Courtesy of Daniel George
- Daniel George got a job at Google X with a six-figure salary after finishing his doctoral studies.
- He put most of his income in tax-advantaged accounts or invested it in stocks.
- At 29, George realized he had enough money saved and invested to retire, but he started a company.
This is an as-told-to story with Daniel George, a startup founder and former vice president at JPMorgan. This transcript has been edited for clarity and length. George provided documents to verify his finances.
The first time I thought about retiring early, I was 24. I'd just gotten a job at Google X after a summer internship. My starting total compensation would be $265,000 a year.