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Journalism of Courage
An Indian entrepreneur shared how he left a lucrative career at JPMorgan to join a startup. Semlani says that two years at the banking giant left him drained and disenchanted, and he decided to quit during a 10-day meditation retreat.
“I was two years into my time at JPMorgan when I realised how disillusioned I’d become with my life. It felt robotic,” Semlani told Business Insider.
Before entering the corporate world, Semlani studied Commerce and Economics at Mumbai’s Sydenham College of Commerce & Economics and later moved to the US on a temporary work visa.
“I started working at JPMorgan in 2015 as an intern on a US visa. Later, I moved back to India and became an associate within the asset management department. I was focused on climbing the corporate ladder,” he said.
By the age of 26, Semlani had lost all joy in his day-to-day routine and found himself increasingly detached. “At 26, every day felt the same. I’d be in the office by 9.00 AM, go to the same meetings, do the same actions, and leave at 7.00 PM. During that time, I lost friends and relationships,” he said.
Hoping for a break from the monotony, Semlani signed up for a meditation retreat “on a whim.” The time spent disconnected from work and technology helped him discover what he wanted, he claimed.
“On a whim, I signed up for a 10-day silent meditation retreat with the intention of taking a digital detox, and came back with the clarity that it was time to quit,” he said.
“I didn’t see a future for myself at JPMorgan. I had just grown accustomed to the status, validation, and money it provided,” he acknowledged.
The job had benefits beyond pay, including social cachet.
“If I went to an event and said I worked at JPMorgan, it meant something. People seemed more curious about me when they learned where I worked. I liked the validation and didn’t want to give it up,” he admitted.
But the retreat made him realise that he needed distance from the corporate grind. With no solid career plan, he resigned, and in February 2018, he left JPMorgan to work at a startup, despite a massive salary reduction.
“I took a 70 per cent pay cut to work for a startup that fulfilled me,” he told BI.
Semlani joined as a customer service associate at a company that helped Indian students pursue higher education abroad. In late 2019, he faced another setback when he was laid off. But the Covid pandemic bought him time and space to explore entrepreneurship seriously.
“I decided to go all in on my startup idea as a cofounder,” he said. “The early days of fundraising and building were hard. There was a point in time about six months in where I went to bed crying every day, thinking, ‘When will this end?’ But I’d wake up the next morning and remember that this is what I signed up for. This is what I wanted to do.”
Five years later, his startup, Tartan, raised $6 million in funding.
