Skip to main content

Startup Day 119

Something I'm wrestling with is what working as a founder looks like. I spoke with an investor last week who recalls 80 hour workweeks when she launched her startup. Then she referenced the transient stage of young children like mine. Was she implying I ought not go all-out in this phase of parenting? 
Then faith kicks in and God nudges me to seek Him for the next step to take. Sure, I need to envision what 3- and 5-year plans for the business look like but the reality is in His hands. It's easy to get caught up in what others think and what the future holds. It's a lot harder, for me at least, to remain grounded in the here and now. It's harder for me to be faithful to using this day for God's glory and for good and to avoid living in the future.
There's a lot wrapped up in this struggle but it's a good one for me to engage in. It would be easy to tread the path of the workaholic founder aiming for all the investment and all the business glory and entirely leave out the real reason I do anything: for God's glory. When that same investor asked, "what do you want out of this," I thought, "God's glory." Empowered Together can communicate to parents their inherent worth as image bearers of God. It can call these parents into community where they'll find encouragement for their journeys. It can join them in bearing the burdens of parenting kids with special needs. THAT'S what I want out of this!

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Rare Disease Day 2024

Today's Rare Disease Day. There's sometimes a particular weightiness to life with a rare disease. All the appointments, emergencies, traumas, doctors, therapists, medicines, opinions, schedules and upset schedules. My touchpoint is being mom to my precious girl with Wiedemann-Steiner Syndrome  (WSS). You'd have to spend a day or week shadowing me to know what it's really like. Doesn't that sound alienating? As though you couldn't possibly imagine if you're not living it? Well, maybe. But think about a time of immense grief you've lived through, or a time when your world seemed to be falling apart around you and it felt like everyone else was completely unaffected. I suppose it's a bit like that. You might have thought that those around you couldn't possibly know how that experience felt to you. A couple weeks ago, I started keeping a list of all the extraordinary things that happened in my life due to my daughter's rare disease. I learned a c
1 comment
Read more

How I Got a Blister from a Cowbell

The bullhorn sounded and he was off, swimming his heart out, across a 50m stretch of lake as deep as his arm is long. My youngest, William, competed in his third year of the  Race4Chase  triathlon in August. When we first applied, I reflected on how I hoped this triathlon camp would allow Will to do something that was entirely his. It would be an opportunity to spread his wings apart from his sister's influence. For siblings of kids living with disabilities, this kind of autonomy is life giving. Back at the lakeside, I was watching Will from a distance and ringing a cowbell like no ones business. Will ran up from the waterfront and we cheered him on. He transitioned to the bike portion and we cheered him on. When he came into view at the end of the bike and transitioned to the run, the final segment of the race, we cheered him on. All the while, that cowbell was clanging. When Will sprinted across the finish line, there was no stopping him (or the cowbell). Thinking about that mome
1 comment
Read more

Startup Day 875: piloting in New Haven

Iteration is emblematic of startups. For example: From last year's pilot , we learned that parents and adults with disabilities were looking for recommended resources.  We built the Empowered Together app and tried crowd-sourcing those recommendations.  In our New Haven pilot, we're bringing database building in-house by listing accessible food, arts, and recreational businesses in greater New Haven.  Thankfully, we have thought partners in this endeavor at the City of New Haven and at community disability orgs. We are working with a Quinnipiac student and awaiting word on additional grant funding. We're taking the right next step in changing the social system to be accessible and inclusive of People with Disabilities.
Post a Comment
Read more