The Story Behind Dad Grid

In 2023, Rob Duve walked into an entrepreneur's summit at a crossroads. A father of five, he was coming to terms with the prospect of divorce and searching for a way forward, not just for himself, but for his children. He was looking forward to hearing Ed Mylett and a few of his friends present their keynotes, yet it was a speaker he never heard of that made the biggest difference that weekend.

It was a message not unlike one he'd heard before. Some version of “if not me then who, if not now, then when?” And yet, that weekend it hit different, and Rob realized something that began his journey here. He realized that the tools he was discovering, tools to disrupt generational patterns, to truly love and accept himself, to build emotional resilience, were exactly what thousands of other fathers desperately needed. But like many of us, Rob didn't know where to start. In the end, he started with himself.

“I'm not a doctor or a therapist,” Rob says. “I'm a hard-working dad that cares.” Over the next year, Rob's life was completely changed. He and his partner of nearly 20 years and mother of their 5 children separated. At first he was embarrassed and felt like a failure that his marriage was unwinding. He desperately hoped his wife would be open to reconciling and wanted to protect both of their images. So he dug into therapy, emotional healing, and explored many other modalities and programs in an effort to “fix” things, while keeping the heavy truth about his situation from almost everyone. He looked for resources for single dads, local support groups or online communities that could provide some direction. But despite living in one of the largest metros in the U.S., he found almost no support for fathers going through divorce.

The few people that knew the situation offered support and slowly, as he shared his story, he found other fathers like him, who desperately wanted to repair relationships and become a better version of themselves. Through those connections, he started to discover that “authenticity, showing up real, showing up broken, showing up willing, is exactly what other dads need to see.” In the end this is what allowed him to see himself differently and continue the journey not for his wife or even his kids, but for himself. Because as he focused on becoming the greatest expression of himself, he also became a father with greater capacity.

Dad Grid was born from that conviction: that he as one father who heals can change the trajectory of his five children, and as a result those children can transform hundreds of lives downstream. Dad Grid is the program Rob wished existed when he needed it most.