Garry Tan

I mean, it was fine.

And I also ended up joining as employee number 10, but I think a lot about like that particular moment where I was like, I didn't believe in myself.

I didn't believe that my skills were valuable.

I thought that like having a job at Microsoft was like a gift.

It's not just safe.

It was like, oh my God, this is a gift.

Like society has given me a job.

I have a vocation.

All your power and agency is sapped away inside these like giant organizations.

It's safe, but you're like losing something really, really big.

And then the other thing, the bigger thing, I think, was realizing I also didn't know how to value what was in front of me.

These were my best friends who I built products together with.

I knew them.

They were some of the smartest people I'd ever met.

And it was backed by someone who, you know, he's not like he wasn't a billionaire yet.

He had sold PayPal.

He was sort of this super famous, successful founder.

But everything was perfect.

And I said, no.

And I asked like, why?