When I first started thinking about the future, I knew I wanted to build something meaningful a company that could make a real impact. That dream came before I ever thought about starting a family. I ended up founding Diligent Robotics first, then taking the next big step: becoming a mom.
My wife and I now have two little ones our oldest is two years and seven months, and our youngest just turned ten months. She gave birth to our first child, and when it came time for our second, she told me, “It’s your turn.” She wasn’t kidding.
Before kids, my life was structured with precision gym days, predictable lunch breaks, long stretches of deep work. I thrived on that rhythm. Parenthood, however, rewired my entire sense of time. I still believe in balance, but not in the traditional 24-hour sense. Someone once told me that balance depends on your timeframe that if you try to achieve it daily, you’ll fail. But if you stretch it across weeks or months, it starts to make sense. That mindset has been key to maintaining both my company and my sanity.
These days, I plan everything around breast-pumping. My smartwatch wakes me up at six in the morning. The first thing I do even before coffee is check Slack and email. Diligent operates 24/7, supporting hospitals that rely on our robots to keep workflows running smoothly, so mornings often start with quick triage. Then it’s time for my first pump of the day.
Caffeine has become a science experiment. I make this strange half-decaf, half-regular mix because I’m trying to minimize caffeine while breastfeeding. I joke that it’s a compromise between survival and responsibility. Pumping every three to four hours keeps my supply steady, so my schedule is structured around those windows. Meetings, meals, and work sessions all fit between them.
While I’m pumping, I often stay at my desk catching up on emails or reviewing progress reports. It’s multitasking at its finest, though not exactly glamorous. At night, around 9 p.m., I usually get hungry again something that never happened before I had kids. I’ll grab a bowl of Greek yogurt with fruit and peanuts for a protein hit. Then, at 9:30, I log back into work to finish tasks, check in on any late developments, and plan out my next day’s pumping schedule around upcoming meetings. My final pump of the day happens at 10:30 p.m., just before I head to bed.
Motherhood as a founder has opened my eyes to the gaps in how professional environments support parents especially mothers. One gripe I’ve had, though it might sound small, says a lot. I’ve been to countless conferences where there’s nowhere to pump. At one event with over 2,000 attendees, not a single mother’s room was available. I ended up standing in a bathroom stall for 20 minutes. It was demoralizing.
Only one conference the Bezos Mars Conference really got it right. They had a dedicated mother’s room with a livestream of the sessions, so you didn’t miss key discussions. That level of thoughtfulness is rare but so deeply appreciated. It’s something I think we need to talk about more. Working mothers shouldn’t have to choose between being present in their careers and managing basic needs like pumping. Thankfully, airports are starting to do better I’ve discovered that most have great mother’s rooms now.
Like most working parents, I rely heavily on a support system. We have two part-time nannies not because we need both at once, but as a backup plan in case one gets sick. My parents are also incredibly involved. They often fly in and stay with us for months at a time to help with the kids. Even with that, there are still days when every lifeline has been used. I once spoke to a colleague who said, “I pulled every favor last week every lifeline and when the last one was gone, I just couldn’t make that investor meeting.” It happens. And you learn to accept that some things will have to wait.
I’ve been fortunate to have strong mentors throughout my academic and professional journey, including my cofounder, who was also my Ph.D. advisor. She once told me something I’ll never forget: “There’s never a perfect time to start a family. Life will always be complicated. Do what’s best for you, and the rest will work out.”
That advice has stayed with me. Founding a company while raising two children isn’t easy, but I’ve learned that it doesn’t have to be perfect it just has to be possible. The chaos is real, but so is the joy. And if I can build a company that helps others through innovation while raising little humans at home, then maybe that’s what real balance looks like after all.
