Jamie Lee is the Founder of JME Labs, a consulting business supporting startups and small businesses. Her husband, Jeff Okita, is the VP of Product at Tilt, a leave management platform. Together, they’re raising their 14-month-old daughter while managing demanding careers and a shared vision of parenting. We talked about:

• Building a strong support system: How Jamie and Jeff rely on an extended team of experts, family, and tools to make daily life manageable.
• Creating structure through rituals and check-ins: The methods they use to stay coordinated, including weekly planning and monthly reviews.
• Designing life around core values: Why they prioritize individual and shared time to stay connected to who they were before becoming parents.
• Traveling with a baby across continents: What 15 flights and two international trips have taught them about adaptability and preparation.
• Reevaluating the role of work: How becoming parents led both of them to rethink what success and fulfillment mean in their careers.
• Connection as a two-way street: Jeff’s take on bonding as a non-birthing parent and the moments that helped him feel truly needed.
• Challenging traditional roles in parenting: The decisions they’ve made to balance the mental, physical, and emotional load of raising a child.
• Preparing for an AI-powered future: Their early thoughts on how to raise a child in a world shaped by fast-moving technology.

Where to find Jamie Lee

• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jamieannlee/
• JME Labs: https://www.jamiealee.com/

Where to find Jeff Okita

• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jeffokita/
• Tilt: https://hellotilt.com/

Where to find Adam Fishman

• FishmanAF Newsletter: www.FishmanAFNewsletter.com
• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/adamjfishman/
• Instagram: https://ww.instagram.com/startupdadpod/

In this episode, we cover:
(00:00) Introducing Jamie and Jeff

(02:20) What is the “extended team” in their household

(04:35) Emergency childcare plans and calendar blow-ups

(05:08) The four C’s of parenting: Coordination, Communication, Compromise, Creativity

(06:06) Running, nursing, errands, and multitasking hacks

(07:27) Rituals for communication and monthly check-ins

(08:38) Me, Me, and We Nights

(11:09) Where their parenting systems came from

(13:33) Hiring a postpartum doula and learning on the fly

(14:22) 15 flights with a baby and international travel strategies

(17:39) Potato, plant, and puppy phases of babyhood

(20:14) Blowouts on the road and travel horror stories

(24:34) Not losing yourself post-baby

(28:59) Rethinking the role of work after having a child

(34:07) Building connection with your baby and rejecting the parenting default

(54:57) Lightning Round: parenting quirks, pre-baby routines, and toddler travel wins

Resources from this episode:
ChatGPT.com

Die With Zero: Getting All You Can from Your Money and Your Life by Bill Perkins: https://bndl.co/3XlKH6e

Blank Check: https://imdb.to/3Vjc3T5

Planet Earth: https://imdb.to/3XlYoTo

—

Want to sponsor this podcast? Email [email protected]
For Startup Dad Merch: www.startupdadshop.com