Google employee earning nearly $1 million a year quits, says 'I felt some FOMO...'
A former Google employee who earned almost $1 million in a year has explained why he chose to leave the technology giant and start his
A former Google employee who earned almost $1 million in a year has explained why he chose to leave the technology giant and start his own artificial intelligence (AI) company. In an as-told-to essay published by Business Insider, 41-year-old Yousuf Imran, a former account executive from the San Francisco Bay Area, said he was well paid at Google but felt "FOMO (Fear of missing out)" as AI companies such as OpenAI and Anthropic began offering stock packages that could be "life-changing." "I earned nearly $1 million last year as an account executive at Google, but I felt some 'FOMO' around the AI boom," he wrote. He said that owning a stake in his own business eventually became more appealing than the financial security of his job. Imran joined Google in 2020 after spending around 15 years working in sales.
His role involved helping customers use Google's artificial intelligence and machine-learning technologies. Although his annual base salary was about $170,000, commissions made up most of his income. He revealed that his total W-2 earnings for the year reached approximately $986,000. Also Read | How Sundar Pichai helped Indian techie build billion-dollar companies Imran said his strong work ethic came from what he described as an "immigrant hustle." His family moved from Bangladesh to New York when he was five years old, and he grew up believing that success came through hard work. He also credited his earnings to understanding customers' businesses and building expertise in AI and machine learning. What made him leave Google? Imran said his interest in AI gradually grew beyond his daily responsibilities at Google. During evenings and weekends, he experimented with AI tools including ChatGPT, Claude and Gemini, creating apps and personal projects despite having no background in software engineering.
He also said Google's recent rounds of job cuts made him reconsider his future. "What struck me about the recent layoff rounds at Google was that they hit genuinely talented people," he wrote. He added that the uncertainty encouraged him to "bet on" himself. How did he prepare before taking the risk? In April, Imran left Google to launch Mangosteen Studio, an AI product lab that develops AI-powered sales tools for account executives. He said the move was carefully planned rather than made on impulse. Before resigning, he saved $200,000 to finance the business for two years and set aside another $150,000 to cover his mortgage and personal expenses during that period. Imran said he hopes to grow the company without raising external funding for as long as possible, allowing him to keep ownership of the business and concentrate on building products instead of worrying about finances.
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