twitter and Microsoft. He is a husband and the father of five kids. In today's conversation we discussed:
How to structure and take paternity leave as a startup founder
Building individual relationships with each of your kids when you have so many of them
How he handled the transition to working from home with a full household
His wife's recent and ongoing battle with cancer
How cancer has become a big part of their parenting lives and the support systems they've needed to navigate it
Mistakes he's made as a Dad
Listen now on Apple, Spotify, Overcast and YouTube.
—
Where to find Luke Millar
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/luketmillar/
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/ltm
- Medium: https://medium.com/@ltm
Where to find Adam Fishman
- FishmanAF Newsletter: www.FishmanAFNewsletter.com
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/adamjfishman/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/startupdadpod/
—
In this episode, we cover
[1:37] Welcome
[2:52] A “typical” day with 5 kids
[4:42] Luke's Childhood
[5:29] All about Luke's wife
[8:30] Building a pro-parent company
[11:07] Insane flexibility
[12:11] Paternity leave
[16:59] Building relationships within a large family
[20:14] Systems for working at home
[23:42] Awkward work at home moment?
[26:26] Advice for younger Luke
[28:24] Ridiculous piece of advice to ignore
[31:04] How has his parenting style evolved?
[33:06] How do you go out in public with a large family?
[35:44] How do you and your partner align?
[38:47] Getting on the same page
[40:04] His wife’s battle with cancer
[46:17] Recharging your batteries
[49:26] A mistake he made as a father
[51:42] Where to follow along with Luke
[52:58] Rapid fire
[1:00:16] Thank you
—
Show references:
iPod Touch: https://support.apple.com/ipod-touch
Inside Out: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt2096673/
Encanto: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt2953050/
Lost: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0411008/
Third Eye Blind: https://www.thirdeyeblind.com/
—
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/
Taking Paternity Leave As A Founder | Luke Millar (father of 5, SVP Product & Eng at Medium)