1. Clarity comes when you stop doing everything
After leaving Bonobos, Andy didn’t slow down. He launched a fund, started a company, wrote a book, moved cities and became a father - all at once.
"I was doing way too much,” he said. “And I had to unwind that just to be a good parent and a decent husband."
Eventually, he adopted a new rule: one job, one mission.
That’s when he founded Pie, a new company focused on solving adult loneliness and social isolation. These days, Andy turns down almost everything - podcasts, coffee chats, board seats - not because he doesn’t care, but because he knows what matters:
Every time I say yes to something external, I’m saying no to my son.
2. Being a founder and being an executive are two different jobs
When Andy joined Walmart post-acquisition, he expected to succeed. Instead, he was passed over for the role as CMO, and the experience humbled him.
As he explained, being a founder trains you to be loud, fast and visible. But in a large organization, those same traits can backfire.
A friend and mentor offered this advice: “You need to get small.”
Andy realized that being a great employee meant knowing when to listen more than speak. It also meant that trust - not vision - was the most valuable currency in corporate life. It’s a lesson few founders are taught.
3. Fatherhood made him sharper, yet softer
Andy talks candidly about the tension between being a present parent and an ambitious builder. Like many founders, he admits that being fully present with his son can feel harder than running a company.
And yet, fatherhood gave him something nothing else could: clarity.
He now protects his time with more intention and runs his startup differently - more grounded, more team-oriented and far less reactive than during his Bonobos days.
I still have the big ideas. But now I bring people along. I don’t just run with them.
Andy’s story isn’t just about reinvention. It’s about learning to lead from a place of steadiness - at home and at work - and having the discipline to choose less in service of what matters most.
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