Deciding to forgo a high-paying job for one's own business is a difficult step, especially when it turns out that staying a little longer could have brought in a significant sum of money after leaving. Atishay Jhin, a former software engineer at Microsoft, faced this situation. He left the company to create his AI startup, but shortly after his departure, Microsoft introduced a voluntary separation program that could have earned him around 1.5 million rupees.
Despite losing this amount, Atishay does not regret his decision. Previously, Atishay Jhin worked at both Microsoft and Nutanix. Last month, he left Microsoft to dedicate himself fully to his AI project, ScaleWorks AI.
Atishay shared in a LinkedIn post that he made the decision to leave too hastily, quitting a month earlier than planned. If he had stayed with the company for one more month, he could have received about 1.5 million rupees under Microsoft's voluntary separation offer. He noted that these 1.5 million rupees were offered in exchange for leaving the very job he had already decided to quit. Although the loss of this amount disappointed him, he emphasized that he does not regret his decision to leave the job.
Atishay also mentioned in his post that his startup, ScaleWorks AI, has achieved significant success in its first month after his departure. According to him, the startup officially became a member of the OpenAI partner network. Furthermore, he managed to get into the global freelancer network Toptal. Atishay believes that now, with the time freed from work, he can focus entirely on developing his startup, allowing him to work on his ideas faster.
In his post, Atishay questions whether he lost 1.5 million by leaving a month early or gained an extra month to pursue his dream. In his opinion, only time will provide the answer to this question. In conclusion, he asked to be asked about this decision in two years. His story serves as an example for those willing to take risks, leaving stable employment and guaranteed salary for their own venture. Nevertheless, startup success is not guaranteed, and such decisions always involve financial risks.