An Indian entrepreneur has opened up about leaving a high-paying job at JPMorgan to join a startup and eventually run his own business. Meet Semlani said that two years at the bank left him jaded and disillusioned — and the idea of quitting was first born when he attended a 10-day meditation retreat.
Meet Semlani quit a high-paying JPMorgan job to join a startup and eventually launch his own business.
“I was two years into my time at JPMorgan when I realized how disillusioned I’d become with my life. It felt robotic,” Semlani told Business Insider.
Life at JPMorgan
Semlani studied Commerce and Economics at Mumbai’s Sydenham College of Commerce & Economics before moving 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.
However, by the time he reached the age of 26, Semlani realised he was taking no pleasure in his job. While others around him were working to reach vice president status by the age of 30, Semlani was growing quietly disillusioned.
“At 26, every day felt the same. I’d be in the office by 9 a.m., go to the same meetings, do the same actions, and leave at 7p.m. During that time, I lost friends and relationships,” he said.
Quitting JPMorgan
Semlani signed up for a meditation retreat “on a whim”. It was time away from the job, away from screens and phone calls, that gave him clarity on the way forward.
“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.
However, Semlani admits that the idea of quitting a stable job was scary to him.
“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.
Working at JPMorgan had perks besides the hefty salary. There was also name recognition.
“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,” Semlani confessed to Business Insider, adding that he also hesitated at the thought of leaving a good salary.
Eventually, however, the meditation retreat helped him understand that he wanted a break from work.
Reflecting on his fears, Semlani said he eventually asked himself what the worst outcome of leaving JPMorgan could be — and realised that, whatever happened, he would still be alive and able to rebuild. That thought brought an unexpected sense of calm. When he returned from the retreat, he felt certain that it was time to let go of the job. He didn’t yet know what his next chapter would look like, but he knew he was ready to step away and create a new identity for himself.
A new job and more
He told his manager that he wanted to quit. In February 2018, Semlani wrapped up his time at JPMorgan and joined a startup. The new job came with a sizable pay cut.
“I took a 70% pay cut to work for a startup that fulfilled me,” he said.
Semlani said he took up a role as a customer service associate at a startup that helped Indian students go abroad for higher education. Although he was living with his parents and did not have to pay rent, he had other expenses.
The new job with a significantly reduced salary made him scale down on his lifestyle expenses. There were even times when he considered going back to JPMorgan, but he liked the sense of fulfilment that his startup job brought him.
In late 2019 however, Semlani was dealt a blow — he was told he was being laid off. Then Covid came as a blessing in disguise, allowing him time to explore entrepreneurship.
“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.”
That was half a decade ago. Since then, his startup Tartan had raised $6 million in funding.
“I left my corporate job and moved cities to join a small-time startup to understand the nitty gritty of running a business. With the Covid lockdown, I was able to focus in on the idea and build a business plan around it, finally launching Tartan,” Semlani said in an interview with Mountbatten Program.