This told essay is based on a conversation with Yusuf Imran, 41, a former Google account executive based in the Bay Area. Edited for length and clarity.
Even though I was making nearly $1 million last year as an account executive at Google, I was feeling a bit of FOMO around the AI boom.
I think most people at Google would honestly say the same thing.
Google’s compensation is very high, but OpenAI and Anthropic’s equity packages are out of this world. A three- or four-year stock grant in one of these companies can be life-changing money.
This calculation was part of my own calculation when deciding to start my own business focused on AI sales tools. If stock is the only way to truly benefit in this moment of AI, then at some point you will ask yourself whether that stock should be in your company.
How I Built a Million Dollar Sales Career
I grew up in Queens and went into sales because it’s a profession where talent can outweigh qualifications.
I joined Google in 2020 after a nearly 15-year career in sales, helping customers solve business problems using Google’s AI and machine learning technology.
Last year, my base salary was approximately $170,000, but commissions made up the majority of my compensation. My W-2 income was approximately $986,000.
I think part of my success came from what I call the immigrant hustle. My family immigrated to New York from Bangladesh when I was five years old, and I grew up believing that if you don’t put in the effort, you won’t get results.
I also think that my curiosity set me apart. I spent a lot of time learning about my customers’ businesses, understanding the problems they were trying to solve, and gaining deep knowledge about AI and machine learning to help them use technology effectively.
AI has become more than just a job.
Over time, my interest in AI extended beyond my work at Google. While I was selling AI products during the day, I spent my nights and weekends experimenting with tools like ChatGPT, Claude, and Gemini.
At first I was building small projects for myself. I’m not a software developer by trade, so I interacted with multiple AI tools to solve problems and found success through trial and error. I felt that vibe coding was like a video game.
As AI tools have improved, these projects have become more ambitious. I spent about a year and a half building a few apps and side projects and started thinking seriously about the opportunity to start my own business.
We also thought about job security at Google, given the company’s layoffs over the past few years. What struck me about the recent layoffs at Google was that they were attacking really talented people. The uncertainty of potentially getting fired also contributed to my decision to bet on myself.
In April, six years after joining Google, I left Google to found Mangosteen Studio, an AI product lab that builds go-to-market tools for account executives. The theme is simple. I’ve been fulfilling quotas for 20 years for several major companies. That’s why we’re building tools we wish we had.
Read more about people at corporate crossroads
Prepared financially before taking the leap
Leaving Google wasn’t something I did on impulse. Google is a huge organization with incredible resources and teams working on cutting-edge AI. Losing “insider” access and becoming less visible in that world was a major hesitation point for me.
There were also economic considerations. In particular, I needed to make sure I had enough savings to give the business a real chance without making major changes to my lifestyle.
I set aside $200,000 to fund my business for two years, and another $150,000 to cover my mortgage and personal expenses during that time.
My main goal is to keep the business running for as long as possible and not feel pressured to raise money because investors will quickly take over my equity. I also wanted to be financially comfortable so I could focus on building my business instead of worrying about paying my bills.
AI will change entrepreneurship
Today, I run the company as a sole founder with a small team of engineers, marketers, and other contractors. Although it’s early days, many sales professionals are already using our AI tools for free, giving us confidence that we’re building something that people will find useful.
For those who feel stuck or unchallenged in their careers, AI offers an opportunity to build something unique. The key is having domain expertise you can rely on. I wasn’t a software engineer, but I spent 20 years learning the problems salespeople face.
Ultimately, I realized that leaving Google meant leaving behind a lot, both financially and professionally. However, with my confidence and domain expertise, I felt now was the right time to take the risk.
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