It was only a couple of generations back in our history when most businesses were family owned and operated. But today it’s rarer. In 2022, the U.S. Census Bureau’s Annual Survey stated just over 10% of businesses were jointly-owned by married couples. In honor of National Couples Day, we chatted with our founders, Doug and Liz Fritz on what it’s like to start and run a growing business as a married couple with two busy kids.
Here’s the serious, sweet and silly result of our conversation:
Q. What’s it like to run a business as a married couple?
DF: It’s actually very normal to run a company as husband and wife. Most people don't remember, but we're only about three generations away from when almost everybody's parents ran a business. It was called a farm or a shop, right? Family businesses are how humans have lived for many years. This is a business about wealth management and we both grew up in the wealth management industry. So the topics we discuss for F2 were in our conversations before we started the business.
LF: Raising kids is harder than running the company! When we started F2, we already knew a lot about how the other works. We both came from the same industry, and corporate careers. We had done a lot of self reflection exercises; knew each other’s strengths, had our lanes, and trusted each other.
Q: How do you separate work and personal life?
DF: From getting up in the morning to going to bed at night there are rhythms of our life that got built around the company, having kids, and being married. Generally speaking, we trade off responsibilities for feeding kids, taking kids to school, getting on meetings, or prepping for things. Then we’re in the office doing F2 work, and then maybe make some decisions on a home construction project. It’s all fluid. There’s no hard dividing line.
LF: We love what we do. We love talking about what we do. During the day it’s F2 headquarters around here and then we work to be very intentional around the kids and family time and being in the present moment with kids and not on our phones. With technology and being at home, I feel like you can be so much more productive weaving in work and life, but I do think it's important especially with kids to separate and really be present and carve that time out at home too.
Q: What is the most fun thing about it?
DF: We get a deeper relationship because we spend so much time together. I get three Liz’s- the wife Liz, Mom Liz and cofounder Liz. That’s pretty cool, not everyone else gets to know three very different sides of their spouse.
LF: It’s fun to come up with big ideas and bounce crazy ideas off each other. We execute on ideas well together and it's fun to do this with your partner.
Q: What is the most challenging thing about it?
LF: Doug is more visionary and I’m pragmatic. My role is doing what it takes to get to Doug’s vision. He puts great ideas out there, but he really has no idea what it takes to throw a huge event, for example. So it’s fun and frustrating at once.
DF: Because we don’t get to separate work and personal life sometimes work stress overflows into family. When couples don’t work together, one person can usually be a bulwark against that, but we’re more like synced roller coasters.
Q: What advice would you give to your pre-F2 self about working with your spouse?
DF: Trust the vision. There were moments in the early, early days where we thought you're going to start a company that is unlike any company that's ever been started without any experience of starting any company. And you're going to literally sell your home with a one year old and the three year old to make it happen. In hindsight, it looks like a ridiculous gamble, but we were really positive it was the right direction. I think I would say to my pre-F2 self, trust.
LF: Jump in sooner. It was such a different way of working. If Doug hadn’t started it, I never would have thought to jump into entrepreneurship. I was concerned with security and what a corporate job looks like, but then I got to see a work-from-home life with more fluidity. Trust yourself over a corporate job — that can end any day with no reason. It’s not exactly safer. So trust yourself and your passion.
Q: Lightning round!
Who has the neater desk?
LF: Me!
DF: Not fair! I have construction stuff going on right now!
LF: Oh, your desk is always messy. However, as Einstein said, “an empty desk is the sign of an empty mind,” and Doug has big things going on. What does that say about me?!
Emailer or phone caller?
LF: Text. And I don’t like unscheduled phone calls. I like to mentally prepare and I don’t like being caught off guard.
DF: Phone caller.
Favorite office snack?
DF: Pistachios or almonds during the day.
LF: I don’t really snack, but I always have three beverages going at any given moment: water, coffee, and a smoothie.
Name a celebrity business couple you like.
LF: I like Sara Blakely and Jesse Itzler — check them out on LinkedIn; they’re doing cool stuff — and also Shea and Syd McGee. Founder couples we relate to.
DF: I’m not really on social media.
