• Shanna Nasiri, 34, decided to quit her tech job when she no longer felt up to the job.
• Earlier this year, he opened a natural wine bar in Williamsburg called With Others.
• Nasiri said that his previous technical work benefited him a lot when he became a bar owner.

This article, as told, is based on a conversation with the hotel’s 34-year-old owner, Shanna Nasiri. with othersA natural wine bar in Brooklyn, New York. Edited for length and clarity. Business Insider confirmed Nasiri’s salary.

I grew up there Bay Area It’s near Silicon Valley and everyone I know was into some form of tech. I continued on that path.

My first job was working on Qualcomm’s corporate ventures team. Then I worked in the field of semiconductors for several years. I then went back to business school and got a job in product marketing at a regulatory technology startup.

I liked some aspects of what I did. privileges It was beautiful. I enjoyed all the benefits. And there Was it salary?. When I left I was making about $200,000 plus a bonus. I also have many stock options.

I was working for startup companiesso I had a chance to be at the ground level, build teams, and create messaging. I felt impressed.

But creatively I wasn’t satisfied. I didn’t like what I did. It didn’t match who I was. I was a little embarrassed to tell people that I was marketing products for regulatory technology startups. I felt like I was speaking a different language.

At that time, I divided it into sections. This is who I am in my work and this is who I am in my personal life. I accepted my life as it was and thought you could do it Never be completely happy at work.

This started to change when I turned 30

Around my 30th birthday, I started thinking about these existential questions and ideas. I had recently moved from San Francisco to New York. This was also true at the beginning of COVID, so I went through a lot Alone time to think.

I was seeing this whole new world New York Cityhas had many different careers. I knew a lot of tech founders in San Francisco. But when I moved to New York, I began to see that entrepreneurship could have a greater meaning beyond technology.

I’ve always dreamed of opening a venue, but it wasn’t something I thought I’d actually do.

I moved Williamsburg in 2021. It was still pretty desolate at the time. There were many empty storefronts. I would go on these long walks and start daydreaming about what I would do with this space.

I’ve always been passionate about hosting. I love curating an environment. I obsess over little details like glassware, music, lighting and mineral water selection. I grew up in a family where my mom and grandma were always hosting big parties and I was a mini host. I’m Middle Eastern and I think I have a sense of Middle Eastern hospitality in me.

Mine wine journey It started at a young age. My stepfather was collecting limited edition Pinot Noir. He introduced me to wine, taught me how to taste it and the craftsmanship that goes into its production.

Now that I think about it, opening a wine bar was a pretty arrogant thing to do. But this was COVID and life felt so short and precious. I wanted to prove to myself that I could do this

Either he was stuck in this unsatisfying career trajectory and climb the corporate ladderor try being an entrepreneur. This was a huge leap of faith and required me to believe in myself 100%.

So in the summer of 2022, I took a job at a wine bar in Brooklyn to see what it was like. I was very passionate about this.

I then began to continue my wine education and gained my Wine and Spirit Education Trust certificate, a globally recognized qualification. I found a job at a wine shop. And I decided to open my own bar.

My technology experience came in handy

A lot of the work I’ve done in the past helped me build the bar. I knew how to manage teams. I have always worked at ground level, so I have experience juggling many responsibilities and working with limited resources.

I started asking everyone to introduce me to other entrepreneurs and asking about their contractors, agents, and plumbers.

I opened the bar with a very small budget, using my own money.

It took me a year to find this space because I was only looking for space within a few blocks of my house. I really wanted it to integrate into the community. I found the site in June 2023 and started construction in October 2023.

We opened our doors in March of this year. It was incredible. It’s beyond anything I could have imagined.

He quickly became the favorite of the neighborhood. We have regulars who come twice a week. And recently the most wonderful thing started to happen; I probably met 11 or 12 parents of our regulars.

I continually reinvested in the bar. For example, construction on the backyard took place three months after opening. Then I built the basement and cellar. I then invested in hiring a general manager and expanding the wine list.

There has been a major lifestyle change caused by technology

I don’t have health insurance. I work probably 12 hours a day. There is so much to do regarding maintenance. And I work in the service every night.

I can work in technology from anywhere. I have traveled a lot and worked remotely. I now have a physical space. I haven’t left a 20-mile radius since Christmas and I don’t intend to.

But I feel like I’m very in tune with what I’m doing. It always feels like what I should be doing. I work a lot more hours than I did in tech, but it doesn’t seem that hard.

I’m amazed at what we were able to create in such a short time.