22-year-old Wharton graduate quits $300,000 job at AI startup: ‘I started to miss small freedoms’

Min shared his journey on Instagram, explaining that his decision was well thought out and not impulsive

Daniel Min, a former chief marketing officer at an AI startup in New York, has ignited a conversation around work-life balance, highlighting the importance of personal freedom and well-being. The 22-year-old quit his $300,000 (approximately Rs 2.7 crore) job at Cluely to focus on his personal life and happiness.

He joined the company in May 2025, shortly after graduating from the Wharton School with a degree in marketing and operations management. At the time, he was just 21 years old.

“I thought working all day, grinding 12 hours a day was what you should be doing when you’re at the age of 21. But I started to quickly miss small freedoms like getting dinner with my friends or surprising my brother for his 12th birthday,” he said in the video.

He said he felt an unspoken obligation, as the head of marketing, to give his full energy to the company, leaving little room for a personal life.

“In the beginning, the work was super fun,” he said. “But over time, slowly, it started to get a little bit more monotonous.”

Min added that his growing unhappiness eventually was visible. Cluely CEO Roy Lee later approached him for a conversation, which was a turning point for him. “I mustered up the courage to tell Roy that I’d been thinking for a while of leaving,” Min said, adding that he broke down while speaking to him.

Min later shared his appreciation publicly, describing the CEO as someone who genuinely cared about his personal interests. “There’s probably no one else who has looked out for me more than Roy,” He said. “But it broke me to realise that being at Cluely — this little brotherhood that I spent literally 12 hours a day living with — wasn’t the ladder that I wanted to climb,” he added.

While stepping away came with financial strains, Min said remaining in the role ultimately felt like a greater personal cost.

The video quickly gained traction, amassing a deluge of reactions. “takes a lotta man to produce this much estrogen proud of u daniel,” an Instagram user wrote. “you’re the greatest man excited to see what’s next,” another user commented.

“Sometimes you gotta throw the bag over the fence,” a third user reacted.