Today we are excited to have Paul and John, co-founders of Fathercraft on The Mag. John and Paul are determined to demystify new parenthood, especially for dads. Read more about Paul and John, their passion for inclusivity, how they initiated their work relationship, and more below!

Tell us your story! We’d love to hear a little bit about yourselves and the journey that you’re on.

Hi, we’re John and Paul, co-founders of Fathercraft. We’re brothers-in-law (John is married to Paul’s sister).

John: I live in St. Louis, Missouri with my wife and two sons, Oliver, 8, and Calvin, 3.

Paul: I live in Denver, Colorado with my wife and two daughters, Kenzie, 7, and Ruby, 4.

We created Fathercraft to provide high-quality content and tools for the modern father. So that includes in-depth reviews on baby and kid gear, online courses for dads-to-be, and a diaper bag we’re designing. just for dads. We believe that content and products created with dads in mind can help dads be more involved, more confident parents.

What inspired you to start Fathercraft? Why is the representation of fatherhood so important in modern parenthood?

Paul: We both became dads around the same time. And since we're family, we ended up talking a lot about our shared experiences. We both realized that we wanted to be involved parents and that we’d both been on the same search for resources. There just wasn’t parenting content out there for guys like us. Most of the resources we found were created for moms, and though some of them were excellent, they just didn’t speak to us.

John: Part of me wishes I was more involved in the early stages of preparation than I was. For me, that regret was a big motivator in wanting to create Fathercraft.

Paul: So, we started Fathercraft to be that resource we wish we’d found when becoming dads.

The archetype of the dad in the hospital lounge smoking cigars and shaking hands with other new dads, then heads back to the golf course every Sunday a week later, and whose primary parenting responsibility is breadwinner is dead and gone.

John: Studies have shown that men are now much more involved parents, and that’s been our experience and what we’ve seen with our friends. We want to support this movement.

Paul: We believe if we can help other dads become more involved parents and partners, and to view fatherhood as the awesome (in the grand sense of the word) responsibility and incredible adventure it is, we can make a difference in the lives of children, which is a high calling.

Who initiated the discussion between the two of you and what qualities do you admire in each other that works well in your business relationship?

John: Paul has been dabbling in entrepreneurship for almost two decades, and one day at dinner I finally just said “you know, if you ever want some help starting something, I’d be up for that.”

We work well together because we have different, yet complementary skill sets. Paul’s been working in digital marketing for over a decade and is fascinated by the mechanics of building companies.

Paul: John’s an endlessly curious tinkerer who isn’t afraid to try and learn and do anything. One day he sent me his first on-camera YouTube video and3 years later we have almost 13,000 YouTube subscribers. We are, in many ways, the modern-day odd couple for hetero-normative white, cis, hetero dads. It’s a beautiful bromance.

How had COVID affected your business - positives and negatives?

Paul: The first 6 weeks of the pandemic our traffic was down 30%, our theory is that expecting parents had little to no mindshare for anything beyond reading the news—but we’ve since rebounded. And, we’re fortunate and grateful there have been positives for us too—we built our Father’s Ed online course for expecting dads pre-pandemic, but heard from many customers last year that they found us after their local hospital had to stop offering in-person new parent education.

As parentpreneurs, do you have tips for other parents on juggling your hectic schedules?

John: One, find something you’re passionate about to build a business around. Being deeply passionate about what we’re building has kept us going through some tough times. Two, don’t be afraid to take some breaks and don’t go 100% all the time. Since we’re able to do a lot of our work asynchronously, when one of us has been in a period where outside stuff has forced us to slow down, or just needed a break, the other one is able to keep the ship moving along. I’d also note that having partners that are as supportive of what we are doing helps tremendously.

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Being in different cities, what are your favorite things to do with your kids within your own areas?

Paul: exploring new playgrounds is our go-to fair-whether strategy. It’s amazing the creativity it brings out in the girls and is such a great way to get exercise. Plus, relatively pandemic-friendly

John: COVID has required us to become quite creative in figuring out ways to have fun outside of what we would normally do. Plus the fact that they are five years apart adds its own challenges. However, both the boys love to be outside, either riding their bikes, taking the dogs for walks, or chasing each other in the backyard.

What are some of your favorite small businesses?

Some other cool dad business out there!

Colugo, which aims to be the Warby Parker of strollers, was started by dad Ted Iobst. We’ve gotten to know Ted over the last few years, he’s awesome, he’s thinking about what’s best for modern parents, and Colugo’s products are great!

DadVerb is a YouTube channel started by dad Andrew Tiu. Andrew’s channel is full of in-depth product reviews and is one of our go-to’s.

Anything else you’d like to add?

John: we love what you guys are doing too! As a dad to two adopted black children, I remind myself daily that their experiences as they grow will be very different from mine. So Milowe has become a great resource for me where I can go and take in the experiences and perspectives of families of color… thanks for all you guys do, and for the interview.

And finally, where can we find you?

Website: https://fathercraft.com/

Youtube: https://youtube.com/fathercraft

Instagram: @fathercraftco