Welcome to issue #009 of Unicorn Parents. Each week, I share practical insights and reflections to help you build a profitable business without missing the magic at home. If you're serious about winning at work while raising great kids, you’ve come to the right place. This is a community built for ambitious parents who want both.
I joke with my wife that I’m now a domesticated man.
Nothing makes this clearer than when I’m on business trips.
I unpack the moment I check in.
Every meeting is pre-booked.
By 9pm, I’m usually back in my room.
A far cry from my younger days of trying to sleep less and do more.
But the hardest part of any trip isn’t the long flights or the back-to-back meetings.
It’s missing my kids (and my wife).
As both an investor and founder, I travel several times a year. And every trip, I wrestle with the same question:
What’s the best gift to bring home?
On business trips, every other love language breaks down.
Quality time is out.
Physical affection is impossible.
Words of affirmation are too easy.
Acts of service? Has to wait.
That leaves one: gifts.
And they have to mean something.
Over the years, I’ve built a small tradition. I don’t bring home random toys or airport candy. I bring back something that carries a story.
A book about the place I visited, so my kids can explore that world through stories and pictures.
A piece of memorabilia—something small but tied to the culture, like a local coin, a museum pass, or a handmade craft.
A unique souvenir—quirky, unexpected, and different from what they’d find at home.
Why? Because kids are naturally curious. They don’t just want to know that you were gone. They want to know where you were, and what it was like.
These gifts turn absence into presence.
They spark questions, creativity, and conversations.
They remind my kids that even when I’m away, I’m thinking of them.
And someday, these little keepsakes will become a collection of memories—proof that Dad’s work trips weren’t just about deals and meetings.
They were also about sharing the world.
So here’s my advice to fellow traveling parents:
Don’t just bring something back.
Bring something forward.
A tradition.
A spark.
A story your kids will hold onto long after the gift itself fades.