Balancing the Grind with Peter Cooper, Co-Founder & CCO of Coopah

Peter Cooper is the co-founder & CCO of Coopah, a digital run coach for runners, powered by AI, delivered in an app.

1) To kick things off, could you tell us a little about your career background and current role?

​For the past 7 years, I have always worked in either partnerships or SaaS sales. After being made redundant though, I took some time to really think about what I wanted to do and with that, I knew I wanted to promote the power of running and help more runners improve their physical and mental health. I am now the proud Co-Founder and CCO of Coopah. A digital running coach app. 

2) What does a day in your life look like for you? Can you take us through a recent workday?

A day as a co-founder of a startup can be different everyday but I always try to start my day with a run, this could be an easy run with friends or a hard speed session.

I then try to clear my inbox so I can focus on the task in hand for the day. There are usually lots of meetings starting with a daily stand up with me and my co-founder. From here, the day could include things such as:

• Dealing with customer enquiries
• Talking to potential race partners or current partners
• Planning how our socials will look for the coming week
• Reviewing our SEO and ads
• Working on our fundraise

It is safe to say that no day is the same but I always make time for a run, to eat and spend time with my wife and friends. 

3) What does work-life balance mean to you and how do you work to achieve that goal?

Work-life balance to me means flexibility. As long as the work is done, I don’t mind how this has been achieved. If you want to cycle all day and do your work in the evening, that’s fine, as long as you don’t reject meetings due to cycling.

I think the reality though is that you need to be able to be free to jump on things between normal office hours however a few hour break in the middle of the day isn’t going to hurt anyone.

I actually have ADHD so I tend to find I work well in short bursts. I tend to do 30 mins of effort, then have a rest and get back into it. I always end my day reviewing what I want to achieve next and I find this helps me to stay focused on the task at hand. 

4) In the past 12 months, have you started or stopped any routines or habits to change your life?

Yes, at the start of the year I tried to join the 5am club. I absolutely loved it however found it hard to do 7 days a week as I tend to try to do too much.

Since April, I haven’t managed to keep it up but I still try to take lots of the learnings from the book and put it into a schedule that works for me. 

5) Do you have any favourite books, podcasts or newsletters that you’d like to recommend?

The Diary of a CEO by Steven Bartlett. Always inspiring and always great to hear his guest talk about real life stuff. 

6) If you could read an interview about work-life balance by anyone, who would that be?

I would love to read this by any professional athlete who manages to balance being an Olympian whilst also having a full-time job. I think they must be able to really get this right. They constantly perform at work whilst also smashing it on the biggest stage of their sport. 

7) Do you have any last thoughts on work, life or balance that you’d like to share with our readers?

Don’t compare yourself to others. You are who are, and the world is a better place for us all being different. Don’t try to change everything all at once. You are better to make one small change at a time and stick to it than try to do too many and not manage to change any habits. Oh, and try running, it’s great!

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