Startup DadI Quit My 7-Figure Job To Take Back My Time | Peter Yang (Dad of 2, Behind The Craft)
Peter Yang is the creator of Behind the Craft, a 100k+ subscriber YouTube channel and 150k+ subscriber newsletter focused on product, AI, and building. Previously a product leader at Roblox, Peter spent years climbing the traditional career ladder before walking away from a seven figure tech career to bet on himself and build his creator business full-time. And he did it all so he could spend time on what mattered most… his family. He’s the dad of two daughters, ages eight and four, and his wife is an engineer at Microsoft. They’re figuring out how to raise curious, resilient kids while navigating careers, technology, and a rapidly changing, AI-fueled world. We discussed: Walking away from a seven figure tech career: Why Peter left Roblox to bet on himself, and how trying to juggle a demanding job with his creator business was hurting both. Being more present with his daughters: How walking his eight-year-old to school and putting his phone away helped Peter create more focused, meaningful time with his kids. Breaking out of the traditional career script: How Peter’s immigrant upbringing, Ivy League path, and years in consulting, banking, and tech shaped a definition of success he eventually started to question. Teaching kids to build with AI: How Peter’s eight-year-old used Codex and voice commands to build her own game from scratch, and what that taught him about creativity, communication, and the future of learning. Raising kids with agency and resilience: Why Peter wants his daughters to learn how to build, sell, fail, communicate clearly, and pursue the things they genuinely enjoy. Remembering that family matters more than the career ladder: Why Peter is spending more time with his aging parents, preserving their stories for his daughters, and rethinking what kind of legacy actually matters. Where to find Peter Yang LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/petergyang/ X: https://x.com/petergyang YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@PeterYangYT 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) Welcoming Peter Yang, creator of Behind The Craft (02:58) Why Peter walked away from Roblox (04:13) What Peter learned from walking his daughter to school (09:53) Breaking free from the Ivy League success script (11:46) Overcoming a scarcity mindset and redefining security (14:37) Peter’s principles for betting on yourself (17:49) How product management theater pushed Peter to make a change (22:16) Teaching his daughter to build with Codex (27:00) How AI is changing the way kids learn (34:10) Helping your kids find their zone of genius (37:10) Preparing kids for a world without a traditional career ladder (38:56) Creating vs. consuming and Peter’s rules for screen time (47:28) Why Peter only publishes things he’d want his kids to see (48:43) Raising kids while your parents are getting older (56:59) Lightning round and Peter’s parenting hacks Resources From This Episode: Behind The Craft: https://www.behindthecraft.com/ Behind The Craft (Substack): https://creatoreconomy.so/ Behind The Craft (Youtube): https://www.youtube.com/@PeterYangYT Peter Yang on Github: https://github.com/petergyang No AI Slop (Github): https://github.com/petergyang/no-ai-slop Human Review (Github): https://github.com/petergyang/human-review Roblox (Video Game): https://www.roblox.com/ Being Mortal (Book by Atul Gawande): https://atulgawande.com/book/being-mortal/ Wait But Why’s The Tail End (Article): https://waitbutwhy.com/2015/12/the-tail-end.html Open AI Codex: https://openai.com/codex/ ChatGPT: https://chatgpt.com/ Claude: https://claude.ai/ Claude Code: https://claude.com/product/claude-code Granola: https://www.granola.ai/ Linear: https://linear.app/ Blend: https://blend.com/ Magna-Tiles (Toy): https://www.magnatiles.com/ Lululemon (Apparel): https://shop.lululemon.com/ Ten Thousand (Apparel): https://www.tenthousand.cc/ StarCraft (Video Game): https://starcraft.blizzard.com/ Harry Potter (Book Series): https://www.goodreads.com/series/45175-harry-potter The Iron Giant (Film): https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0129167/ Toy Story 3 (Film): https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0435761/ Kiki’s Delivery Service (Film): https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0097814/ My Neighbor Totoro (Film): https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0096283/ Rocky (Film): https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0075148/ Toyota Highlander (Car): https://www.toyota.com/highlander/ — Support Startup Dad For sponsorship inquiries, email: podcast@fishmana.com For Startup Dad Merch: www.startupdadshop.com
