Google layoff, then a choice

Rob Waters was laid off from Google, then offered a new role as an AI sales specialist with a six-figure salary. But he'd grown frustrated with the company's bureaucracy and dreamed of starting his own business.

Unvested equity at stake

Waters faced a dilemma: returning to Google meant keeping hundreds of thousands of dollars in unvested equity. Walking away meant losing it all. He decided to leave and start Kanawai AI, a startup he cofounded.

“I went from making very high six figures to zero.”

Stock gains fuel departures

Since the end of two thousand twenty-two, shares of Meta, Alphabet, Amazon, Apple, and Microsoft have all at least doubled. But years of Big Tech layoffs have reminded workers their stock compensation isn't guaranteed.

Julie Zhu's three-year plan

Julie Zhu, twenty-nine, worked as a product designer at Apple for nearly four years. She wanted three to five years of runway before leaving. Her Apple stock, which she never sold, gave her the cushion she needed.

“I didn't sell anything during my time at Apple, and Apple has been doing really well.”

Zhu leaves to build her company

Last year, Zhu resigned from Apple to focus on Odd One In, an artist collectible company she'd been building on the side. Leaving meant forfeiting the remaining quarter of her Apple stock grant that hadn't yet vested.

AI equity shapes decisions

Yousuf Imran built up a financial cushion during roughly six years at Google, setting aside three hundred fifty thousand dollars before leaving in April to start an AI sales tools company. He said equity packages at OpenAI and Anthropic shaped his choice.

“If the only way to get real upside in this AI moment is equity, at some point, you ask yourself whether the equity should be in your own company.”

Dave Lewis joins an AI startup

Dave Lewis spent more than a decade at Google, Amazon, and Microsoft. The wealth from stock compensation gave him a financial cushion after Microsoft laid him off last October. In May, he joined Emberos, an AI startup, as head of partnerships.

Stock luck and timing matter

Stock compensation depends on when workers join, vesting schedules, stock performance, and decisions to sell or hold. A former Meta employee who joined in two thousand twenty-two received restricted stock units cheaply, then saw the stock surge over years.

Bushra Amiwala's bigger question

Bushra Amiwala weighed leaving her Google sales associate role to run for Congress. She felt the pull of Big Tech's golden handcuffs but ultimately decided the question wasn't financial. It was whether she'd regret not taking the chance.

“For me, it was a no-brainer. I knew I'd regret not doing it.”