A 25-year-old former Microsoft engineer has revealed why he walked away from a lucrative job paying more than $200,000 a year to build his own artificial intelligence startup. Despite earning a six-figure income and working at one of the world's biggest technology companies, Junead Khan decided to pursue entrepreneurship after feeling that his job was no longer helping him develop the skills he wanted.
In an interview with Business Insider, Khan, who lives in Seattle, explained how changing priorities at Microsoft and advances in AI technology influenced his decision to resign in August 2025.
Why did he leave Microsoft?
Khan joined Microsoft in 2023 after graduating from college and initially enjoyed working on the company's global data centre expansion.
However, things began changing in early 2025 when Microsoft placed greater emphasis on security and service stability following several outages.
"It felt like shipping things got slower. That started to take some of the fun out of the job for me," he said.
{{/usCountry}}"It felt like shipping things got slower. That started to take some of the fun out of the job for me," he said.
{{/usCountry}}Although he earned more than $200,000 in 2024, including bonuses and stock, Khan felt he was missing opportunities to develop his AI skills.
Building a startup while working full-time
Khan, who grew up in the UK before moving to the US in 2019, began developing his startup, Treasury, while studying computer science at the University of North Carolina.
The idea emerged from his experience managing finances across two countries. He wanted to create an AI-powered financial coaching platform accessible to ordinary people.
For nearly two years, he worked on Treasury during evenings and weekends while continuing his Microsoft job.
Khan initially planned to resign only if he secured admission to a startup accelerator such as Y Combinator. However, his applications were unsuccessful.
Instead of abandoning his plans, he decided to fund the business himself using his Microsoft savings. He eventually resigned after ensuring that some of his company stock had vested and he would not have to repay part of his joining bonus.
Where is his startup now?
Khan launched Treasury in October 2025 and remains its sole employee. He credits AI coding tools, including Claude Code and Codex, with helping him develop the product without a co-founder.
His startup has generated more than $6,000 in revenue and attracted paying customers. However, Khan continues to live off his savings rather than drawing a salary.
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He has also built a social media following of approximately 30,000 by documenting his entrepreneurial journey.
Reflecting on his decision, Khan said, "I've learned that sometimes the only permission you need is your own."