One year after my resignation, I'd achieved financial freedom. The company was thriving.

Things weren't going so well at my former employer.


Their Q3 revenue dropped 23%. User growth stagnated. Technical support deteriorated. Key people resigned amid mounting public pressure.

I read these reports over my morning coffee.

It felt pretty damn good.


TechCrunch reached out for an interview about Athena's growth.

I agreed.


The reporter started with standard questions about product, technology, and growth metrics.

Then she asked:

"Some speculate your departure from a certain company directly caused their current technical issues. Your thoughts?"

"All I can say is that companies should treat their engineers better—especially those who build their core infrastructure."

That evening, I received a message from Mike.

I opened it.

He was looking for a job. They'd fired him, probably hoping to appease me.

I typed a reply.

"Thank you for reaching out. We're always hiring talented engineers. Please submit your resume through our official website. We have a standard interview process for all candidates."

As I hit send, satisfaction washed over me.