by Smart Coos
Eric Cohen: Family Fun!
Eric Cohen, Macaroni Kid. Eric Cohen is a husband, dad, serial entrepreneur and crossfit junkie. He is currently the CMO and Chief Dad at Macaroni Kid. Previously he founded a non-traditional media company and was sales and marketing lead for several New York City based entertainment companies. This dad isn’t afraid to use social media to spread his message and voice his opinion, you can find him on Twitter too.
Recently, we sat down with Eric Cohen for an interview about his amazing journey as a dedicated parent and a business owner.
What was the inspiration behind you starting your business? Why have you continued?
As a parent I found it hard to find all the local event and activities for families our community has to offer. My wife and co-founder and I knew there had to be a better way, and we created the first and biggest local resource for family fun.
How many kids do you have? What is the age of your youngest and oldest? If more than one, did you plan to have that age gap?
We have two kids, ages 9 and 14. We didn’t plan for a specific age gap, but we were not ready for number two for a few years.
What is your fondest memory as a father? Your not so fondest memory? Why?
My fondest memory as a father would have to be the day we adopted our daughter. Of course the birth of my son is way up there, but on the adoption day, my son was there, and our family was complete. Not so fondest? Yeah, the next day when my daughter pee’d on me in the bathtub.
How does fatherhood influence your work? Your business decisions?
Fatherhood influences my work and my businesses decisions in a few ways. First, I am very driven to provide for my family and my children so my role as a father influences my work ethic. And second, while I’ve always held myself to a high moral standard, it’s even higher now that I’m a role model to my kids.
If you could tell a new father ONE thing and only one thing what would it be?
Savor every moment, it goes by in a flash.
From you businesses inception what has been the most rewarding part?
The most rewarding thing about our business is that we change people’s lives. I hear stories every week about how Macaroni Kid has empowered our Publisher Moms and expanded their horizons…it does not get more rewarding than that.
What was a major challenge that you encountered? Did you overcome that challenge?
Just proving it could be done was a challenge. People told us you can never build a cooperative community of more than 600 women, it will just never work. But it did and it does. We overcame it with sheer force of will and hard work.
If you could add one aspect to your business today that you currently do not have in place, what would it be?
One aspect I would add is to have all of our remote HQ team work in our office. We get so much energy from them and they get to share the experience more directly that way. But our team works remotely across the Country, which is a blessing in it’s own right.
What does the future look like for you, your family and your business?
Our future looks great. Macaroni Kid is growing and thriving across so many segments, new communities, happy advertising partners and so on. Knock wood, my family is healthy and happy, and my wife and business partner is the best. I’m excited for what the future holds.
Twitter: @macaronidad Link: http://macaronidad.com
Contact: eric@macaronikid.com
