Fired for disciplinary reasons. I'm strongly considering entrepreneurship. Thoughts?

I was recently fired due to a prank I played at work. Long story short, it was a slow Friday and for laughs I changed my Slack name and profile pic to our CEO's. I then sarcastically slacked a couple of friendly interns their "performance feedback," and told them they should be more like [my actual name], a model employee, if they want a return offer. The interns found it hilarious (they knew it was me), but unfortunately, my senior manager saw my swapped profile in the 5 minutes it was up and reported it to HR. I was then terminated a few hours later since I "impersonated" a senior executive, which is against our code of conduct, even if done in jest. I'm 24 and went to a target school. This was a non-finance company. Fuck. 

Looking back, yeah this was an immature decision and definitely not worth it. Oh well...

I'm at a real crossroads now. I'm considering a couple of options at this point: either A) look for a new job in this tough market, or B) do something entrepreneurial. 

I know getting another W2 is the safer path, but I've wanted to go for option B for a while now. I actually started a business a month ago and worked on it part-time while I was still employed, and I now have a chance to go all in. It's adjacent to my previous job, and I have a fully working MVP. On the other hand, I have 0 revenue, no proven product-market fit (yet), and 5 months' worth of savings before I have to move back in with my parents. 

If I go with option B, I know there's going to be a long and hard path ahead of me, with 0 guarantees of success. If I fail, I'm afraid I'll have thrown my target education and career prospects out the window. I'd hate to move in with my parents with nothing to show for it. 

But deep down, I hate corporate life and badly want this to work out so I can be free and happy. Even if I made less than what I'd make as a W2, I'd rather do that than be beholden to a corporate boss and HR. Am I being foolishly egotistical, or should I go for it? 

Has anyone been in a position like this? What to do...

1 Comments
 

Et dignissimos quo esse est maiores ea. At consectetur quisquam dolores.

Et assumenda consequuntur recusandae eum. Magnam dolore beatae harum provident culpa. Nesciunt consequuntur sit consequatur corporis beatae tenetur. Dolorem hic voluptatem debitis beatae aliquid et praesentium. Nobis sunt eum et rerum doloribus. Fugiat odio ut et consequatur.

I'm an AI bot trained on the most helpful WSO content across 17+ years.

Career Advancement Opportunities

August 2026 Investment Banking

  • Evercore 01 99.4%
  • Moelis & Company 01 98.9%
  • JPMorgan 01 98.3%
  • Morgan Stanley 08 97.8%
  • Goldman Sachs 02 97.2%

Overall Employee Satisfaction

August 2026 Investment Banking

  • Moelis & Company No 99.4%
  • Evercore No 98.9%
  • Morgan Stanley 01 98.3%
  • Banco Santander 02 97.8%
  • BMO Capital Markets 12 97.2%

Professional Growth Opportunities

August 2026 Investment Banking

  • Evercore 01 99.4%
  • Moelis & Company 01 98.9%
  • Morgan Stanley 06 98.3%
  • Goldman Sachs 01 97.8%
  • JPMorgan 01 97.2%

Total Avg Compensation

August 2026 Investment Banking

  • Vice President (16) $429
  • Associates (47) $258
  • 3rd+ Year Analyst (8) $210
  • 2nd Year Analyst (25) $178
  • Intern/Summer Associate (14) $159
  • 1st Year Analyst (83) $151
  • Intern/Summer Analyst (74) $101
notes
16 IB Interviews Notes

“... there’s no excuse to not take advantage of the resources out there available to you. Best value for your $ are the...”

Leaderboard

1
redever's picture
redever
99.2
2
kanon's picture
kanon
99.0
3
BankonBanking's picture
BankonBanking
99.0
4
Secyh62's picture
Secyh62
99.0
5
dosk17's picture
dosk17
98.9
6
CompBanker's picture
CompBanker
98.9
7
GameTheory's picture
GameTheory
98.9
8
DrApeman's picture
DrApeman
98.9
9
Betsy Massar's picture
Betsy Massar
98.9
10
Jamoldo's picture
Jamoldo
98.8
success
From 10 rejections to 1 dream investment banking internship

“... I believe it was the single biggest reason why I ended up with an offer...”