Saurabh's Transformation: Navigating Burnout to Startup Visionary | Lynne Levy Coaching

Okay. All right. So yes, Sarbot, we are so glad you're here. You are another one of our absolute faves. And what we love about Sarbot is that we know he's going to change the world. He's made some incredible moves in his career and in his life to make that happen. I'm going to let him share that a little bit, but he has gone from Google product leader to entrepreneur. and he is actually in the process of looking for funding, um, for his startup. So we're excited to hear about that. But first, would you share with us where you were at before you joined the program? We always start there. We like to, to hear, you know, where you were at, why you made the decision, um, that you did to join Lynne's program.

Sure. Thanks. Uh, hi Lynne. Hi Danielle. Uh, nice being here again and, uh, thank you again for giving me this opportunity. Uh, For me, I think I joined Lynne's program at a very opposite of where most people would think you need help. Actually, I was doing really well at Google. I think I was like really, you know, knocking it out of the park with my work. But at the same time, I felt extremely exhausted, burnt out completely, and felt like, why am I doing it? Like, I had been recently promoted, but at the same time, it felt like Okay, so why was I chasing this? Like, you know, when you get there, you're like, wait, is this really what I wanted? And going through the burnout gives you that mindset of like, I don't want to do anything anymore, right? Kind of gone into a mental space where it was just blank. So with joining Lynne's program, one of the key motivations was like, wait, is this normal? Is this supposed to happen? And why is it happening? And I think that clarity that I got after the program on like why I'm doing what I'm doing and constantly being reminded of that to myself was super helpful to go through this.

That's amazing. Yeah, and I think so many people here that we've heard from this week are in the same place where they feel completely burned out. They don't understand why they're doing this. They don't know what to do next. So I think that's really relatable for them. And I'm also curious, I know, um, you have a really special person in your life who's a big driving force. So would you talk about your daughter a little bit and, and why this was important, um, as a father for you to make this decision?

So, well, uh, when I was going through this, this was like during the pandemic. I, we were just coming towards the end of it and I felt like I was spending so much time working And then barely able to make 4 or 5 hours a day, everyone taking care of her because she was at home. She was 3, 4 years old then. And because of that, I realized I'm not a great person. I was like very short-tempered. I was overworked, completely burnt out, not mentally present for her or for myself or for my family. Kind of gave me this idea of like, hey, am I being one of those person who I always thought I would never be? Right? I'm being one of those not present parent. And that was really a trigger for me to be like, it don't like who I am. I'm not liking the way I am becoming, and work shouldn't be that much of a priority. Putting myself, my family, or my personal health above it was the most important thing at that point.

Yeah, I love that. So what kind of had the most significant impact from working with Lynne Levy? You know, tell me, tell me a little bit about that.

Yeah, for me, I think it was a self-discovery journey. Where really working with Lynne, understanding what my why is, and, you know, and not just for that role or that particular work, but also in life. And I think that is where I don't see Lynne just as a career coach, but also as a life coach, because it really helped me uncover my long-term, you know, goals and plans and be very clear about it. So I wrote down this mission statement 2, 3 years ago when I was in Lynne's class, which is what has still been my driving force, including for my startup. Question, what is my life goals, goal and life purpose? And that's still my tagline on my LinkedIn today.

Yeah, I love that. Is that also— and, and I'm pretty sure it is— but when you decided to do your startup on the side, was that part of the clarification that she helped you to gain throughout the program?

Yeah, so I think there was always this thing that I would go— it's like I did a lot of startups earlier in my career, um, took Google on, uh, because I needed some stability in life and I put my wife through enough of stress being in startups and been poor enough that I realized, okay, I need to go and get some stability and be a good partner. But then also knew that startup is always going to be my last next move. But what to do, why to do it wasn't clear. I think the clarity that helped me working with Lynne was that here's a long-term purpose and it needs to be very purpose-driven so I don't feel like I'm working on something that I have to, but working on something I love to.

I love that. Tell me a little bit now about your emotional state and how you're able to lead, um, and how is that different than before?

Uh, definitely I could, you know, I started staying more calm in no matter what situation that came my way. Uh, the— I still stayed at Google 2 and a half years after, uh, 2 and a half, 3 years after I worked with Lynne And what helped me was like being very clear on what my goals were. I was not chasing promotions anymore, but I was chasing learning and learning new things. So I changed a couple of roles within Google. At the same time, when you're, you know, going through what Google went through last year, and as you might have heard, for a lot of people it's like it changed the company and changed the people in the company, uh, helped me maintain my calm and not basically lose my shit when I'm like seeing how things are falling apart. At the same time, help me recognize the triggers and made me decide I don't want to be part of this anymore after a point. Because at some point you can see all of those things and you're like, should I fix it? And then it's also realizing that there are certain things that are not in your hands and not your fault. So you can move on with that pride that, hey, I know what I was doing was right. And actually today, I left Google about 2 weeks ago. Just yesterday I got a call back from one of the leaders who was like, hey, you were right. This is what you called out before you left. And you've been talking about this for a month. And nobody listened to you. But as soon as you left, this fell apart. And, you know, thank you for the heads up.

Yeah, so it sounds like you also were given tools to make the decisions that you knew you needed to make. So tools and confidence to be able to make those decisions.

Absolutely. Yeah, it was tools and confidence and also tools to, um, to really, you know, be very aware of— as Lynne was just talking about this before this session— was like being aware of, like, you know, the situation surrounding being, using all your senses to be very mindful. And also, uh, it's all about people, right, at the end of the day. So really reading people is a key role to understanding, uh, you know, how you become a good product manager.

Yeah, yeah, I love that. So where are you now, like in this present moment? Where are things at for you? How are you feeling? Um, what does your life look like?

So, uh, so last year, um, like, we, we've been talking about the startup idea for a while. So last year, my wife took a leap to doing this full-time, and, uh, she got us to a good, uh, point where she validated the market, she validated the product-market fit. We came from a very broad vision, uh, and understanding how we actually crack this thing. And as, uh, this year has rolled around, and we're like, definitely a scary situation— both of us are not doing this full-time. I jumped in full-time as well, uh, but That's the conviction that we have. It's like what we stumbled upon is definitely the right thing to do and something both, uh, both of us are been like, you know, using that as our life mission goal to chase. And to be honest, yes, I'm scared. I'm like very much in a state of like, holy shit, what the hell am I doing? But at the same time, I'm super excited, super happy to be doing this because if not now, then when?

Hmm. Yeah. Talk about that. So I love that. I mean, we all have, we, we talk about this all the time. This is something, this is kind of one of our mottos here that you just do it scared and, and, and you have to because otherwise you're gonna stay stuck. So I love that and I wanna commend you for that. I am, I'm curious though, had you not invested in yourself, had you not had the support that you needed, What's the risk? So we asked Brendan this as well, and I'm curious for your point of view. If you hadn't done this, what, what would your life look like? What is the risk for people to not invest in themselves and not take that leap of faith?

I think you can go through your life without taking any risk, but at the end of the day, you're going to live with regrets. And for me, it's the other way around. I would rather do it and fail or not be successful than live with the regret of like, hey, I had that idea. I should have followed that. Look at the other person who did it and like, you know, we made millions and I didn't do it. Like you don't wanna live with those thoughts. Some person, somebody else did it and they're like, I had that idea 20 years ago. Like, okay, why didn't you do it, right? So been there, done that. There were other restrictions around me before, which including my visa issues and this and that. But finally at a stage where luckily we are blessed enough to be able to take that risk. We have the support of the family and the people around us to be able to do that. So definitely that is not like we count our blessings for that. And it's something, it's a personal decision. But I think just investing in knowing what you want to do, it's a double-edged sword, by the way, because yes, it is definitely going to open up that mind of yours to like, hey, where am I going? What am I doing long term? What am I chasing for? And for, you know, which reasons? But at the same time, once you know that and you kind of realize that, it's hard to unsee it and do anything that doesn't serve that mission.

Yeah, 100%. I love it. I— we just— we're cheering you on, and, you know, we're here to help every bit of— every bit of the way. Um, thank you so much for being here and, and for sharing that. Um, we appreciate you. We'll talk to you soon.

Thank you so much. Thanks, Lynne, and thanks, Daniel.

Thank you.