Connection is the antidote to stress and guilt. Not productivity hacks. Not parenting tips. Take 3 minutes to find what the gap is between the dad you are and the dad you aspire to be.
Free · 2 minutes · Zero judgment · Instant results
Free · 3 minutes · Zero judgment · Instant results
Things business-driven dads don't talk about, but they feel them every day.

You snap faster than you want to, from pure exhaustion.

Your child pulls away, and you don’t know how to reach them.

Work feels easier than home, which creates an internal conflict.

You worry you're missing their childhood while being "busy."

You carry guilt and stress, even while doing your best.
It's not about more time. It's about showing up differently in the time you have.
Where you are now
Escaping into work because that's where you feel competent and rewarded
Trying to "fix" fatherhood with productivity hacks and better routines
Stress & guilt as permanent companions
Performing "present dad" without actually being present; feeling frustrated as a result
Identity defined entirely by your career


Where you are headed
Coming home and genuinely wanting to be there, while accepting it won't be "perfect"
Build on what you know and finally become the dad you aspire to be
Turn stress & guilt into connection & fulfilment
Create a deep, real connection that your kids will remember when they're adults
A strong identity that doesn't need a job title
Whether you want to dip a toe or dive deep, there's a way in.
01 - KNOW WHERE YOU STAND
Connection Scorecard
10 questions. 3 minutes. You will get a personalised score, an archetype, and a radar chart that shows exactly where the gaps are across 10 dimensions. You also get 3 tailored actions based on your lowest score, to start closing the gap.
Free
3 minutes
02 - STAY SHARP
Actionable Strategies
A bi-weekly email with one technique you can use in under 5 minutes. Drawn from my own experiments, research, and the best ideas from podcasts I follow, distilled into a 3-minute read with a clear action.
Free
Every 2 weeks
03 - FULL TRANSFORMATION
90-Day Coaching Program
A custom, structured, and hands-on coaching program that enables you to turn stress and guilt into deep connection with your kids and fulfilment in your fatherhood journey - in 90 days.
See how it works
90 days
“
"Somehow, Fred managed to tap into a sense of calm in me that I didn't really know was there."

Mark de Cates
1x Dad
Director @ Idelogy Ltd
“
"The breakthroughs I experienced with Fred made me a more present and engaged father."

Carl Radley
2x Dad
Manager @ SDWorks
“
"I've found a new sense of balance and connection with myself and family, thanks to Fred."

Flurin Meng
3x Dad
Co-Founder @ aspect3
I'm Fred. Portuguese, living in Barcelona, married, two kids (6 and 3). Former Corporate Leader at Sage UK. Certified Executive Coach.
I wrote a book called "Stress-Free Fatherhood." Finished it. Then I got diagnosed with burnout two days later.
That failure taught me a real lesson:
Start with the Connection Scorecard. It's free, takes a few minutes, and it gives you a clear picture of where you are right now across the areas that matter most.
You also get 3 actions you can take right away, based on your lowest score.
Lastly, you get to book a free 30-minute Connection Audit with me, where we map out your biggest challenge as a dad, define the desired outcome, and get one concrete, custom step that will make a real difference.
No commitment. No pitch. Just an actionable talk between two dads.
Yes. And I say that as someone who kicked a chair and broke the living room window the day after coming back from a spiritual retreat. True story, fellow dad.
The guilt you feel? It's actually a signal. It means you care about the kind of dad you want to be, and you can feel the gap between that and what's actually happening in your day-to-day.
Most dads I talk to carry this quietly. They snap, feel terrible, promise to do better tomorrow, and the cycle repeats. I lived that cycle for years. It's one that tends to lead to burnout and depression.
So, to be clear, the guilt isn't the problem. Staying stuck in it is.
Everything on this site exists because I needed a way out of that loop and couldn't find one.
My kids are 3 and 6, so I'm not going to pretend I've been through the teenage years myself.
But here's what I know from coaching and from the research: it's not too late. It's harder, yes. The window looks different. A teenager won't sit on your lap and play whatever you suggest.
With that said, my coaching focuses on you as a dad, and it helps regardless of your kids' ages.
My suggestion is that you start with the Connection Scorecard. It's free, takes a few minutes, and it gives you a clear picture of where you are right now across the areas that matter most.
Then you can book a free 30-minute Connection Audit with me, where we map out your biggest challenge as a dad, define the desired outcomes, and get one concrete, custom step that will make a real difference.
That's also an opportunity for us to meet and see if we're a good fit to work together.
No upfront commitments.
I know the pattern because I lived it. Read the book, felt inspired for two days, then life happened, and I was back to snapping at my daughter over breakfast.
Books give you ideas. Podcasts give you perspective. But neither one gives you a structure you can follow when you're exhausted, stressed, and your kid is having a meltdown at 7 pm on a Tuesday.
That's what I built here. No more theory.
A scorecard to see where you actually are, from a connection standpoint. It gives you direction, and 3 concrete actions you can take to start closing the gap.
I've also built a 90-day programme for dads who want real accountability and work through it together.
It's different from other books/podcasts because we use business strategies that you're already familiar with to create a personalised roadmap and milestones to take you from stressed & disconnected to calm & connected.
I'm a Portuguese dad living in Barcelona with my wife and two kids, a 3-year-old boy and a 6-year-old girl (almost 7).
For 15 years, I worked in corporate innovation. My last role was Innovation Catalyst at Sage, where I built multiple teams, raised funding (over $2M), solved hard problems, and was accountable to Sage's C-suite.
From the outside, it looked like I had it figured out.
But at home, I was constantly stressed, reactive, and disconnected from my kids. In particular, with my first one.
As a result, the solution I found was to escape into work, to continue thriving and growing, because it was easier than sitting with the guilt of not being the dad I aspired to be.
In 2024, I left my job. Took what I call a Midlife Freedom Break. Wrote a book called “Stress-Free Fatherhood,” finished it, and burned out two days later. That's when I realised: stress can't be eliminated. But a deep connection with our kids can be built, even in the mess. Especially in the mess.
I'm not a guru. I'm not done figuring this out. I'm a certified Executive Coach and a dad in the trenches, building something I wish existed when I needed it most.
Today, my mission is to help business-driven dads in Europe turn stress and guilt into a deep connection with their kids and find fulfilment in their fatherhood journey, as I did.
Every two weeks, one short email. A real story, a reframe that sticks, and one thing you can try that same day with your kid.
Drawn from my own experiments, research, and the best ideas from podcasts I listen to
New strategies you can use in under 5 minutes
One actionable takeaway per issue
3 minutes read, every two weeks
Downloadable infographic
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Helping business-driven expat dads turn stress and guilt into deep connection with their kids and fulfilment in their fatherhood journey.

Helping business-driven dads in Europe to turn stress and guilt into deep connection with their kids and fulfilment in their fatherhood journey.
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© 2026 Dads Freedom by Fred Figueiredo.
All rights reserved.
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Helping business-driven dads in Europe to turn stress and guilt into deep connection with their kids and fulfilment in their fatherhood journey.
© 2026 Dads Freedom by Fred Figueiredo. All rights reserved.
Privacy Policy