Our boot camp is one manifestation of a much grander desire. That is, we want and always have wanted for PD to be a place that’s children-friendly, a place where PDTers feel confident and grateful to work and bring their kids to work.
From the early days, once Philo was born, he pretty much lived at the office while Lan and I were building the company. Even before Philo was born, Lan and I dreamed of PD being a place where PD Parents would be proud to bring their kids. A place that would support children’s growth, personally, and academically. A place where kids got to learn interesting shit that they might not get to learn in the public school system, like how to manage a chequebook, how to work with professional creative tools, how to cook and clean, and mostly, to learn to be more responsible above and beyond what society says is ‘normal for their age‘. I feel we’ve done a good job of this using our own two kids, Philo and Sophie, as prototypes and beta-tests, to how well children can be raised in an adult environment that puts adequate pressure while uplifting them and inspiring them. So, the Spring and Summer 2023 Boot Camps were not ‘off the cuff‘ ideas, but were initiatives we dreamed to do for well over a decade. We just needed a bigger team, and PDTers with kids. 2023, the timing was right. So, as our families, mine and Justin’s got closer and closer, and our kids became like cousins, it was a ‘finally, about time‘ moment.
On a personal note, I enjoy playing the long game. And I have to say, doing the boot camps was equally fulfilling for me as it was fun and educational for the kiddos involved. There was a little guy named Khalid in my soul that got to say, ‘Yes, we did it! We made it happen. It’ll only get better from here.’
