Be Nice, Try Hard, Have Fun: Building Connection in Blended Families with Brynn Putnam & Kevin Thau

The Board: Fostering Family Connection

• 💡 Brynn Putnam, founder of Mirror, and Kevin Thau, a tech leader and investor, created The Board to enhance family connection.
• 🎯 The product aims to use technology to bring families together, enabling shared experiences rather than isolating individuals on screens.
• 👨‍👩‍👧‍👦 The inspiration stemmed from their blended family with children ranging from toddlers to college age, observing a lack of interactive engagement.

Entrepreneurial Drive and Partnership

• 🚀 Brynn's entrepreneurial spirit is fueled by personal frustration or illogical situations, leading her to build solutions like Mirror and The Board.
• 🤝 Their professional partnership thrives on Brynn's detail-oriented execution and Kevin's big-picture vision and perspective.
• ✨ Kevin has a track record of identifying "huge things" in tech, such as Twitter, based on the right people, product, and timing.

Parenting Philosophy and Challenges

• 🔑 Kevin's core parenting philosophy for his daughters is to "be nice, try hard, and have fun," a mantra adopted by the family.
• 🧠 Brynn, a recovering perfectionist from her ballet background, acknowledges this trait influences her parenting, especially with her son whose interests differ from hers.
• ⚠️ Kevin struggles with over-planning perfect family activities, often needing to be reminded that simple presence and undivided attention are more valuable.

Personal Growth and Self-Awareness

• 🌱 Brynn's experience of losing control after selling her company helped her identify her perfectionism and need for control.
• 🧘‍♀️ She strives to resist imprinting herself onto her children, aiming instead to help them actualize their own identities.
• ✅ The family mantra helps Brynn cultivate empathy and let go of over-optimization, finding joy in the present moment.