What happens when you leave Big Tech to build a startup… and end up coming back?

For a while I wanted to interview someone who went on to start their own business - but then came back to employment with a fresh new perspective… and finally I was lucky to meet Anna Buldakova:

🚀 Ex-Big Tech product leader

📈 Forbes Technology Council member

🌍 Founder of a 40,000+ Product Management community

Anna did what many dream of - left a stable product role, raised $2.5M in VC funding, launched her own startup - and embarked on a journey which had it all:

✔️The thrill of finding product-market fit

✔️The need to pivot

✔️The burnout, weekend work, pressure to scale - and the stress of shutting down the business due to factors no one could control

✔️The decision to return to Big Tech - having considered starting a new venture and becoming a Chief Product Officer at a startup

Of course, it wouldn’t be a Shameless Careers episode if we didn’t deep dive into some practicalities like:

✔️ How to prepare a Plan B before taking the leap into entrepreneurship

✔️ What not to do when picking a business idea

✔️ Why taking VC money is not always the way to go

Enjoy!

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#CareerChange #LeavingBigTech #StartupLessons #VCStartup #FounderJourney #CareerReinvention #ProductManagement #ShamelessCareers #WorkLifeBalance #EntrepreneurBurnout #ZeroToOne #CareerDecisions #HighAchievers

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