In this special feature, EO Portland fathers and founders reflect on the ways fatherhood has transformed how they lead, define success, take risks, and build community. Their stories are honest, thoughtful, and deeply personal, filled with lessons on resilience, boundaries, ambition, presence, and purpose.

Here, G. Scott Brown shares a reflection in his own words.

My daughter Pierce came into my wife Dre's and my lives a couple of years after we started Farm To Fit — during one of the most stressful and tumultuous periods of my life.

The one real positive at the time was that the business was growing. But almost everything else was in chaos: we had outgrown our space and couldn't find a new one, Dre and I were deeply involved in every part of the business — which put an enormous strain on our relationship — and we found out we were pregnant just three months before my mother passed from a brain tumor.

I felt like I was drowning, completely alone in my grief. I was a huge momma's boy, and losing my mom had been my greatest fear since childhood. I was not prepared to lose her at 65. It gutted me.

And then boom — July 11th 2014, Pierce was born and changed my life forever. She saved me. My perfect, precious petunia. I know with everything in me that she was a gift from my mom.

In retrospect, navigating new parenthood in Portland at that time — no nearby family, no EO, barely any friends in town — taught me that being a father, like starting a business, is about moving forward with the best intentions, a healthy dose of BS, and the willingness to keep falling forward until you make it work. Like in business, you pay for support where you need it, you bring the baby and the work along with you, and you ask a lot of questions.

Unlike in EO, though, being a new parent or a first-time business owner means everyone seems to have an opinion. People will boisterously tell you what you should do and what you're doing wrong, while rarely offering a real helping hand. That's why quality daycare, preschool, and great babysitters — like good employees and consultants — have been so essential to raising both Pierce and Farm To Fit.

Even now, 15 years into the business and 12 years into parenting, I still wrestle with imposter syndrome. I haven't shed the fear that I'm going to fuck up Farm To Fit or my daughter. The fears have evolved over the years, but they still wake me up at night — sometimes more often than I'd like. Yet somehow, hearing from a satisfied customer or having Pierce look me in the eyes and say she loves me — all the fear melts away. A deep sense of pride and joy washes over me, and for a moment, everything feels right in the world and completely worth it.

Pierce saved me from my grief, showed me a whole new dimension of unconditional love, and continually strengthens my resolve to be better.

Like Pierce, EO has also given me many of those same gifts. Both give me a place to share, process, learn, and laugh. I'm certain that having both in my life has made me a better person, a better leader, and a better father.