Startup Dad Tips for Parenting a Toddler with Head of Growth from Adobe | Dad of 1
Michael Leibovich is the Head of Growth at Adobe, but at home, he’s dad to a curious two-and-a-half-year-old and husband to a full-time working partner. With a previous career as a touring musician and a current career in creative tech leadership at companies like Vimeo and Abstract, Michael brings an emotionally grounded, inventive lens to fatherhood.
In this episode, Michael shares how parenting has reshaped his worldview from his leadership style at work to his daily routines at home.
- Patience in parenting and work: Michael reflects on the contrast between startup urgency and toddler-paced mornings. Learning to slow down and “trust the process” has become a guiding principle both at home and professionally.
- Changing the channel: One of Michael’s favorite frameworks for toddler meltdowns is simple: change the channel. Whether it’s bath-time resistance or cereal drama, he shares how quick pivots can shift the energy and restore peace.
- Tech meets parenting: Michael talks about building a custom AI-powered meal-planning app called Picky Eater to handle his daughter’s shifting food preferences, and how it's just one example of tech meeting real-life parenting.
- Parenting without Google: Instead of doomscrolling for answers, Michael and his wife formed a text thread with parents they admire. It’s a real-time advisory board filled with insight, lived experience, and calm advice.
- Music, creativity, and messy art: A former touring musician, Michael is intentional about nurturing creativity at home. From drum time to digitizing toddler scribbles, he shares how he’s creating space for curiosity.
Where to find Mike Leibovich
Where to find Adam Fishman
- FishmanAF Newsletter: www.FishmanAFNewsletter.com
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/adamjfishman/
- Instagram: https://ww.instagram.com/startupdadpod/
In this episode, we cover:
(00:00) Introducing Michael Leibovich
(02:02) The patience of parenting a toddler
(03:41) Balancing work and family life
(05:13) Navigating toddler tantrums
(07:44) Caring for aging parents
(11:09) Nurturing creativity in children
(14:41) The torrent of preschool artwork
(16:38) Michael's musical journey
(19:47) Transition from music to tech
(20:38) Unique parenting advice approach
(28:43) Emergency c-section and complications
(31:55) First moments with daughter
(34:40) Advice for expecting parents
(42:23) Balancing parenting approaches
(46:03) Technology and parenting
(48:07) AI Solution for picky eaters
(51:26) Advice to younger self
(54:43) Lightning Round: Parenting products and hacks
Resources From This Episode:
Fidget Spinner Suction Cup: https://www.amazon.com/Suction-Spinner-Sensory-Popping-Auditory/dp/B0BVGZGN3Q
NoseFrida: https://frida.com/products/nosefrida
The Goonies: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0089218/
Back to the Future: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0088763/
Adobe: https://www.adobe.com/
Behance: https://www.behance.net/
AppFolio: https://www.appfolio.com/
Vimeo: https://vimeo.com/
Abstract: https://www.abstract.us/
Ben Erez Episode: youtube.com/watch?v=st2qxaybgw8
Severance: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt11280740/
Adobe Fresco: https://www.adobe.com/products/fresco.html
Pure Volume: https://www.purevolume.com/
Napster: https://www.napster.com/us/
Limewire: https://limewire.com/
Cal Poly: https://www.calpoly.edu/
Myspace Records: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MySpace_Records
Hanson: https://hanson.net/home
Gin Blossoms: https://www.ginblossoms.net/
Jimmy Eat World: https://www.jimmyeatworld.com/
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0421715/
The Giving Tree by Shel Silverstein: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/the-giving-tree-shel-silverstein/1100830900
Lovable: https://lovable.dev/
Bolt: https://bolt.new/
https://open.spotify.com/
Crocs: https://www.crocs.com/
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