Presence Over Proximity

Mike Rome is the founder of moonwater, a performance marketing studio that helps startups grow, and a longtime operator in growth stage tech where he previously served as a CMO and growth leader. Before starting his own firm, he spent a decade inside venture-backed companies building teams and learning the craft of marketing. Mike and his wife Kate are parents of three boys and built their life around entrepreneurship, resilience, and perspective after navigating their son’s heart condition while launching his company. We discussed: 

• Starting a company later in life: Why Mike believes the advice to launch startups young is a myth, and how having kids can sharpen focus and urgency. 
• The myth of founder flexibility: Why running your own business doesn’t automatically mean more family time and the intentional tradeoffs required to design it. 
• An accidental path to entrepreneurship: How quitting a new job after six weeks pushed Mike to start advising, which unexpectedly became his company. 
• Building a company through crisis: What it was like launching a business while navigating his son’s rare heart condition and repeated hospital stays. 
• The parenting power law: Applying startup frameworks like ICE and power laws to focus on the parenting moments that matter most. 
• Presence over proximity: The mistake Mike made early as a founder-dad: confusing simply being around with actually being present. 

Where to find Mike Rome

• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mike-rome/ 
• Moonwater website: https://moonwater.co/ 

Where to find Adam Fishman

• FishmanAF Newsletter: www.FishmanAFNewsletter.com 
• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/adamjfishman/ 
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/startupdadpod/ 
• X: https://x.com/fishmanaf

In this episode, we cover:

(00:00) Welcome Mike Rome!

(02:35) The myth of starting startups young: why kids can sharpen focus

(10:19) Starting a business with a family: turning an experiment into a company

(15:08) Burning the boats: why real commitment matters when going solo

(17:15) Gavin’s heart condition: navigating a family health crisis while building a company

(23:19) When life hits hard: perspective, expectations, and resilience

(39:39) The fishing realization: discovering the difference of shared time and shared interests

(40:09) Bring kids into your passions: why parents should lead some adventures

(40:54) Ignore the highlight reel: the danger of social media comparisons

(42:57) Redefining success: gratitude, ambition, and moving goalposts

(45:15) Presence over proximity: why simply being around isn’t enough

(47:14) The dinner disaster: a dad weekend story that didn’t go as planned

(52:59) The messy years: why chaos with young kids is something you’ll eventually miss

(54:11) The Letter to Nirvana: a lesson on craft, conviction, and authenticity

(59:40) Lightning round: dad hacks, dishwasher debates, and minivan takes 

Resources From This Episode:

Steve Albini’s Letter to Nirvana: https://faroutmagazine.co.uk/steve-albini-letter-to-nirvana/ Impact, Confidence, Effort (ICE) Framework: https://www.productplan.com/glossary/ice-scoring-model/
Reforge (Growth Programs Mentioned in Discussion): https://www.reforge.com/

Feherty (Clothing Store): https://fahertybrand.com/
The Sandlot (Film): https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0108037/
The Goonies (Film): https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0089218/
Luca (Film): https://www.imdb.com/title/tt12801262/

Home Alone (Film): https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0099785/ 

iPad: https://www.apple.com/ipad/
Kia Telluride (SUV): https://www.kia.com/us/en/telluride

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