
“Stop Making Kids Your Trophy” | Ashish Kundra (Dad of 1, CEO of Conceptual)
Startup Dad
Weekly One-on-One for Household Logistics
Ashish explains their routine meeting with an agenda to divide chores, plan trips, and protect quality time.
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
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/fishmanaf
In 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.com
For Startup Dad Merch: www.startupdadshop.com


