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Leaving Retool

I put in my 2 week notice this week.

As for what’s next, I’m going to be exploring startup ideas with my friend Justin Quan. We’ll mostly be focused on the AI space but we’ll be very open to everything and just follow where our curiosity takes us.

As for why I decided to leave:

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I was super nervous before the conversation with my manager because I wasn’t sure how to bring it up. I’ve never quit a job before. She seemed surprised at first but was super supportive of my decision. She asked me the standard questions about why and what could’ve changed my mind but we soon started discussing her own startup experience and life advice. I felt a lot better after she shared her own experience of quitting her first job and her reminder for me to just do what’s best for myself.

I was a bit depressed for the next few days because I honestly had a great time at Retool and I was quite sad for my time here to end. I’ve felt well supported by my manager. I’ve met and become close friends with a ton of great people. I’ve gotten to work on cool projects like debug tools, runtime performance, and multiplayer. I had a ton of fun and unique experiences such as shaving my head at a team offsite, eating dinner at French Laundry, playing poker in Vegas, and so much more.

One framework I’ve used to think about large decisions is whether I’d be willing to do something for free. I was combing through my old journal entries and found that one of my reasons for joining Retool was because I would’ve chosen to work here even if I wasn’t getting paid. And now, I will literally not be taking a salary in order to explore ideas with Justin so I’m very excited for this next chapter.