I left my Big Tech job to bootstrap my own business. I went from making nearly $300,000 to not paying myself a salary.
Shekhar Mann
- In October 2023, Soni Mehra left her Big Tech job to focus on her own home decor business.
- Becoming a full-time entrepreneur has come with changes and challenges, she said.
- Instead of making a steady salary, Mehra invests all her earnings back into her business.
This as-told-to essay is based on a transcribed conversation with Soni Mehra, a 30-year-old who left her job at Uber to start her own home decor company, Marble Lotus. Business Insider verified her previous employment at Uber with documentation. The following has been edited for length and clarity.
I was born in Delhi in India. My family and I moved to the San Francisco Bay Area when I was 5.
Like many other South Asian immigrant families chasing the "American dream," we came for the opportunities.
I grew up surrounded by technology and majored in Environmental Economics and Policy at the University of California, Berkeley.
I developed a knack for project management and took on coveted roles in Big Tech companies like Lime, LinkedIn, and later Uber, where I was focused on marketing and product operations roles. I spent almost four years as a senior product manager at Uber, earning nearly $300,000, including my bonus.
But I left Uber in October 2023. Earlier in spring, I launched my own South Asian-inspired home decor company.
I wanted to take a chance on something I truly loved, but it involved letting go of my Big Tech salary and navigating various challenges as a founder and bootstrapper.
My time at Uber taught me about mentorship, problem-solving, and building in-person connections
I joined Uber in 2020, right before the COVID-19 pandemic. One of my projects was launching Uber Connect, a delivery system for transporting packages to people during the pandemic.
Our Mission Bay office was swanky, but it was only half occupied most days during COVID-19. Whenever I could, I went in and built in-person connections.
I loved being a product manager and had great mentors. In Uber's work environment, ambitious and hardworking people got promoted. Everyone I worked with was incredibly sharp. I enjoyed solving complex problems together.
Tapping into my creative side prompted my entrepreneurial journey
I loved my job, but a part of me knew something was missing. I wanted to be more creative, but I wasn't getting that at Uber because aspects of my role were very technical.
I'd always considered running my own business. My dad was an entrepreneur, so family dinners often turned into strategy meetings. Plus, I valued his flexibility at work.
I started taking art, sewing, and pottery classes to fulfill my creative itch. The classes confirmed I should tap into my entrepreneurial side and create a business to invest all my time and energy into.
It wasn't until I got married in June 2022 and planned a multi-day South Asian wedding that my hunger for creativity began to deepen. Planning a wedding requires thinking about minute details, interiors, and table settings. When it was over, I wanted to make a concerted effort to infuse creativity into my daily life.
Marble Lotus was the creative outlet I always looked for
In March 2023, while working at Uber, I launched Marble Lotus, a homeware store that sells artwork and decor inspired by the South Asian diaspora. I wanted to create a tangible manifestation of my heritage that I could share.
I spent a lot of time sourcing and designing products. I built our website and launched our first collection online in April 2023, starting with only seven products.
In October 2023, I decided to leave Uber to focus on the business full-time. It felt like the right time, but it raised eyebrows from family and friends. They questioned if my business would ever be as profitable as my tech job.
I didn't have children or financial responsibilities. Pursuing something I loved was now or never, and I didn't really worry about how I'd cope if things didn't go well.
I grew the business by traveling to India to source products and investing time into understanding the shipping and distribution models. The trips helped me expand our design offerings, and as of summer 2024, we had 600 products on our site.
Running a business is different from working in Big Tech — and it's come with challenges
Marble Lotus is run by myself, three team members in India, and a part-time project manager in the US. I was accustomed to working with larger teams in Big Tech, so I've had to get used to balancing multiple tasks.
I'm bootstrapping my business using personal savings. While there are a lot of resources for entrepreneurs who want investment, I feel there aren't many for bootstrapping entrepreneurs. There are fewer networking opportunities, so I've spent a lot of time reaching out to individuals and growing my network.
Entrepreneurs in the Bay Area often question why I've launched a company that requires shipping, stock, and warehousing rather than creating a digital product. They don't think the business model can scale as easily.
I often have to motivate myself to keep going during times of fluctuation. There'll be days where I have low sales, but the next day I'll have signed on new clients who are interested in Marble Lotus styling their homes or interiors. I need to keep trusting my vision and look at my long-term goals.
Right now, I don't pay myself a salary and reinvest everything into the business. Thankfully, I can rely on savings from my prior Big Tech roles. I no longer make the same salary as I did in Big Tech, but still prioritize spending money on things my partner and I value, like travel. While my health insurance used to be provided by my employer, I now have to pay for my insurance and rely on my husband's.
I'm not opposed to returning to tech
I left Uber at the right time to launch my company, and I don't think I'd do anything differently. I'm young and in a financial phase where I can take on risk.
People ask me if I'd ever return to Big Tech. I'd consider pivoting back into tech to start my own interior design software company because I see a lot of potential in that space.
But right now, I'm focused on growing my business.
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