I was kicking off a major fundraising campaign when I learned my wife had gone into labour. I remember finishing off the final slides from the hospital room while she dozed off after a gruelling delivery, with our little one swaddled beside her.
It was a sacred moment that deserved my full attention. But there I was, still juggling Slack and Google Docs.
I didn’t take paternity leave, though I desperately wanted to. As a founder, you don’t have the privilege of an HR department or leave policy. You are the policy, and the risk of stepping back mid-fundraise was something I could not afford. With our series round underway, even a single day away felt like a make-or-break situation. It’s a decision I still wrestle with.
When I look back, I realise what I missed. There is a quiet magic about those sleepless nights hustling, not for a project, but for your child. My partner had her hands full with a newborn and a spouse who wasn’t always there when she needed. As for me, my mind somehow always drifted back to work or my email inbox.
As a founder, taking leave doesn’t just expose you to logistical challenges; it’s an identity crisis. You’re wired to believe that stepping back might slow down momentum or might send the wrong message to investors, or worse, create space for doubt.
The last thing you want is for people to think you’re not “all in.” And you worry — what if things fall apart?
Here’s the harder truth: one has to compromise at times, and things do suffer on the work front. I didn’t burn bridges with investors, but I did lose out on something more precious — time I can never reclaim and moments that my child deserved more than anything.
This equation is all the more complicated for female CEOs. Not only do they have to recover physically, but they also face double the burden of being a leader and a perfect new mother in the same breath.
It’s easier for men to return to work without judgment, but that privilege can be a trap. No one will stop you, but that doesn’t mean you should keep going.
When your partner goes on leave, the pressure also intensifies. As the CEO of a startup, you are forced to be the sole breadwinner of a growing family. There’s no margin for a fallback or slowing down. Success brings the joint responsibility of holding it all together.
The recent “Dad Strikes” in the UK gives us hope that the mindset is changing. The growing calls for six weeks of statutory paternity leave could be revolutionary. Certainly, it’s a step forward, but the startup world is beyond its purview. What startups need is internal self-regulation, and a work culture that permits us to pause.
I didn’t take paternity leave. But the experience left me with a profound lesson if I am lucky enough to be blessed with another one. I want to make that leap of faith, shut my laptop, and live in the moment.
And, above all, I want to remind myself that the title of Dad is as important as founder or CEO. One that isn’t for a quarter or a funding cycle, but for a lifetime.
Varun Bhanot is Co-founder and CEO of MAGIC AI, the cutting-edge AI mirror that makes high-quality fitness coaching more accessible. Under his leadership, MAGIC AI has raised $5 million in venture funding and earned multiple industry accolades — including being named one of TIME’s Best Inventions of 2024. As a new father as well as founder, Varun shares candid insights on balancing parenting and entrepreneurship in his bi-monthly guest column, Startup Daddy.
