Mental health, fatherhood & building with intention: An interview with Andy Dunn

Andy Dunn became known for building Bonobos, one of the earliest and most influential direct-to-consumer brands. After selling it to Walmart, he entered a new phase of his life: high-level corporate executive, author, husband and father.

In his memoir Burn Rate, Andy shares openly about navigating bipolar disorder while building a high-growth company. But when he agreed to be a guest on The False Tradeoff, we didn’t want to re-hash a story he already told.

I wanted to talk about what came after the Bonobos story: rediscovering his identity, resetting his priorities, and building again - with clarity and constraint.

Here are three takeaways from our conversation.

1. Clarity comes when you stop doing everything

After leaving Bonobos, Andy didn’t slow down. He launched a fund, started a company, wrote a book, moved cities and became a father - all at once.

“I was doing way too much,” he said. “And I had to unwind that just to be a good parent and a decent husband.”

Eventually, he adopted a new rule: one job, one mission. 

That’s when he founded Pie, a new company focused on solving adult loneliness and social isolation. These days, Andy turns down almost everything - podcasts, coffee chats, board seats - not because he doesn’t care, but because he knows what matters:

“Every time I say yes to something external, I’m saying no to my son.”

2. Being a founder and being an executive are two different jobs

When Andy joined Walmart post-acquisition, he expected to succeed. Instead, he was passed over for the role as CMO, and the experience humbled him.

As he explained, being a founder trains you to be loud, fast and visible. But in a large organization, those same traits can backfire.

A friend and mentor offered this advice: “You need to get small.”

Andy realized that being a great employee meant knowing when to listen more than speak. It also meant that trust - not vision - was the most valuable currency in corporate life. It’s a lesson few founders are taught.

3. Fatherhood made him sharper, yet softer

Andy talks candidly about the tension between being a present parent and an ambitious builder. Like many founders, he admits that being fully present with his son can feel harder than running a company.

And yet, fatherhood gave him something nothing else could: clarity.

He now protects his time with more intention and runs his startup differently - more grounded, more team-oriented and far less reactive than during his Bonobos days.

“I still have the big ideas. But now I bring people along. I don’t just run with them.”

Andy’s story isn’t just about reinvention. It’s about learning to lead from a place of steadiness - at home and at work - and having the discipline to choose less in service of what matters most.

🎙 Want to hear how Andy learned to lead differently at home and work? Listen to this episode of The False Tradeoff!

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Connect with us → Host: Allison Whalen | Producer: Jenna Vassallo