My mom encouraged me to put my $50,000 savings on the line. It turned into a company I sold for $22 million.

Tech Insider : Business, Economy
Jaclyn Johnson headshot
Jaclyn Johnson bought her company two years after selling it.

Courtesy of Jaclyn Johnson

I'm a 69-year-old startup founder and former PayPal and Intuit CEO. I bike to work, take midday naps in my closet, and use index cards to stay organized.

Tech Insider : Business, Politics
Bill Harris sitting in an office
Bill Harris reveals his daily routine rooted in "simplicity."

Bill Harris

This as-told-to essay is based on a conversation with Bill Harris, the 69-year-old startup founder of Evergreen Wealth and former CEO of PayPal and Intuit, based in Miami. It's been edited for length and clarity.

I realized I hated computer engineering, so I joined my father in the food business. We fight every day, but I don't regret it.

Tech Insider : Business
Ethan Tan standing in front of his hawker stall.
Ethan Tan joined his father's hawker business and branched out.

Aditi Bharade

I left McKinsey in my 20s for startup life. Being a founder taught me to stop overanalyzing and speak up more.

Tech Insider : Business
Nathan Wangliao
Nathan Wangliao left McKinsey in his 20s and realized that succeeding in startups meant unlearning some consulting habits.

Nathan Wangliao

After getting laid off from a corporate job, I started bartending — and it changed my approach to office work

Tech Insider : Business
Julie Levin
Julie Levin

Courtesy of Julie Levin

Big Tech turned me down. At Walmart, I found a career opportunity, work-life balance, and good food.

Tech Insider : Business, Environment
Kanish Shah
Kanish Shah

Kanish Shah

I've made 5 career pivots across music, retail, and startups. I reset my goals every few years — but 1 thing never changes.

Tech Insider : Business, Environment, Technology
Ryan Edwards with a screen showing audoo's logo
Ryan Edwards, who was previously in a band, founded Audoo.

Courtesy of Ryan Edwards

I won the Microsoft Excel World Championship. Here's what every office worker should know about Excel.

Tech Insider : Business
Diarmuid Early is pictured at the Microsoft Excel World Championship.
Diarmuid Early won the 2025 Microsoft Excel World Championship. He has some Excel pointers for today's office workers.

Diarmuid Ealry

My family is stranded in Puerto Rico because our flights were canceled. It's having an impact on our finances.

Tech Insider : Travel, Business
Passengers wait at Luis Munoz Marin International Airport as all flights are cancelled following US military action in Venezuela,
A family of four is stranded in Puerto Rico after their Frontier flight back to Colorado was canceled due to Nicolas Maduro's capture by the US.

MIGUEL J. RODRIGUEZ CARRILLO/Getty Images

My daughters attended Harvard, Yale, and Stanford; they then became the CEOs of YouTube and 23andMe. Letting them fail helped them grow into leaders.

Tech Insider : Business
side by side of Anne Wojcicki and Susan Wojcicki
Anne Wojcicki and Susan Wojcicki

Andrew Harnik/ Getty Images; Eric Gaillard/ Reuters

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