I left my $200K Microsoft job to bet on my startup. Work became less fun, and AI made me feel ready to build it alone.

Junead Khan left Microsoft in 2025 to focus on building his AI startup, Treasury, without a cofounder or venture capital funding. Junead Khan Junead Khan earned over $200,000 his at Microsoft, but he decided to leave the company anyway. He said the job had become less fun and that he wanted to go all in on his side business. He resigned with no customers or VC funding and has since grown his social-media following to around 30,000. This as-told-to essay is based on a conversation with Junead Khan, a 25-year-old entrepreneur in Seattle. He worked at Microsoft before resigning last year to focus on his startup, Treasury. The following has been edited for length and clarity. I had a really good experience at Microsoft when I first joined full-time in 2023.