I quit my $192K Microsoft job to build a startup. Weeks later, almost everything I owned was stolen.

"I resigned from Microsoft in September 2025. Less than a month later, I lost almost everything I owned. During my move from New York City to my hometown of Toronto, the trailer transporting my belongings was stolen in the middle of the night. The trailer was eventually recovered, but none of my belongings were. While resigning from Microsoft set me down this unfortunate path, I believe leaving Big Tech was the right move for me."

"I've had to learn what the Zen monks preach about letting go of your earthly possessions to reach enlightenment. I struggled to get promoted at Microsoft In 2016, I moved from Canada to New York City on a work visa. Before joining Microsoft, I worked at a smaller tech company for nearly seven years, starting as a junior employee and working my way up to a leadership role as a lead product engineer."

David Chong resigned from Microsoft in September 2025 to build an AI startup and moved from New York City to Toronto. Less than a month after leaving Microsoft, the trailer carrying his belongings was stolen and later recovered empty, leaving him without almost all possessions. He believes leaving Big Tech was the right decision and compares the loss to lessons from Zen monks about letting go of earthly possessions. Chong previously moved to New York in 2016 on a work visa, spent nearly seven years at a smaller tech company rising to lead product engineer, and joined Microsoft as a senior software engineer in 2022 but remained at that level for about three years.

Read at Business Insider