From a Sales Job I Hated to Building Startups with AI
How I went from a desperate sales job to building micro products with AI coding while working full-time and why I now share what I'm learning with founders building on the side.
The Breakthrough That Started It All
My first job was a sales job that I hated every single day, but I did it for ten months anyway.
As a fresh engineering graduate, I expected a bright future. But reality was brutal. Every engineering job required 3-5 years of experience, and I had none. For an introvert like me, cold calling and getting rejected by receptionists was torture.
But I refused to quit on myself. After ten months, I enrolled in a six-month programming course and threw myself into it completely, 12 to 16 hours a day, every day. I ate, slept, and coded.
"You learn the most when you troubleshoot. Following documentation is easy, but when something breaks, you're forced to dig deeper. That pain becomes your greatest teacher."
The Journey: 25 Years in the Making
The Sales Job That Changed Everything
Started with a sales job I hated every single day but refused to quit on myself. After 10 months of torture as an introvert doing cold calls, I enrolled in a 6-month programming course and coded 12-16 hours daily.
Corporate Growth
Rose from junior developer to senior roles, building enterprise systems for 100,000+ employees. Learned to bridge business and technology in high-stakes corporate environments.
Side Hustles, Freelancing, Agency Work
Ran multiple side businesses while maintaining corporate career - freelancing, agency work, WordPress sites, Amazon FBA. Learned end-to-end ownership and the reality of bootstrapped entrepreneurship.
Writing & Content Discovery
Grew to 150,000 monthly readers on Medium. Joined Ship 30 for 30 which changed my writing completely. Launched YouTube interview series 'Career Journey'. Writing forced me to think clearly, simplify complex ideas, and articulate systems, skills that now directly shape how I build products.
Career Leap Coaching for Programmers
Built CareerLeap to help programmers accelerate their careers. Learned the challenges of coaching technical professionals through career transitions and growth phases.
The Pivot to Founders
Mentor advised: 'Stop focusing on programmers - help founders instead.' Interviewed 100+ early-stage founders, launched Micro SaaS YouTube series, but realized I was 12 years away from hands-on coding.
Rediscovering Coding with AI
Dove back into coding using AI tools like V0, Bolt, and Cursor. Built CareerLeap as my first AI-powered app. Started staying up until 4-5 AM coding again - hadn't felt this passion in years.
AI-Powered Entrepreneurship
Co-founded Sucana, hit $10K/month revenue while working full-time. Now teaching 1,000+ entrepreneurs the AI coding and 2-hour daily method that actually works.
The AI Coding Revolution (2023)
The Rediscovery
After 12 years away from hands-on coding, AI tools like V0, Bolt, and Cursor brought back my passion. I was staying up until 4-5 AM coding again - something I hadn't felt in years.
The 2-Hour Method
Working just 2 hours daily while keeping my full-time job forced extreme focus. No time for perfectionism - just ship, get feedback, iterate. This constraint became my superpower.
AI as an Equalizer
AI tools didn't just make me faster - they made building accessible again. I could focus on solving problems instead of wrestling with syntax and implementation details.
The $10K Milestone
Reached $10,000/month revenue with Sucana while working full-time. Proved that the part-time founder approach works when you have the right tools and systems.
Who I Am: Core Themes
Bridge Builder
25+ years translating between business leaders who speak in outcomes and programmers who think in step-by-step instructions.
Troubleshooter Detective
You learn the most when you troubleshoot. I discovered early that in tech, you earn more respect for fixing outages than writing elegant code.
End-to-End Builder
Comfortable with both corporate scale (100K+ employee systems) and startup speed. Side hustles taught me end-to-end ownership without guardrails.
Execution Expert
Excellent at bringing visions and ideas to life. Whether working solo or leading teams, I can handle big initiatives and deliver results consistently.
Writer & Educator
Using words and frameworks to simplify complexity. From 150K Medium readers to teaching founders through YouTube and newsletters.
The Writing & Teaching Evolution
I had been blogging since 2006, but around 2022 I joined Ship 30 for 30 - a writing program that changed everything. It taught me to focus on one topic, one person, one outcome per essay.
On Medium, I grew to 150,000 monthly readers. I also launched a YouTube interview series called Career Journey, reaching the top 3% of podcasters by staying consistent and recording ~60 episodes.
The key insight came from mentor Virgil Brewster: "Stop focusing on programmers' careers, instead, help founders." That pivot led me to interview 100+ early-stage founders and ultimately discover my calling in AI-powered entrepreneurship education.
My Mission Today
I'm focused on learning and sharing AI coding strategies as a part-time founder building my first startups. My goal is to help 10,000 people start their entrepreneurial journey using these proven methods.
"Use your struggles as fuel. Build fast, learn faster. Teach and share as you grow. Keep reinventing yourself, because the journey never really ends."