Bernard Nasouli runs a company with his wife. Same office. Same clients. Same mortgage industry chaos. Two teenagers at home. Most people hear that and say: I could never do that. Bernard's answer? When you're in that position, you find a way to survive and advance. In this episode Bernard — co-owner of iEmergent, husband, flag football coach, and horse dad — gets honest about what it actually takes to build a business with your spouse, raise two kids who are watching everything, and still have something left in the tank at the end of the day. Plus the professor quote that changed how he thinks about everything: don't play the game you find. Change the game you play. No highlight reels. Just a working dad figuring it out.
Three things you'll learn:
What we cover:
00:00 — Introduction
Bernard Nasouli, co-owner of iEmergent, husband, father of a 16-year-old son and 13-year-old daughter
00:00 — Building a business with your wife
Third tour with the company. Married in 2004. Kids in 2009 and 2012. And the question everyone asks: how do you work with your spouse every day?
00:00 — Survive and advance
The motto that runs the household and the business. What happens when you're already at capacity and there's nobody left to offload to.
00:00 — Knowing your lane
Sales is Bernard's. Strategy is hers. Laundry is his — and don't touch his system. How clear domains keep the peace at home and at work.
00:00 — The mortgage industry timing
Founded in 2000. Right into the mortgage meltdown. Then DuPont. Then back in 2015. And why he kept coming back.
00:00 — Coaching both kids in flag football
Coming out of retirement to coach his 13-year-old daughter. The horse shows. The school functions. And why entrepreneurship made all of it possible.
00:00 — Holding kids accountable vs. holding employees accountable
Why you can tell your kid to clean their room directly — and why you absolutely cannot do that with an employee.
00:00 — Teenagers seeing the struggle
Full transparency with the kids about what running a business actually costs. And why Bernard thinks that's one of the best things he can do for their future.
00:00 — The acquisition conversation
Growing to the point of attracting buyers. What changes when another party's interests enter the room. And why building to sell is a completely different business.
00:00 — The professor quote
Don't play the game you find. Change the game you play. Why that line shaped every decision Bernard has made.
00:00 — The legacy
Two happy kids who looked back and said they were loved — and were in awe of what their parents built.
About Bernard Nasouli
Bernard Nasouli is the co-owner of iEmergent, a data and forecasting company serving the mortgage industry. He grew up in Maryland, has lived in Iowa for twenty years, and has been with the company through three separate stints spanning from its founding in 2000 to today. He is a husband, business partner to his wife, flag football coach, horse show dad, and father of two teenagers.
About Working Dads
Working Dads is the podcast for fathers figuring out work, family, and everything in between. Every week host Johnathan Grzybowski sits down with working dads — founders, executives, investors, and everyday fathers — for honest conversations about the guilt, the grind, the marriage, the money, and what it actually takes to build a career and a family without dropping the ball on either.
No gurus. No highlight reels. Just real talk.
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