Vinay Hiremath, who sold his startup for $975 million, is looking for internships now: 'I have no income'

Vinay Hiremath also expressed disillusionment with the corporate world.

Vinay Hiremath, co-founder of the video messaging platform Loom, has revealed that despite selling his startup to Atlassian for nearly $1 billion in 2023, he currently has no income and is actively seeking internships. The deal reportedly earned him between $50 to $70 million personally, yet he turned down a $60 million retention bonus from Atlassian that would have vested over four years.

Speaking on the Moneywise podcast, Hiremath candidly discussed his post-exit journey, explaining his decision to reject the substantial retention package and his ongoing search for purpose.

“Well, I left $60 million on the table. I have no income. Right now, I’m looking for internships,” he admitted.

Despite his immense financial success, Hiremath expressed dissatisfaction with traditional corporate leadership roles and is now exploring academic and technical interests. He currently spends five to eight hours a day studying physics and engaging in online discussions with younger enthusiasts in Discord groups.

“Life has been a haze this last year. After selling my company, I find myself in the totally un-relatable position of never having to work again. Everything feels like a side quest, but not in an inspiring way. I have infinite freedom, yet I don’t know what to do with it, and, honestly, I’m not the most optimistic about life,” he reflected in a January blog post titled "I am rich and I have no idea what to do with my life."

Hiremath’s quest for personal growth has led him to seek internships in mechanical and electrical engineering, moving away from executive roles. He revealed that he was interviewing with robotics startups for hands-on engineering experience.

The co-founder of Loom sold his biz for ~$1B, made $50-70M personally, then walked away from an extra $60MHe has no income right now and is looking for internships...@vhmth has a wild post-exit story. we talked about it on Moneywise:-Turned down $60M in retention pic.twitter.com/uTdS5blabz
Sam Parr (@thesamparr) March 25, 2025

“I’ve been like doing a bunch of physics. I am potentially, hopefully – knock on wood – interviewing at a few different startups here, like a couple of robotics companies, to basically intern as a mechanical engineer,” he said on the podcast.

“And then I want to intern as an electrical engineer. I really don’t know what I’m going to do with this,” he added.

While he once considered launching a robotics startup, he ultimately decided against it, acknowledging that his motivations were misguided.

“It started to dawn on me that what I actually wanted was to look like Elon, and that is incredibly cringe,” he admitted, referencing his past admiration for Elon Musk.

Hiremath previously collaborated with Musk on a cryptocurrency project, which gave him insight into the urgency of business execution. However, his interest in corporate leadership has since diminished, and he now prioritises learning over building another startup.

In his discussion on the Moneywise podcast, Hiremath offered a raw perspective on success, wealth, and the realities of the startup world. He admitted that his early entrepreneurial ambitions were often exaggerated.

“The raw truth of what we were building at Loom was not an ‘asynchronous video messaging platform’—this bullsht that we told ourselves. We built a f***ng screen recorder that was hooked up to the cloud,” he said.

Hiremath also expressed disillusionment with the corporate world, stating that he no longer wished to spend his time “swapping values and databases across different financial systems.” Instead, he emphasised a newfound belief in the joy of creation, rather than accumulating wealth.

“I think life is about creating,” he said. Although he refused to disclose the exact amount he made from Loom’s sale, he confirmed it was between $30 to $100 million, leading podcast host Sam Parr to estimate his earnings at $50 to $70 million.

“I made a lot of money—enough for my kids, when I have them,” Hiremath remarked. Despite his financial security, he remained resolute in his decision to reject Atlassian’s $60 million retention package, stating that he had no interest in remaining at the acquiring company.

“Last March, I had no idea what to do with my life. I knew that staying at the acquiring company was not for me for the big company reasons you might suspect,” he explained.

Hiremath’s journey—from an Illinois-born entrepreneur to a self-described “broke stoner” turned multimillionaire—has been widely discussed online. His blog post about wealth and uncertainty went viral earlier this year, as he detailed his struggle with finding meaning beyond financial success.

Sam Parr summarised his current activities, saying: “He’s studying physics 5-8 hours daily, hanging in Discord groups with 18-year-olds who think he’s their peer… looking to intern as a mechanical engineer.”