- In October 2023, Soni Mehra quit her job at a big tech company to focus on her home decor business.
- Becoming a full-time entrepreneur comes with changes and challenges, she said.
- Instead of earning a steady salary, Mehra invests all her income into her business.
This spoken essay is based on a transcribed conversation with Soni Mehra, a 30-year-old who quit her job at Uber to start her own interior design company. marble lotus. Business Insider has documented that her previous job was with Uber. The following has been edited for length and clarity.
I was born in Delhi, India. When I was five years old, my family and I moved to the San Francisco Bay Area.
Like many other South Asian immigrant families chasing the “American Dream,” we came looking for opportunity.
I grew up surrounded by technology and majored in environmental economics and policy at the University of California, Berkeley.
I developed a knack for project management and took on coveted roles at big tech companies like Lime, LinkedIn, and later Uber, focusing on marketing and product operations roles. I worked at Uber as a Senior Product Manager for about four years and made nearly $300,000 including bonuses.
However, I left Uber in October 2023. At the beginning of spring, I started my own South Asian-inspired interior design company.
I wanted to take a chance on something I truly loved, but it required me to give up my salary at a big tech company and navigate various challenges as a founder and bootstrapper.
My time at Uber taught me about mentoring, problem solving, and building direct connections.
I joined Uber in 2020, just before the COVID-19 pandemic. One of my projects was to launch Uber Connect, a delivery system to transport packages to people during the pandemic.
Our Mission Bay office was stylish, but during COVID-19, it was only half full most days. Whenever possible, I went into the field and made direct connections.
I love being a product manager and have had great mentors. Uber’s work environment promoted ambitious, hard-working people. Everyone I worked with was incredibly sharp. I enjoyed solving complex problems together.
Tapping into my creative side spurred my entrepreneurial path
I loved my job, but somewhere deep inside I felt something was missing. I wanted to be more creative, but Uber didn’t allow me to do that because my role was very technical.
I always thought about running my own business. My father was an entrepreneur, so family dinners often turned into strategy meetings. Additionally, I appreciated his flexibility in his work.
I started taking art, sewing, and pottery classes to satisfy my creative urge. This class confirmed that I needed to tap into my entrepreneurial side and start a business that I could invest all of my time and energy into.
It wasn’t until I got married in June 2022 and planned a multi-day South Asian wedding that my thirst for creativity began to deepen. When planning a wedding, you need to think about the smallest details, decor, and table settings. Once I finished that, I wanted to do my best to infuse creativity into my daily life.
Marble Lotus was the creative outlet I was always looking for.
In March 2023, while working at Uber, I launched Marble Lotus, a homewares store selling artwork and decor inspired by the South Asian diaspora. I wanted to create something that embodies my heritage and can be shared.
I spent a lot of time sourcing and designing products. I built a website and launched my first collection online in April 2023, initially with only 7 products.
In October 2023, I decided to leave Uber to focus on my business full-time. It felt like the right time, but it was frowned upon by family and friends. They wondered if my business would be as lucrative as a tech job.
I had no children and no financial responsibilities. It was now or never to pursue what I loved, and I didn’t worry too much about how I would react if things didn’t work out.
I grew the business by traveling to India to source products and investing time in understanding shipping and distribution models. This trip helped us expand our design offering, and as of summer 2024, we had 600 products on our site.
Running a business is different than working in Big Tech and comes with challenges
Marble Lotus is run by myself, three team members from India, and a part-time project manager from the US. I was used to working in large teams at Big Tech, so I had to get used to balancing multiple tasks.
I am using my personal savings to start my own business. There are many resources for entrepreneurs who want to invest, but I feel there are fewer resources for entrepreneurs who want to start their own businesses. With fewer networking opportunities, I’ve been spending a lot of time reaching out to individuals and expanding my network.
Entrepreneurs in the Bay Area often wonder why I started a company that required shipping, inventory, and warehousing instead of building digital products. They don’t think their business model can scale that easily.
During times of upheaval, we often have to encourage ourselves to move forward. Some days you may have low sales, but the next day you’ll be signing new clients who are interested in Marble Lotus home and interior styling. I need to continue to trust my vision and look at my long-term goals.
Currently, I don’t pay myself a salary and reinvest everything back into the business. Thankfully, I can rely on the savings I earned from my previous job at a major tech company. Even though I no longer make the same salary I did when I worked at a big tech company, I still prioritize spending my money on things that my partner and I value, like travel. My health insurance used to be provided by my employer, but now I pay the premiums and have to rely on my husband’s insurance.
I’m not opposed to returning to the tech industry.
I left Uber at the right time to start the company, and I don’t think I would do anything else. I am young and at a financial stage where I can take risks.
People ask me if I want to go back to Big Tech. I’m thinking of returning to the technology field and starting my own interior design software company because I think there’s a lot of potential in this field.
But right now I’m focused on growing my business.