“Tell me, what is it you plan to do with your one wild and precious life?”
“Daddy! Where’s my magic wand?!” screamed Siyona, my four-year old daughter.
“I’m sorry. I’ll be back,” I told a potential investor on a videoconference.
Previously, I would have lamented this interruption. But we live in a new world. Work is life and life is work. Balancing is out and juggling is in. The lines between parenting and working are increasingly blurred, but I am here for all of it.
It took me a while to realize that having kids adds value even in business. I had thought that the guiding light for my biotech startup would be the prospect of saving lives and the opportunity to create generational wealth. But soon after starting, I was increasingly drawn to the idea that it was important for my kids to see that their beloved daddy works hard. I never want them to think that there is a tradeoff between being a success in the boardroom and a success in your kids’ toy room.
The investor from that meeting committed funding, and I helped my daughter find her wand. But little does she know that she and her brother are the real secrets to my success.
— Shardule Shah