Google Software Engineer, Podcaster, Quit to Pursue AI Startup

This as-told-to essay is based on a conversation with Aashna Doshi, a 23-year-old former Google software engineer based in New York City. The following has been edited for length and clarity.

I took a big risk to get my Google job. Now I’m taking another one by leaving it.

Around February 2024, months before graduating from Georgia Tech, I received a full-time job offer from Google.

But there was one problem: The offer was for an engineering role based in California, and I really wanted to work in New York City.

In a tech job market that had become more challenging for many of my peers, no opportunity could be ignored. Even so, I decided to place my bets and turn the offer down.

The risk paid off. Two months later, I accepted a software engineering role at Google based in New York City.

I didn’t realize I’d take an even bigger risk when a side project I started around the same time would eventually push me to leave Google altogether.

I wanted something creative outside of coding

Overall, I really enjoyed my experience at Google. I was learning every day and meeting a lot of smart people from diverse backgrounds.

But working as a software engineer is a heavily technical job, and I wanted something more interactive and creative outside of sitting at my desk.

I loved meeting people, hearing their stories, and learning from them, which eventually sparked the idea of starting a podcast. In early 2025, while still working at Google, I started the “0 to 1” podcast with my cohost, a software engineer in Big Tech.

The name for the show, in addition to being a nod to our backgrounds in software engineering, came from the idea that there’s so much value between zero — where someone started — and one — who they are today. My cohost and I believe that a lot can be learned from people’s journeys, and that there’s sometimes too much focus on where people are rather than how they got there.

We decided to start the podcast because we wanted a creative outlet outside of engineering — but also to expand our networks and connect with people in roles much more senior than us.

The podcast helped us “network up”

A lot of the early guests came through cold DMs, our network, and people we were close with. We interviewed founders, engineers, executives, and creators about the journey from where they started to who they are today.

Things picked up much faster than we expected. Within the first year, the podcast crossed 100,000 YouTube views. Eventually, it became easier to reach people, and we were able to bring on leaders from large companies like Amazon and Microsoft.

Without the podcast, it was hard to imagine how we might go about connecting with someone high up in a big company.

It felt like the right time to leave Google

At a Big Tech company, you’re one piece of a very large machine, and I craved the ability to make decisions, move fast, and see the direct results of my work.

On top of that, the AI tools available to builders right now are unlike anything we’ve had before. I had a strong conviction around a specific idea, and I didn’t want to look back and wish I had taken the shot when the timing was this good.

In May, I left Google to go all-in on building my AI startup, Bounty, with my podcast co-host. It’s an outcome-based AI marketplace where companies can post specific tasks — like sourcing candidates, running outreach, or generating leads — and only pay for verified results.

Having the podcast helped give me the confidence to make the leap. We’re living in a world where media and distribution are everything for a startup, and having a podcast with a built-in audience of founders and operators — the exact people our business is being built for — is the perfect distribution channel for what we’re building.

Leaving Google was a financial risk I’m willing to take

Even though leaving Google made sense from a personal and business perspective, giving up my Google paycheck wasn’t an easy decision. We’re still pre-launch and not generating revenue yet. I’m taking a founder salary, but it’s definitely a fraction of what I was making at Google. The podcast isn’t generating any income yet, but we’re hopeful it will soon through sponsorships.

Leaving Google was a risk, but I’ve always believed that if you feel a strong enough pull toward something, you have to be willing to walk away from good in pursuit of something that could be great. Financial security is comfortable, but it can also be a trap.

The scarier version of this decision wasn’t leaving Google. It was staying and always wondering what could have been.

Do you have a story to share about how you’re navigating a career crossroads? If so, please reach out to the reporter via email at [email protected], or via Signal at jzinkula.29.