Running a Family Business While Raising Kids Around AI

Caleb Pedosiuk on Founder Wisdom: Lifestyle Businesses, Parenting & AI. A conversation with Charles Cormier on Founder Wisdom. Cleaned for readability; the words are the speakers' own.

FEATURED ON | Founder Wisdom Podcast: Lifestyle Businesses, Parenting & AI A Conversation with Host Charles Cormier

Charles Cormier: Welcome to another Founder Wisdom. Today we have Caleb Pedosiuk with us — an AEO authority and brand-positioning expert for growth-stage companies. His company is 79 Development, at 79dev.com. Caleb, welcome, glad to have you on. Can you tell us a bit about yourself?

Caleb Pedosiuk: Sure. Our company has been around about fourteen years. The 79 comes from gold on the periodic table — gold development, in the sense that you start with a blank sheet of paper, blank pixels on a screen, a blank SD card, and that is where value gets created: when you take an idea and begin to execute on it. We were heavy on the creative, brand-development side for the first five or six years, and then we moved into the more technical work — pixels, tags, funnels, tracking, all that — because no matter how great your message is, if it is not in front of the right person at the right time, it is like it does not exist. So we went right-brain, left-brain, and now we have the two moving together. The last few years have been wild — the tools, on both sides, are just incredible. A really exciting time to be in this space.

Charles: You have had the company about thirteen years — why so long?

Caleb: We started in 2012, around the time my wife and I started having kids, and we realized we wanted a vehicle to do really cool things. I had been a partner in an ad agency before that, so it seemed logical. The development side — coming alongside founders and working the tactical creative, not just picking colors and fonts but how do we find product-market fit, how do we reinvent an industry — that is what drew me. Over the years we have had a unique spectrum of clients, and my favorites are not always the biggest. We have done data and cybersecurity work, over forty rebrands with one company through its mergers and acquisitions. But the regenerative-agriculture farmers, or people getting food into needy parts of the world — those projects are almost more exciting to me. You learn so much about soil and microbial life. 79dev became the vehicle for us to professionally come alongside some of the most interesting people I know and get to work with them.

Charles: What cool stuff did you do in the past decade?

Caleb: We have four kids, and we have had the opportunity to structure life close to nature — cold fresh water, sunshine, barefoot in the grass, growing food. But we also have this ultra-plugged-in side. One client worked in the anti-human-trafficking space, and we got to be part of some of that work on the ground, alongside special-forces teams and the entrepreneurs supporting them — disaster response too, going in after a hurricane or a tornado. And then there were the farmers. In one case, primary producers who were actually growing incredible organic food were being pushed out of a farmers market by resellers who would buy from an industrial food terminal somewhere in the world, peel off the stickers, pretend it was grown locally, and undercut everyone — eventually cannibalizing the local food system. They got kicked out, came to us not sure what to do, and we helped them put together a verified-farmer system and a whole “local dirt” campaign, got the community wearing the brand and raising money. That market is still running today, about eight years later.

Charles: You founded the company with your wife. Is that generally recommended, or are you the exception to the rule?

Caleb: Great question. I know a number of people with very capable, professional spouses who simply choose not to work together, and that works for them. And there are other founders we are alongside who do work in the same space, and there are challenges — especially when you have complementary roles, whether operations, strategy, or creative. But I think the reward is worth it. There are so many levels to the connection I have with my wife, and I appreciate that I get to share the journey of helping these founders find product-market fit or overcome challenges, and the travel that comes with it. It takes a lot of intention — you are all in it together.

Charles: One of your recent LinkedIn posts was about Free a Girl recovery work. It seems closely aligned to your life purpose — you find a lot of meaning in it. What is it?

Caleb: Last winter we went down to Honduras, to an aftercare home. One of the things about anti-trafficking work is that you do not just rescue the kids and prosecute the perpetrators — the kids have a whole timeline afterward. They need a safe place, care for trauma, and very practical help too. My wife and I and our two oldest went and served — painting, renovating, all the logistics. You go down to work, but in one moment a girl came up to me just wanting to be picked up and held, and it had been so busy I almost missed it. I realized she just wanted to be held, and that she does not have a dad. That really struck me. My wife, Sarah, snapped the photo. Honestly, one of my biggest convictions about founders is that they are wired to solve problems — some of the most resourceful, resilient people there are. If you are rich in problem-solving and persistence, some success is almost inevitable, and with it you are often rich in relationships and resources to help solve meaningful problems in the world. Some of my favorite people are founders.

Charles: In an intervention-based organization like that, what happens after you are deployed? Ideally you teach the kids entrepreneurship so they can earn, educate themselves, and have a broader impact — but entrepreneurship is incredibly hard, especially coming out of poverty. If you had to launch your own nonprofit or social startup, what would it be? How would you solve the world’s ills — what is the big strategy?

Caleb: So many good questions in there. One sister organization Free a Girl works with — based out of Holland, I believe — does something really neat: they put a lot of the kids on an education track to learn law, and many of them go into law specifically to prosecute the perpetrators of these evils, who are left unchecked in a lot of countries. It gives them a constructive channel to take something that was deeply difficult for them and use it to stop it spreading to others. A real full-circle, and entrepreneurial too. But here is the honest answer on starting a nonprofit: having worked alongside enough founders, I have come to believe that if we never started a nonprofit and just did what we do better and better — especially with the tools available now — that might be the higher-leverage path. We realized we are essentially building engines. If I had to throw a dart at the bullseye, what our company does is create force-multiplier engines for growth. So when I meet a farmer doing regenerative work, or someone educating, or bringing water filtration, or working in energy in a new way, we can take the tools, automations, systems, and SOPs we have built and plug them in — almost like bolting on an engine — and increase their success. That is where most of the leverage and the impact would come from.

Charles: Should we introduce AI into most homes? Is it too early — is there danger in putting devices in children’s hands? And do kids even know the basic questions to ask an AI? I feel like AI is great for learning, and it feels like it listens.

Caleb: Great question — and you could ask the same about adults. I do not think people should be restricted at the grocery store from buying unhealthy food, or locked out of their device because they have “scrolled enough.” Free will matters a lot. But another part of me is not convinced that the unaddressed way we consume things, digital or physical, is as benign as we assume. For kids specifically, we did a lot of research and found phone options where you, as the parent or guardian stewarding that access, can approve certain apps and certain permissions within them. We found that helpful — it helps the kids understand technology as a tool. One discipline with the older two is almost like a multivitamin: they sit beside me while I am building during the day — in Claude Code, say — for ten minutes. I explain what I am doing. There is no test; I just want them to see what is possible, to see me get stuck, to watch how I screenshot, how I pull in different models, how I ask different things. I want them to be ambidextrous: completely comfortable in an unplugged world — barefoot, camping, in the fresh air — and equally comfortable interfacing with machines, using Superwhisper or just talking to a computer. Honestly, most people should pause and spend about forty-five minutes getting a clear grasp of how to interact with machines, then step away and process the implications for whatever they do.

Charles: You have four kids — what are their ages?

Caleb: Three to sixteen.

Charles: What is their tech stack and the parental controls across all of them? Have they started using ChatGPT and AI, or are some still stuck in the TikTok loop? What is your philosophy?

Caleb: No social, no TikTok. There is no real need. They recently built a project — launched a website for an event they and some friends wanted to put on; our daughter did the brand and built the site. Because we homeschool, part of how we educate is that when we are working, they come sit beside us, we unlock a laptop, and they build. If they are working with one of the website tools we use, they get permissions and access, and my wife or I help them. Whatever tool is needed, they use it — but side by side, the way you would learn to work a farm: we are right there in it with them. There is a youth version of ChatGPT and other tools. And even with games, we try to tie the digital component to a social one, so they are building friendships and conversation — a human component — rather than letting the brain chemistry normalize isolation.

Charles: Do they own their own hardware yet, or not?

Caleb: The two oldest — a brother and sister, close in age — share a phone with very limited permissions. Everything locks down at a certain time, only certain apps are approved, and every contact has to be approved in advance. The tools on it are there for learning — music, a language, interacting with approved friends. If they want to build something for school or a project, we pull out a laptop for that.

Charles: What about video games — do you introduce those?

Caleb: Minecraft is one the kids have liked — it has some good fundamentals, and some of their friends play it, so there is a point of commonality. Part of me likes that it helps them understand working with raw materials and thinking in first principles: if you can get these resources, you can build these things.

Charles: What is the philosophy behind these limits? I did not have them growing up — I was introduced to porn, which was toxic, and probably too many video games. Is it a question of hard protection, or of educating them the right way? If you gave them full freedom, do you think they would crash on their own — or is this an extra security layer?

Caleb: Great question. I do not subscribe to the idea that you should be so overbearing that the moment kids are out from under you, they swing to the opposite extreme. As they have grown older, we have been very open with them. When something comes up — in other kids, or in a film — I will often pause and add context. Sometimes it is something no one would flag, but I will say, the way that was said, or done, and treated as normal — that is actually dangerous, and here is what is downstream from it. A couple of analogies help me explain it. One is driving. Unrestricted access to the internet is like being able to go anywhere your imagination can take you. There is a reason kids get a license in stages — we drive with you for a while, then give you permission, and as you grow in understanding you can go further, until eventually you are making those decisions yourself. I would feel irresponsible handing over the keys with unrestricted access — not because they would willingly go do something destructive, but because if you are downtown late, or out in the early hours, you start to overlap with other people’s timelines and things that are less than helpful.

The other analogy is fire, and I use it specifically around sexuality. I have explained to them that sexuality is a lot like fire: it can be beautiful and it is genuinely important. Fire has been lifesaving — for cooking, for survival — and sexuality is as well; it is literally how life is created and perpetuated, and it can be deeply good. But if someone knows how to make fire and then lights it in the middle of a living room, or carelessly, it burns holes you cannot stitch back together. The point is stewardship, not shame.

Charles: It is strange that growing up, sex was never framed to me as procreation — it was framed only as pleasure, when it should also have been about creating life. Bringing life into the world is one of the most crucial, important things there is. I am only now seeing all of these new colors in my life — I get it now.

Caleb: That was a paradigm shift for me too. I grew up in a Christian home with really loving parents, but it was very censored — if a beer commercial came on, they would change the channel. The message was a kind of “do not do that, it is not good… until you are married, and then it is good,” which leaves you wondering what is actually going on. With my kids I have framed it differently. I tell them that darkness did not create sexuality, or the attraction a man has for a woman, or that desire — that desire is incredible and beautiful and powerful. It is so important: human beings come through it, and it is also how we bond and how communities are formed. They get a little embarrassed — “oh Dad, this is weird” — but I tell them, trust me, that connection, as you grow into a man toward the woman in your life, is something you get to channel that energy and drive toward. If instead you start lighting fires all over the place and it causes harm, that is not helpful to anyone.

Charles: It comes back to the educational system — and we should wrap up, I know you are on time, but I have one last question. It is a shame that school taught me “a condom on a banana” rather than the true meaning of things. I have always wanted to know the why, and that is the main problem with school — they never get to why it matters. The first thing in a sexuality course should be: do you know how you were born, how much your mom suffered to bring you here, and that reproduction is why we have community, safety, and continuity at all? Anyway — that is part of why I am rebuilding everything from scratch. Last question: you homeschool your kids — how has that experience been, especially on the entrepreneurial side? Are they on track to launch their own businesses, and do you think that is a good idea for them?

Caleb: I would almost ask the opposite question — why would you not, if you have the ability? If you are in business or you are an entrepreneur and you can educate your kids, why not? The main objection people raise is socialization — “it will isolate my kids.” A couple of thoughts. First, it is actually the school system that is unusual in grouping you strictly by age; that is not normal almost anywhere else. You go into a company and you are not only dealing with the other thirty-one-year-olds — you deal with the senior VP. Homeschooled kids tend to have much more ability to interface across all ages. Second, I would answer by category. Professionally: the current model, especially public school, is downstream from what is already happening, so it prepares kids for jobs that are already disconnected from what the workforce needs — let alone what is next. Even at the university level, I recently heard from someone that students are penalized for using AI tools. I think that is about to be over, but it is striking. So professionally, absolutely — I want my kids learning the latest tools. Entrepreneurially, I want them to understand the fundamentals of business by launching projects, building sites, and figuring out product-market fit. And culturally, there is a lot of confusion and ideological tension right now, around the world and not just in Canada, and kids can end up caught in the middle of it. On the social point people raise as the big downside — one of the hardest things for teenagers is actually the social component itself: the pressures of social media and peer pressure. There is a genuinely toxic aspect to that environment.

Charles: It is a brutal environment — competing for grades that are mostly meaningless, often graded by people not really competent to grade them, on things that frequently do not matter. And the social scene is even more toxic; you have to act a certain way or you are excluded, and kids that age are not mature enough to be deciding who is cool and who is not. Being something of an outcast as a founder — taking one direction, one thesis, betting against the market — is incredibly valuable. Most people give up; founders keep hammering for ten years and then get the big exit. That is pretty much how it works. Very important point. Thanks for being on, Caleb — where can people find out more about you?

Caleb: 79dev.com. We have a free tool up there to help people gauge their signal right now and how they are showing up in AI search. I am on LinkedIn and Instagram as well — Caleb Grows on Instagram, and Caleb Pedosiuk on LinkedIn.

Charles: Beautiful. That was Caleb and Charles — until another one.