Man fired from Facebook, starts own company, now earns Rs 27 crore per year

Noah Kagan, a 41-year-old tech enthusiast, shared his inspiring journey on CNBC Make It’s Millennial Money series. Kagan, who hails from the US and is the son of Israeli immigrants, had always aspired to achieve wealth through the tech industry.”My dream was Microsoft. If I could be around Bill Gates, who at the time was iconic … that’s the path that I wanted to follow,” he said.

In 2005, he landed a job as a product manager at Facebook, fulfilling his dream of working in the tech world. However, just a year later, he was let go after leaking company information to the press during Coachella music festival.”I was shocked. I’m 24 years old and working on what I believe is the most important thing on the planet. I lived in a house with six other Facebook people a mile away. So it was my entire, frankly, existence,” he said.

Reflecting on his termination, Kagan admitted to feeling shocked initially but recognized it as a turning point. He embraced entrepreneurship, running conferences, teaching English in South Korea, and consulting for Silicon Valley firms before diving into full-time entrepreneurship in 2008.

Drawing from his experience at Facebook and other tech giants like Intel and Mint.com, Kagan founded his own discount software website, AppSumo, in 2010. Despite not paying himself in the first year, his dedication paid off as the company flourished. Last year, AppSumo raked in a staggering $80 million in revenue with over $7 million in profit. ”The way I have always done my salary is that I pay myself relatively low. Historically, it’s been around $200,000 in annual salary. And at the end of the year, after we have paid the team after we have taken everyone out for an all-expenses-paid vacation, and done other distributions to people in the company, then I take a profit share. Last year, I took a $3 million profit share for my salary,” he told CNBC Make It.

Kagan’s unique approach to salary distribution involves paying himself relatively low wages, around $200,000 annually, and taking a hefty profit share at year-end. In 2021, he pocketed a remarkable $3 million profit share.

Beyond AppSumo, Kagan stays busy managing a YouTube channel and five rental properties. He recently authored a book titled ‘Million Dollar Weekend,’ aiming to guide others in building their dream businesses.

For Kagan, entrepreneurship offers the freedom to live life on his terms, free from the constraints of an alarm clock. He has no plans of retiring, preferring to continue his journey of growth and success in the business world.