Startup Dad

In this episode of Startup Dad, Adam Fishman sits down with Rishabh Jain , the CEO of FERMÀT Commerce , a company he launched when his oldest daughter was just a few weeks old. He’s also a husband and father of two kids under the age of four. In this conversation, Rishabh shares why he believes parenthood actually makes entrepreneurship easier, how he manages family life alongside scaling startups...

Zach Teutsch is the founder of Values Added Financial , and a former leader at the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. He’s also a husband, father of two, and a master of weaving big-picture life principles into day-to-day parenting. In this episode, Zach and I talk about building independence in kids, creating household shortcuts to reduce decision fatigue, and why boredom is one of the best gi...

Jeremy King , co-founder and CEO of Ocean Orchestra and former CEO of Attest, shares his journey as a founder, ocean advocate, and father of two daughters. In this episode, Jeremy opens up about building systems for both his family and his startups, why ocean conservation is personal to him, and how parenting has informed his leadership style. We discussed: Blending startup leadership with family...

In this episode of Startup Dad, Adam Fishman sits down with Jeff Selingo , a bestselling author, journalist and education expert, to discuss the complexities of college admissions and how parents can help their kids find their "Dream School." Jeff has spent over two decades researching higher education and is the author of Dream School: Finding the College That's Right for You , Who Gets in and Wh...

Peter Kazanjy is the best-selling author of Founding Sales and co-founder of Atrium . He’s also a dad to a seven-year-old son, Michael, and husband to Tracy, a designer and entrepreneur. In this episode, Pete reflects on building companies, building capabilities, and building a family. He talks about the grit and perseverance behind their seven-round IVF journey, delivery room chaos, and how he no...

James Currier is a serial entrepreneur, founding partner at NFX , and a father of 4 boys. Known for his sharp insights into human behavior and startup dynamics, James brings that same clarity and intention to his parenting. He’s not just raising kids, he’s cultivating creators, adventurers, and independent thinkers. In this episode, James shares how he designed his family life with the same care a...

Mike Malloy is the founder of Malloy Industries , a firm that connects scaling entrepreneurs with vetted fractional executives. He's also a Georgetown professor, a husband, and the father of Max, the company's self-declared Chief Cuteness Officer. Mike’s life is an intersection of serious business systems and silly dad jokes, all woven together by an intentional approach to work-life integration....

Michael Leibovich is the Head of Growth at Adobe, but at home, he’s dad to a curious two-and-a-half-year-old and husband to a full-time working partner. With a previous career as a touring musician and a current career in creative tech leadership at companies like Vimeo and Abstract, Michael brings an emotionally grounded, inventive lens to fatherhood. In this episode, Michael shares how parenting...

Lauren Dugan and Neil Vidyarthi are the husband-and-wife co-founders of Feel Good Games , creators of Little Magic Stories , an AI storytelling platform designed to spark creativity and independence in kids. They’re also parents of two boys (ages 3 and 8), longtime partners in both life and work, and startup veterans bringing a playful, grounded perspective to the founder-parent journey. In this e...

Aaron White , founder of six companies including Appy People, Profitwell, Boundless and Blissfully discusses the intersection of startup life and fatherhood.  In this episode, he shares how the challenges of becoming a parent have reshaped his approach to leadership, the unexpected lessons he's learned, and his evolving perspective on success. We discussed: The unpredictable journey of parenthood...

Olav Sindre Kriken is a four-time founder, husband, and father of three who’s currently leading Tana , an AI-powered productivity startup. Originally from a small town in Norway, Olav now lives in Palo Alto, and splits his time between scaling a company and staying deeply present for his family. He believes his family is the most important startup he’ll ever build. In this episode, Olav reflects o...

Roger Einstoss is the founder of Braintly, a software development company specializing in helping U.S.-based companies build and scale their engineering teams in Latin America. He's also a husband, father of two young kids, and passionate about balancing work and family while maintaining emotional intelligence in his parenting. In this episode, Roger shares his unique perspective on parenting in A...

Dan Fishman is a husband, a lawyer, and a relatively new parent. He’s also Adam’s brother, and the very special guest for the 100th episode of Startup Dad. By day, Dan is Associate General Counsel at Redwood Trust, but at home, he’s going through fatherhood for the first time by navigating toddler teething, sleep deprivation, and the occasional lemon tree massacre. He’s still  figuring out what ki...

Alex Egeler is a former engineering executive turned parent career coach. He’s also a father of four boys, a husband, and a stay-at-home dad who helps other working parents navigate meaningful careers that support, not strain their families.  In this episode, Alex opens up about the unpredictable reality of parenting, the generational mental health patterns he’s determined to break, and how becomi...

Ben Erez is a former founder and product leader turned solopreneur and instructor. He teaches a popular Maven course for aspiring product managers, hosts the podcast Supra Insider, and is a proud girl dad living in Brooklyn.  In this episode, Ben shares what it’s like raising a daughter while building a portfolio career on his own terms. We discussed: How solo parenting can feel easier: Why Ben fi...

Jamie Lee is the Founder of JME Labs , a consulting business supporting startups and small businesses. Her husband, Jeff Okita , is the VP of Product at Tilt , a leave management platform. Together, they’re raising their 14-month-old daughter while managing demanding careers and a shared vision of parenting. We talked about: Building a strong support system: How Jamie and Jeff rely on an extended...

David Apple is the Founder of Shark Tooth Biotech , a company focused on developing treatments for CMT 1A, a rare genetic disease affecting his oldest son. Previously an executive at Typeform, Notion, and Zingtree, David stepped away from startup life to become his son’s full-time advocate.  He’s also a father of two, a board member of the CMTA, and a first-time children’s book author. We talked a...

Alex Medick is the Director of Marketing at TensorWave , an AI infrastructure company. Prior to this role, he served as the President and Chief Marketing Officer of Inside.com. He’s also a single dad to two kids, a son and a daughter, navigating the challenges of parenting while leading in the startup world.  We discussed: - Balancing parenting with startup demands: How Alex manages being the prim...

Jordan Gal is the CEO of Rosie , an AI answering service for small businesses. He’s also a five-time founder, husband, and dad to three daughters. Born in Israel and raised in an immigrant entrepreneur household, Jordan shares how that upbringing shapes his parenting and how he and his wife work to combine their very different childhood experiences. We discussed: Talking to kids about money: How J...

Sol Kennedyi is the founder of BestInterest which helps co-parents navigate the messiness of that complex relationship. He is a serial founder who has built and sold multiple companies and has been the head of product at Dropcam, a PM at Google and an angel investor in companies like Coinbase, Gitlab and Instacart. In addition to being a serial entrepreneur he’s also a single, half-time dad of two...

Nikunj Kothari is a former investor with Khosla Ventures and a product and growth leader from companies like Opendoor, Shyp, and LinkedIn. He’s now out on his own advising, investing and spending time as a husband and a father of two, including a brand new son! We discussed: * The false dichotomy between ambition and parenting and the support structures needed to achieve it * The work it takes to...

Brian Holt is Staff Product Manager at Neon and has been a VP of Product and product leader at companies like SQLite Cloud, Snowflake, Stripe and Microsoft. He was also an engineer at both Netflix and Reddit where he was one of the earliest employees. He’s a husband and the father of one son and brand new daughter. We discussed: * Preparing for the arrival of your 2nd kid * The importance of being...

Robert Wolfe is the co-founder of Zeck a company designed to make managing board meetings easier for everyone. He’s also founded and sold both Crowdrise (to GoFundMe) and Moosejaw Mountaineering (to Wal-Mart). He’s a husband and the father of 2 sons. We discussed: * The journey from founding Moosejaw to today * Founding multiple companies with a celebrity and your brother * Raising a family while...

Greg Laughlin is the founder of Campwing, a product designed to take the headache out of summer camp planning. Parents use detailed filters to search through every summer camp in their area in cities like Los Angeles, San Francisco and Seattle. Prior to Campwing, Greg was the co-founder of Statwing, a statistical analysis product he sold to Qualtrics that became their Stats IQ product. He’s also a...

Jeff Fritz is principal program manager at Microsoft where he leads production for one oftheir largest developer events. He’s also active in the developer community as a live-coding Twitch streamer, Youtuber, and podcast host. He’s a lifelong developer who got his start working on the family’s Commodore 64. In addition to his work as program manager and developer he’s a husband and the father of t...