Executive Who Joined at 21 and Earned 440 Million Won a Year: "This Ladder Is Not the One I Want to Climb"

Wharton School Graduate and 22-Year-Old CMO
Burnout from 12-Hour Workdays
"Lost All Space for Personal Life"

The story of a young professional in his 20s who left his job at an artificial intelligence (AI) startup in New York, USA, despite earning an annual salary of around 400 million won, citing "small freedoms and happiness," has come to light.

A young man in his 20s who was earning an annual salary of around 400 million won at an AI startup in New York, USA, revealed the reason for his resignation. Instagram

On January 12 (local time), the Indian media outlet The Indian Express reported that Daniel Min, age 22, who was earning a salary of $300,000 (442.2 million won) at a New York AI startup, decided to resign for the sake of work-life balance.

Wharton School Graduate... Became Head of Marketing at Age 21

Min graduated from the Wharton School, the MBA program at the prestigious University of Pennsylvania, majoring in marketing and operations management. Immediately after graduation in May last year, he joined the AI startup Cluely. At the time of joining, he was 21 years old and took on the role of Chief Marketing Officer (CMO), overseeing the company’s marketing.

However, after much deliberation, Min recently decided to resign. In a recent video posted on his Instagram, Min explained, "My decision to leave was not impulsive but the result of long and careful consideration."

The photo is not related to the specific content of the article. Pixabay

"Stressed by 12-Hour Workdays and Constant Performance Pressure"

Min revealed that the intense workdays of over 12 hours and relentless performance pressure began to affect him just a few months after joining. He said, "At 21, I thought it was natural to work all day and immerse myself for 12 hours a day," but added, "I started to miss the small freedoms, like having dinner with friends or surprising my younger sibling on their birthday."

He also said that the sense of duty to pour all his energy into the company as CMO became a burden. "There was almost no room left for my personal life," he explained. He added that the psychological pressure of staying in that position was greater than any financial burden that might come from resigning.

Eventually, Roy Lee (Korean name: Lee Jungin), CEO of Cluely, noticed the changes in Min and was the first to suggest a conversation. Min shared, "It took a lot of courage to tell CEO Lee that I had been considering resigning," and "I became emotional and shed tears while talking about it."

He also expressed his gratitude toward CEO Lee. Min said, "No one has ever cared so sincerely about my personal interests and circumstances as CEO Lee did," but added, "It was difficult to realize that this small community, this ladder I was climbing with 12-hour days, was not the path I wanted to take."

Min’s story garnered significant attention online. One Instagram user commented, "This choice takes a lot of courage," showing support for Min, while another wrote, "I look forward to seeing what he does next." There were also comments such as, "Sometimes you have to let go of big rewards."

Meanwhile, Cluely is an AI startup co-founded last April by Korean Roy Lee and Neil Shanmugam, both 21 years old at the time. The company provides AI tools that help users deceive others in various situations such as exams, interviews, sales, and phone calls. Users can receive real-time answers or summarized information from AI through an invisible browser window, which is not visible to the other party, allowing for AI-assisted cheating without being detected by interviewers or exam proctors.