I Quit My $150K Tech Job to Build with AI Full-Time (1 Year Later)

April 15th, 2024. I walked into my manager's office and said four words that changed my life:

'I'm putting in notice.'

$150K salary. Stock options. Healthcare. Free lunch. I gave it all up.

Everyone thought I'd lost my mind.

One year later. Here's what actually happened.

Let me be clear: I had a good job. Senior developer at [generic FAANG reference]. Great team. Interesting problems. Golden handcuffs.

But something was happening that I couldn't ignore.

In 2023, I started using Copilot. Then Cursor. Then Claude. And I noticed something:

I was shipping features in hours that used to take days. I was building side projects in weekends that used to take months.

And then the thought that wouldn't leave: 'If I can build this fast on nights and weekends... what could I do full-time?'

I did the math:

40 hours/week at BigCorp = $150K

10 hours/week on side projects = $3K/month (and growing)

40 hours/week on my own stuff = ???

That question mark haunted me.

Then my company announced layoffs. Not me - but people around me. Good people. The 'job security' illusion shattered.

I realized: I'm trading my time for their money. But with AI? I could trade my time for MY money.

Two weeks later, I quit.

Month 1: Pure Chaos

Week 1 felt like being on fire. In a good way? I built more in 7 days than I did in a month at BigCorp.

Three MVPs launched: An AI writing tool for newsletters, A code snippet manager, A Chrome extension for productivity

Revenue Month 1: $847

Not much. But it was MINE.

Month 2: Reality Check

Turns out, building is the easy part. Marketing is hard. Sales is harder.

The newsletter tool got 200 users. 3 paid. The others? 'Great product, can't afford it right now.'

Revenue Month 2: $1,234

Growing, but not enough to live on.

Month 3: The Pivot

Killed two projects. Doubled down on what worked.

The Chrome extension was getting organic traffic. People were sharing it. So I went all-in.

Added features every day. AI-powered, of course. Launched a Pro tier.

Revenue Month 3: $3,100

Now we're talking.

Month 4: The Doubt

This is the part nobody talks about. The honeymoon ends. The doubt creeps in.

I'd spent $22K of savings. Revenue covered maybe half my old salary. At this rate, I had 8 months of runway.

Interviews were flooding my LinkedIn. '$180K base.' '$200K + equity.'

I almost went back. Almost.

Month 5: The Breakthrough

Posted a demo of the Chrome extension on Twitter. Went semi-viral. 50K views.

2,000 new users in 48 hours. Conversion rate: 4.2%

Revenue Month 5: $8,700

First month I out-earned my FAANG salary. On my terms.

Month 6: Scaling

Added two more products to the suite. All AI-built. All leveraging the existing audience.

Revenue Month 6: $12,400

At this point, I stopped checking job listings.

Month 7-8: The Plateau

Growth stalled. $11K, $10K. Going backwards.

This is where most people quit. They hit a ceiling and bounce off.

I realized my mistake: I was building, not learning. I'd gotten lucky with one viral moment. I hadn't built repeatable systems.

Month 9: The System

Changed everything:

Content calendar (daily)

User interviews (weekly)

Product updates (bi-weekly)

New experiments (monthly)

Revenue Month 9: $14,200

System beats luck. Every time.

Month 10-12: Everything Compounds

When you build systems, things compound.

Month 10: $18,400

Month 11: $24,100

Month 12: $31,000

$31,000 in a single month. More than my monthly take-home at FAANG.

Year 1 Total:

Total revenue Year 1: $142,000

Profit (after costs): $127,000

Hours worked: ~2,200

Effective hourly rate: $58/hour

Financially? I made slightly less than my job would have paid. But with 100% ownership. And accelerating growth.

Month 13 (this month)? On track for $38K.

Do I regret it?

Not for a second.

What I Gained:

Time freedom (no meetings about meetings)

Creative control (build what I want)

Ownership (every dollar is mine)

Skills (shipped more in a year than 5 years at BigCorp)

Options (I'll never be one layoff away from panic)

What I Lost:

Stability (income varies wildly)

Structure (had to build my own)

Social (no team, gets lonely)

Healthcare (expensive without employer)

This isn't for everyone. If you need predictability, stay employed. No shame in that.

But if you've got that itch... that question that won't leave... AI just made the leap smaller.

I used to need funding, a team, and two years to build what I now build in a weekend.

That changes everything.

If you're considering this jump, here's my advice:

1. Build on the side first. Prove you can make $1 before you quit.

2. Save 12 months of expenses. You'll need more time than you think.

3. Learn AI tools now. They're the multiplier that makes this possible.

I've documented my tools, my process, and stories from 40+ other founders who made similar leaps at End of Coding.

Link in description.

One year ago, I was a senior developer with a golden cage.

Today, I'm a founder with a business I own.

Same person. Different leverage.

AI was the difference.