At FlipGive, we love reading all kinds of stories about how Sports Parents are experiencing different aspects of their lives such as parenting, work, hobbies, relationships and more. This is the reason why we came up with "Meet a FlipGive Sport Parent", a series that will feature Sports Parents that inspire us.
Mark Bachman, is our CEO & Co-Founder here at FlipGive. His primary responsibility is strategy and business development with our merchants and partners. A true entrepreneur at heart, he loves to read business books and learn about new ventures in the industry. Oh his down time, he loves to play golf, beach volleyball and spending time with his family at the cottage.
What sports or activities are your children most involved in?
I have three busy kids who grew up playing sports. They are involved with competitive hockey, lacrosse, volleyball as track & field. It is also important for us to spend quality time together so for fun, we also enjoy golf, skiing trips in the winter and water sports at the cottage in the summer.
As a busy CEO, what are your tips to stay connected with your family?
With 3 active kids, my wife & I have to divide & conquer. Driving them to games & tournaments has been a great time for one on one time, supporting and being involved in their activities. We try to make time and prioritize family dinners whenever possible.
How has family time/dynamic changed since the pandemic started?
For family time it's been fantastic and very grounding to slow down and be together. We're less busy and have now cracked 100 family dinners in a row. Lot's of game nights and great conversations.
What has this pandemic taught you about teamwork and team management?
I think it's forced us to be more disciplined at structured meetings and communication. A lot of the ad hoc water cooler meetings or bumping into each other at the office are gone. We have all had to be more thoughtful about taking the time to connect with managers across each department.
Best part and hardest parts of running a company from home?
The best part is definitely improved productivity. Without the commute and events, there's a lot more time to be focused on the most important priorities. The hardest part has been communicating with all employees. I work mostly with department managers and miss catching up the rest of the team.
Your forecast for when sports will start back up?
We've been watching this very closely. Sports and group activities are starting up now and will continue opening up over the summer and into the fall. I think it will be a un-even pace of opening in different regions across North America. I think sports will be more local and there will be less focus on travel teams and tournaments for the rest of 2020 (or until a vaccine is available).
