- Kevin Naughton Jr left Google, earning nearly $350,000 annually, to start his own business
- He knew from his first day at Google that he wanted to work for himself eventually
- The death of his father in 2022 was a turning point that made him rethink his priorities
Landing a job at Google is a career milestone for many. However, for Kevin Naughton Jr, the well-paid role was always meant to be temporary. The New York-based tech professional recently spoke about his decision to leave Google, where he was earning nearly $350,000 (Rs 3.3 crore) a year, to build a startup of his own. He said he knew from the beginning that he eventually wanted to work for himself.
"It was kind of on the first day, but in all seriousness, I just kind of knew from the first day; I always knew I wanted to work for myself. I always knew I was going to leave," he said.
Naughton Jr described Google as one of the best nine-to-five jobs he could have asked for but said it simply did not match what he wanted to do with his life. The biggest turning point came in 2022, when he lost his father. The personal loss made him rethink his priorities and pushed him to focus more seriously on doing work that made him happy.
"So that was like a really big, you know, just wake-up call. You have to do what you want. You have to be happy every day. And I knew that, as great as Google was – I think it's the best nine-to-five job I honestly could have – but it wasn't really what I wanted to do every day," he added.
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But the decision was not made without preparation. Naughton Jr said he is generally conservative when it comes to taking financial risks, so he spent years building enough savings to give himself several years of financial runway. A conversation with a close friend helped him take the final step.
"He told me… 'If you don't need to work for three years and you're not going to keep working for yourself after the third year, if it's not working, you just go back to a job. Any money you're saving after the third year, for example, is a waste. Like you should just quit your job and go and try it," Naughton Jr explained.
That safety net gave Naughton Jr the confidence to make the leap from a comfortable corporate career to entrepreneurship.
His story has since attracted attention online, particularly because he chose to give up a salary that many people would consider difficult to walk away from. One user wrote, "Thanks for sharing, bro! Wondering did you ever feel regret the decision? Did you ever miss the 9-5 life? Or you found your current life is exactly what you wanted. I'm also at a point where I want to try something new, so really curious your thoughts, thanks!"
Another commented, "Congratulations on all your success, Kev."
