Ashish Kundra is the CEO of Conceptual, a growth agency that helps companies like Cursor, Perplexity, Superhuman, Fenty Beauty, GPTZero, and dozens more. Prior to that, he led growth at DuckDuckGo and founded two other companies. He’s also a husband and the father of a four-year-old son. In this episode, Ashish shares why starting a company when his son was one made sense for his family, how being married to a pediatrician shapes their parenting, and why he believes small falls prevent big falls. We discussed: Being married to a pediatrician and how that shapes parenting: Why Ashish sees it as a major advantage in handling health, nutrition, and everyday parenting decisions.Starting a company when his son was one: Why Ashish felt that early parenthood was still the right time to build something of his own.Avoiding over-parenting: How he gives his son more agency and lets natural consequences do some of the teaching.Why small falls prevent big falls: How Ashish thinks about struggle, discomfort, and building resilience early.Tracking happiness and contentment: Why he journals regularly and what he’s learned about sleep, exercise, and stress.Why your child is not your trophy: How he thinks about ambition, identity, and raising a son without ego. Where to find Ashish Kundra LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ashish-kundra-5a9b784/ X: https://x.com/akundra Where to find Adam Fishman FishmanAF Newsletter: www.FishmanAFNewsletter.com LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/adamjfishman/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/startupdadpod/ X: https://x.com/fishmanafIn this episode, we cover: (00:00) Welcome Ashish Kundra, CEO of Conceptual (02:57) What it is really like being married to a pediatrician (05:15) Nutrition, hydration, and diet hacks that actually help (08:31) Why he started a company when his son was a baby (12:38) Avoiding over-parenting and giving kids more agency (16:41) Why small falls can prevent bigger ones later (20:01) Tracking happiness, sleep, and stress in real time (24:13) The weekly one-on-one that keeps their marriage aligned (25:47) How he and his wife divide life at home (27:44) Grandparents, family planning, and designing life on purpose (29:34) Embracing imperfection as a parent and partner (31:15) Raising a kid without turning him into a trophy (34:33) The mistake he wishes he could redo as a dad (35:53) Navigating startup pressure and family time (37:59) Lightning round: strollers, quesadillas, Cocomelon, and minivans Resources From This Episode: Conceptual: https://conceptualhq.com/ Baby stroller: https://a.co/d/0aRvEiDH The Sound of Music (Film): https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0059742/ The Lion King (Film): https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0110357/ Mrs. Doubtfire (Film): https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0107614/ — Support Startup Dad For sponsorship inquiries, email: podcast@fishmana.comFor Startup Dad Merch: www.startupdadshop.com