Smash Notes

Geek at Sea

Matt Shobe. Feedburner 2 Google and Beyond.

Matt Shobe is a father of 3 boys, a serial entrepreneur, a private pilot and a rad dad , who came to the podcast to talk about startups and what it takes to have a happy family while you are busy building a rocket ship. Matt was previously a cofounder of FeedBurner which he and Dick Costolo (former CEO of Twitter) sold to Google for north of $100 million…

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  1. Who Is Matt Shobe

    at 0:18 · Transcript

    Matt Shobe is a startup founder and entrepreneur. He was previously a co-founder of what Might AI, Feedburner, and Spyonit. He is an alum of Purdue University and is currently residing in Seattle, Washington.

    Matt is an entrepreneur who successfully co-founded and sold a number of companies and throughout all of that time, he was a dad, raising children while also making waves in business.

  2. How Do You Achieve Work-life Balance?

    at 5:00 · Transcript

    For the whole work-life balance to work you really just need to set your own barriers. Be 100% available to work when it is work time, and then be fully present and focused on the family when it is family time. Be the most present parent you can be and the most accountable and responsible co-worker.

  3. What Was Company Called SpyOnIt

    at 7:56 · Transcript

    SpyOnit was a software started by Matt Shobe, Dick Costolo, Eric Lunt and Steve Olechowski. It was the first alerts platforms that could tell me when something I care about changes on the internet and in real life.

  4. Can You Start a Company While Having Children?

    at 7:56 · Transcript

    Most certainly it is possible to start a company while also being a parent. When Matt Shobe, Dick Costolo, Eric Lunt and Steve Olechowski started their first company called SpyOnit, they had all already had kids, which allowed them to have similar mindsets and to be on the same page about working hard but also going home to their family. Co-founders all had empathy for each other and were willing and able to help each other when needed.

  5. What Does FeedBurner Cofounder Matt Shobe Say People Miss About a New Baby?

    at 9:29 · Transcript

    On Geek at Sea, FeedBurner cofounder Matt Shobe tells host Kirill Zubovsky that people without children have no idea how much physical and emotional exhaustion a baby causes. Matt, who sold FeedBurner to Google with Dick Costolo, says Eric and Steve, who were building alongside him, had their first kids within two or three years of his, so they understood it. When his first son, Austin, was born healthy, Matt still came home from the hospital with no sense of what to do next. He says the exhaustion is the part friends without kids cannot see.

  6. Did Matt Shobe's First Baby Come With a Manual?

    at 9:29 · Transcript

    No. On Geek at Sea, FeedBurner cofounder Matt Shobe tells Kirill Zubovsky that he and his wife drove their first son, Austin, home in a silver Passat, carried him up to a third-floor condo, and set the baby on the kitchen counter. Then they looked at each other: nobody had handed them a manual. Matt did not know the right order for feeding, changing, and watching him, and he was afraid he was already doing it wrong. He was given parenting books, including What to Expect When You're Expecting, and did not read them. He says they pattern-matched other parents and mostly winged it.

  7. What Does It Feel Like to Have a Brand New Child?

    at 10:17 · Transcript

    The child does not come with an instruction manual. You don't know what you will do next, but somehow you figure it out along the way.

  8. How Did Shobe and Co Start SpyOnIt and Startup Life in the 90s

    at 14:50 · Transcript

    The team was consulting to pay the bills while working on their startup. Meanwhile, startup bubble was growing. Napster just hit its prime, Webvan was going full speed, T1 internet line were the bomb.

  9. How to Delegate Work Between Startup Cofounders

    at 17:43 · Transcript

    You can't get anywhere without working hard, but you can work smart and have overlapping skillsets. Care about each other's work, but focus on your own and do that well. Let each other do their part. CTO should be technical, CEO should be raising money, CPO can build a product and talk to users...etc.

  10. Can You Work Hard on a Startup While Also Being a Good Dad

    at 17:44 · Transcript

    You can't get anywhere without you know. There's nowhere to hide and you either contributing and adding value or you hitting the bricks. But by being smarter about how you do work as a co-founding team can make a huge difference.

  11. Do Routines Greatly Improve Your Life as a Parent

    at 24:25 · Transcript

    According to Matt Shobe, having a predictable schedule can really help to separate work time and time with family, making it easier for all involved. The working parent would know when to stop and switch gears, and the family would know when to expect time with dad.

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