Benjamin Lauzier

Half Ninja, Half Product Guy

[Adam Fishman @fishmanaf]

This is @Bnjii . He used to have a paralyzing fear of death. Then it all went away.

On the latest Startup Dad podcast, he talks about why.

After leading product at @lyft and @thumbtack, he stepped back from his VP role to be primary caregiver for his daughter and help his wife with some complex health challenges.

I took away 5 key things from our conversation:
1. Purpose Reframes Everything
During Lyft's hypergrowth, Ben thought he knew what pressure felt like. But becoming a father completely restructured his relationship with purpose and anxiety. The clarity of responsibility became a superpower.

2. Flexible Entrepreneurship
The traditional startup grind doesn't work with a toddler. Ben built Neura using an unconventional schedule: core work during EU days, family time in afternoons, US meetings at night. The constraints forced better efficiency.

3. The French-American Balance 🇫🇷
Growing up in France then building tech companies in Silicon Valley gave Ben unique perspective. The French concept of "le cadre" - strict boundaries with complete freedom within them - works surprisingly well in both parenting and leadership.

4. Sleep as Foundation 😴
After studying multiple sleep methodologies (yes, like a proper product manager), Ben built a system that had his daughter sleeping 12 hours by month four. The ROI on this early investment was game-changing.

5. The Power of the "Tap Out"
Ben and his wife developed a simple signal system - either parent can "tap out" when overwhelmed, no questions asked. This psychological safety net transformed their parenting and partnership.

He and I discussed:
🔹The story behind leaving his VP role to build a health advocacy startup with a stopover as full-time Dad
🔹Why French parents prioritize adult identity (and what we can learn from this)
🔹How becoming a dad made him a more empathetic product leader
🔹The systems that enable founding while being primary caregiver
🔹What tech leaders can learn from toddler emotional regulation

Listen to the full episode of Startup Dad - Ben shares his playbook for navigating the founder-father journey while building Neura, a company born from his family's healthcare challenges. Links below.

[Benjamin Lauzier @Bnjii]

@ChaseSupport On hold with your travel department for over 5 hours without hearing back. It's 4:25am, my flight is supposed to leave in 3.5 hours but I don't have tickets because the ticketing dpt forgot to issue them after a scheduling change. Help?

[Benjamin Lauzier @Bnjii]

@Europcar_France J'ai été chargé plus de 1000 euros pour dommages que je n'ai pas causé et déjà dans mon contract de loc. Ca fait 6 mois que j'envoie >20 emails et appels qui restent sans réponse de votre Cellule Facturation Dommages. Help?

[Benjamin Lauzier @Bnjii]

On my first month at @Lyft back in 2013, we celebrated 1 Million rides given. 5 years later, incredibly excited to hit 1 Billion Rides and cannot wait for the Trillion :)
https://t.co/duRKr3SN9v

[Michelle Obama @MichelleObama]

We can each do our part to help all eligible voters make their voices heard in this upcoming election and every election. And I'm thrilled that companies like @Lyft are working with @WhenWeAllVote to get people registered & out to vote this November.

[Benjamin Lauzier @Bnjii]

Incredibly proud to help build a bright future for Lyft drivers
https://t.co/uPb8xpJ8Ti

[John Zimmer @johnzimmer]

At Lyft, we're constantly working to increase our positive impact on the world around us. As part of that effort, all Lyft rides will now be carbon neutral. Thank you to Robert Young for inspiring this effort: https://t.co/sCR0nLEjfG

[BORED @BoredElonMusk]

Podcast app that scans your brain waves and pauses audio when it knows you’re deep in thought and ignoring dialogue.

[Logan Green @logangreen]

We've reached 10 million+ rides per week with 168 percent YoY revenue growth. Looking forward to the year ahead! https://t.co/ZEiYmta4s3

[Benjamin Lauzier @Bnjii]

@prades_maxime @lucascerdan 😬 thanks for flagging and sorry for that. We'll look into it.

[Benjamin Lauzier @Bnjii]

Oh the irony... @SavedYouAClick

[Stephen Colbert @StephenAtHome]

I don't think my Lyft driver knows where he's going. https://t.co/oAnHFRbuNm

[Logan Green @logangreen]

Incredibly excited to welcome @jonmcneill as @Lyft's COO! https://t.co/0aflc4swwp

[Benjamin Lauzier @Bnjii]

Almost a quarter of a million passengers @lyft 's platform dropped owning a personal vehicle, due to the availability of ridesharing.
https://t.co/Sv4jrrdiTN

[Benjamin Lauzier @Bnjii]

The Network Effects Manual: 13 Different Network Effects: https://t.co/OIDOZ94pvd

[Astead @AsteadWH]

Media: millennials share everything on social media and it's going to kill us all

The President, age 71: Hello fellow Tweeters should I launch the nukes

[Aptiv @Aptiv]

We’re partnering with @Lyft to offer a first-of-its-kind, fully automated, point-to-point ride-hailing experience at #CES2018 https://t.co/2ztoJWxafH

[Andrew Freedman @afreedma]

North America is currently enduring the most unusually cold airmass of anywhere on Earth. Most other places are milder than avg... and 2017 is about to become Earth's 2nd or 3rd warmest year since 1880 (depending which agency you cite). https://t.co/Br8eeNVMMQ

[Benjamin Lauzier @Bnjii]

And this summer was the WARMEST summer on record in the West. If only there was some good old science to differentiate climate from local weather... https://t.co/rgJ5rBaAc3

[Donald J. Trump @realDonaldTrump]

In the East, it could be the COLDEST New Year’s Eve on record. Perhaps we could use a little bit of that good old Global Warming that our Country, but not other countries, was going to pay TRILLIONS OF DOLLARS to protect against. Bundle up!

[Benjamin Lauzier @Bnjii]

Gotta love @GOP 's official and unbiased approval survey
https://t.co/DwklFVoYgZ