Becoming a Dad Made Me a Better Founder — 5 Lessons from the Chaos
Imagine launching a business while raising a newborn — pulling all-nighters with a crying baby, deadlines, diapers and investor calls.
That’s exactly what Sid Masson, CEO & Co-founder of Wokelo AI, did — as he founded his venture and had a child just months apart.
Instead of breaking under the pressure, he found that parenting gave him unexpected lessons in leadership, resilience, and adaptability — ones that shaped his success as an entrepreneur.
5 unfiltered lessons from growing a business and a newborn
1. Your child and your business completely depend on you — and you take full responsibility
Your newborn doesn’t care about your meetings, deadlines, or yet another last-minute client problem. And that’s fair — their life, well-being, and happiness depend entirely on you, and that’s something you have to accept and learn to manage. I believe business is the same thing. You have to realize that the responsibility is all yours, and you’d better not lose sight of it. Your active involvement is important at every stage of both your baby’s growth and business.
2. You can’t do it alone (and honestly, you shouldn’t)
You may think that you’ll make it all alone or that you’ll do it better than anyone else. But I learned that this is a fast track to burnout. A great co-parent makes all the difference in raising a child, just as your team does in building a successful business. Taking on a co-founder? Make sure you can coexist with them — just like in parenting, you’re all in this together for the long haul. I figured that learning to delegate, ask for help, or trust others is not a weakness, it’s a necessity — at home and at work.
3. Patience is your greatest asset
Before I had a baby, I thought I understood patience. I was wrong. Nothing really prepares you for a screaming baby at 3 AM who just won’t sleep, no matter what you try. It’s the ultimate patience test. Business isn’t much different — things never move as fast as you hope. Some days, you just feel stuck. But just like raising a kid, patience and consistency pay off. The sleepless nights, the setbacks, the doubts — it all adds up to something bigger if you just keep going.
4. Small wins matter more
Honestly, I used to think of success only in terms of the big moments. When my daughter was born, everything changed. The smallest things just started to seem huge — her first laugh, the way she grabbed my finger, or the night she finally slept through. I never thought I’d celebrate things like that, but I did. That shifted my perspective on work, too. It’s easy to chase the big milestones, but real progress is in the small wins — a happy customer, a team that just clicks, fixing a problem before it blows up. That’s what keeps you moving forward.
5. You can’t pour from an empty cup — so take a moment for yourself
Making time for yourself is crucial when you’re a parent of a newborn — and just as important when you’re a business founder. None of the previous advice will work if you’re physically too exhausted to change a diaper or so burned out that your brain stops functioning in a meeting. We often forget that we can’t be a loving dad or a great leader if we run on empty when it comes to inner peace or energy. It’s not selfish to take some time for yourself to recharge — so no one disturbs you. It allows you to be 100% full for the people who need you most.
Written by Sid Masson
