There’s so much truth in the article “Startuphood And Parenthood: Not For The Faint Of Heart” My wife gave birth to our first child, Calvin on November 6th. 21 days later, I launched the Syte Sleeve Kickstarter project. I told my wife there were many similarities to the two endeavors. I break it down broadly into 3 categories: Pregnancy, Delivery, Newborn. As a young parent, these are the only three stages I’m familiar with. As our boy grows up, I’m sure I’ll find new similarities between raising Calvin and growing Syte Gear.

Pregnancy
This is when we were developing the Syte Sleeve. You go through so many iterations trying to get it just right. The idea is gestating and developing into something more mature every day. You keep feeding it ideas. Brainstorm with your partner on new thoughts. As we were getting farther along in the design, certain features become distinguishable. Eventually, you realize that everything is lining up and you get very excited. Your idea is coming to life and you’ll be able to share it with everyone soon.

Delivery
This is all the planning for the launch of the Syte Sleeve. We have ideas on how this will work. Draft up our launch plan. And then as things progress, some things work, and plenty of things don’t. Reviews that you thought would work out, don’t line up. Video production runs into problems that you didn’t expect. All things that you learn from, but don’t have time to fix this time around. The launch is right around the corner!

Newborn
Congrats! Syte Sleeve has launched. We notify the media. Triple checked our website and media. Everything is looking good. Then you realize nothing in parenthood and startuphood is easy. Media doesn’t pick up. People turn down review offers. Or say they’re too busy to write up the Syte Sleeve. It keeps me up at night and I try to think of any way to stop the crying and make the situation better. I love the Syte Sleeve, and want it succeed, but others don’t think it’s as elegant and utilitarian as I thought. You can read all the books, watch all the videos, listen to all the experts. But each product is unique and you can’t apply a process to it and expect it to work. You try something, tweak it, and then try something else. You learn with each sleep-deprived night.

Three of the 4 weeks for our Kickstarter project has passed. At the current rate, the chances of it being funded are slim. The experience has been challenging, but it doesn’t make me give up hope. There are plenty of nights where I don’t feel prepared to for parenthood. But giving up won’t fix things. You can be disappointed, but you can’t stay down. Gotta get back up and keep working. The same is true with the Syte Sleeve and Syte Gear. Gotta get back up and keep working.