Cover of John LennonOne thing I appreciate about the Fred Wilson family is that all of them blog. I really, really like that. It is not like they are odd, and I salivate for juicy details - although, as for some of Joanne's food posts. None of that. They are very normal as people. I have not met the kids (and that's fine with me), but I have met Fred and Joanne. I do visit Fred's blog near daily. The guy just recently got called officially the top VC in the world for the kind of return he has shown for the money he has raised. But I have followed him at his blog for two years before that admiring his excellence, and the quality of his mind. He is also just a good person. I have blogged about him a few times. More than a few times. I have reblogged their three children on Tumblr multiple times. I have taken pleasure.
This crew is like the First Family of the NY tech ecosystem. And they are accessible. One day, some day, I am going to ask for Joanne Wilson's autograph.
One thing the Wilson couple talk frankly about is gender and gender roles. And I really, really appreciate that. We might or might not disagree, but I get suspicious of people who simply don't believe in bringing it up as a topic of conversation.
Joanne was making three times as much money before Fred Wilson was not the Fred Wilson we know today. I take that in stride, but there are actually guys who might have struggled with that.
One day Joanne called up Fred to say there was no money in the bank, how did he want her to get grocery? He said put it on the credit card. That was a week before Fred sold Geocities to Yahoo. I got that story from a comment Fred once left at his blog.
My Non Personhood Of 2009, 2010
Chris Dixon Kind Of Person
You have to admire people like Fred Wilson and Chris Dixon. They were not born with silver spoons in their mouth. Their success as investors is authentic like that. I find their stories inspiring. Smarts and hard work and respect for people can take you places.
And today on Tumblr I came across a Gotham Gal post that had been reblogged by Fred.
A Mind Blowing Party
The Wilsons Were In Cairo Recently
The Gotham Gal
So Joanne Wilson dragged along Fred Wilson to New York City. (Thank you, Joanne) She was making three times as much. Later she decided to take time off from work to spend time with her young children. You know what, I really admire that. It does not have to be the woman each instance, but I also admire John Lennon taking five years out of his life to raise a son. In the mean time Fred took off. And that has allowed Joanne to do a lot of investing on her own. She also is very into the city's philanthropic circles. I personally pretty much draw a blank there, so I am glad she has a blog.
So let's go read the blog post.
The Gotham Gal: Still CEO of the Wilson household: as my kids started their exit strategy from our house ...... about 70% of my time was being spent on them and family stuff. ..... Once I pivot or come up with a plan it usually is like jumping on a rocket ship as I like to get things done...... I had been watching Lockhart from afar and loved what he was doing. I knew he was starting to look for funding and so I reached out to him. That move was the first pivot in the direction of regaining my own identity and life back ...... baking cookies, having dinner parties, doing construction projects to buying a car, doing a project with one of the kids, helping them clean out their closet or researching our next dog ....... One investment turned into about eighteen different projects that I am involved with at different levels. ...... Some are investments, some are non-profits and some are in the works so each take up different commitments at different times. On top of that I am blogging daily. ....... I have not left my old job which is CEO of the Wilson house. ....... I still make sure the refrigerator is filled, I still have dinner parties ( I do adore them ), I still bake, I still make dinner most nights, I still make sure the kids are getting what they need and I do have 2 still at home, I am still planning our travel vacations, I am working on two huge construction projects as well as a few smaller ones, I am still making sure that the windows are getting cleaned when they need to be, I am still making sure the trains run on time in our house.Only a family of investors will use the phrase "exit strategy" to the idea of kids going to college. We all get carried away at one time or the other. Also she uses the word "pivot" to describe rearranging her life after the kids are grown and gone.
Image via Wikipedia"On top of that I am blogging daily." Ha! That's the only way.
Women who manage both homework and work should be extra attractive to investors. If you can multi-task, I mean.
The knowledge economy allows for much flexibility of physical presence, and that is a boon to both productivity and family life. I work from home, and I am not even married. I far prefer working from home to the idea of a coworking space. If anything I end up overworking. I don't have discipline issues.
If I am ever lucky enough to have children, I'd love to do the John Lennon/Joanne Wilson thing, although realistically speaking it might not be a case of taking five years off, more like squeezing as many hours out of the week as possible to spend joy time with kids. I just love being around kids. I have long talked about becoming a very, very part time elementary school teacher on the side. Kids are joy. I was super popular with the kids of single moms at college.
