6 Months Since Leaving Corporate. Here’s What I’ve Learned

6 months ago, I left my corporate career.

I went to UCLA, got my M.S. degree, and spent five years in corporate. By conventional standards, it was everything I wanted: great salary, prestigious company, fully remote, passionate colleagues.

But two shifts happened that made me realize I needed to move on to my next chapter.

I moved so fast into entrepreneurship that I haven't really paused to reflect. Today, I'm taking that beat.

Life update today, then starting tomorrow, I’ll send a 6-day series: '6 Lessons from 6 Months Helping Teams Implement AI' + freebies each day. 

Here’s the life update.

Two fundamental shifts happened.

1. Shift #1: I got a clear vision for my life.

When I was in graduate school, I didn’t understand how important the speed of learning would continue to be. Now, I think the most important thing about school is really just preparing us to become lifelong learners.

Being in corporate was very educational but also challenging.

Sometimes how you want to develop & grow is aligned with what your company needs you to deliver, but many times it is not.

When I projected my life out, I saw that I needed to build something from the ground up to reach the next level.

I slowly realized that money needed to take a back seat if I wanted to prioritize my long-term development and acquire the skills and experiences I needed to get to my version of success.

I’ve always been entrepreneurial, but I didn’t realize it until I connected the dots looking back.

• Assembling a brass quintet in high school

• Starting an a cappella group at UCLA because the ones I wanted all rejected me (LOL)

• Releasing music I fully recorded and produced while working corporate.

After all these pursuits, I had a eureka moment.

I finally saw the through-line of what I could provide others that seems to provide me an infinite energy source.

My Mission: I want talented, passionate & good people to be able to build and live their dream life. I can’t help but jump into action when I experience raw talent or passion that doesn’t have the ability or access to shine through.

With all this AI craze, there is a lot of misunderstanding & fear about not having any opportunities. Also, I’ve seen a shortage of guidance on how everyday professionals & teams can lean in and use AI to put themselves in a better position. I want to fill that gap.

In music, I find that there are plenty of talented artists, but not enough people helping artists build sustainable careers. In fact, a lot of labels and managers are predatory & take advantage of artists. 

I think that comes from growing up in an Ethiopian immigrant family. Watching my parents and other immigrant families navigate being outsiders left an impression on me. I’ve seen countless examples of smart, talented people who have no access or roadmap. 

Getting clarity on what truly drives me and the impact that I want to be close to has given me a larger lens to see work through.

If my work or current environment is hindering my ability to serve my guiding purpose, then it’s time for a change.

2. Shift #2: ChatGPT released.

I was an early adopter and learned how to finish 5 days of work in just 30 minutes. Which by the way, I included in my pitch deck to my co-founder as a demo lol.

I was shook. The more I thought about the implications of such a change in technology & productivity, the more convinced I became that it was time to step out on my own. I wanted to quickly explore an innovative and more impactful way to provide value for people.

When there’s a big reset moment like this, it’s time to act quickly. Even for those that prefer more stability than starting a business, I’d still argue we need to be more entrepreneurial.

Entrepreneurial = creative problem solving (at least my definition). Just completing tasks will be commoditized and automated eventually, so we need to stay adaptable and find new ways to provide value for each other.

So, I made a plan, got feedback, pitched people I trusted, and we started building.

Then the timing aligned in an unexpected way.

A re-org hit my team. I had to make a choice: (1) re-interview for a similar role or (2) take the severance pay and bet on myself.

I decided that my severance package would be my 1st angel investor…

Building our agency: Elevaite

Elevaite is our AI education & consulting agency. 

Over the past 6 months, my co-founder and I have built AI workflows for businesses and interviewed executives, professors, and professionals across industries.

It’s comments from clients like Andrew, who owns a home remodeling company, that drive me:

Our team has a saying: “When work flows better, life does too.” 

That's become my mantra through this change that technology should improve our quality of life, not just add more tasks to the list. And Andrew’s story is a strong reminder of that.

What’s coming this week:

Starting tomorrow, you’ll get one lesson per day for 6 days. Each one comes with a free resource: prompts, frameworks, templates you can use right away! Then, we’ll continue the weekly AI brief as usual.

If you’ve read this far, THANK YOU. And I hope your 2026 is off to a great start :)

P.S. I would love to know which part of the AI brief is your favorite? The workflow tip, prompt, just the news updates? I’m considering narrowing the focus if everyone is only reading for a specific section.

— Thaddeus (Co-Founder @ Elevaite)