Episode 20: Forget Self Care, What About “Us Care” with Lesley Eccles
The Most Important Thing
Check out Lesley’s new company, Relish, which has built a high quality relationship coach in your pocket!
Episode Overview:
In this episode, Lesley and I discuss the incredible story of her time at Fanduel, the first startup company she co-founded (with her husband Nigal). Fanduel was a massive success raising billions in capital, but in the end the founding team walked away with nothing. An important lesson to start-up founders everywhere.
We dig deep on what it means to be a startup founder while also taking care of a family. Lesley offers great advice for young founders who find themselves raising capital today. We also discuss why your self care practice need not be meditation, but can be something much simpler or less obvious. We discuss relationship styles, therapy, and communication and Lesley’s passion for improving the relationships of all Relish users.
It’s been said that a thorn of experience is worth a wilderness of warning. Lesley has a ton of great insights to share from 25 years of marriage, nearly as many years parenting, and over a decade starting and building a multi-billion dollar business.
About Lesley
Lesley Eccles is the Founder and CEO of Relish, the first-ever relationship training app making it easier to build happy, healthy, more connected relationships. A serial entrepreneur and startup advisor, Lesley was previously co-founder and former head of marketing at FanDuel, the fantasy sports company which she grew into a billion dollar company. In her spare time, Lesley mentors a number of female entrepreneurs via the AllRaise program, and serves as a board member of multiple charities in the UK. Lesley graduated from the University of St. Andrews in Scotland with a degree in Modern Languages. She is based in New York.
My Favorite Quotes / Highlights:
“When you’re doing a startup, it puts pressure on your relationship even if you’re both not in it together, because it is startups are all consuming. If I wasn’t in it with Nigal, the amount of stress that we were under in that business, I’m pretty sure we would have separated.”
“If you’re a team at home, you’re a team in the workplace”
“Life’s too short to be in a relationship that’s not as good as it can be.”
Episode Breakdown:
02:00 – Lesley’s experience at Fanduel
10:00 – Starting a business with her husband
13:00 – Jumping to Good Conclusions
16:00 – Fanduel’s battle with Draft Kings, US Regulators, and KKR
22:30 – Lesley’s advice to young founders
26:30 – On being both a mother and a founder
31:25 – Your startup is not your child
33:30 – Lesley’s self-improvement practices
38:30 – What she’s most proud of
40:00 – Leaving Fanduel
46:00 – Starting Relish
50:00 – Relationship Attachment styles & Love Languages
54:00 – the importance of communication in relationships
56:00 – “Us Care”
Episode Links:
Billion Dollar Fantasy, book that includes Lesley’s experience at FanDuel
