Donald King
This as-told-to essay is based on a conversation with Donald King, a former PwC consultant in New York who founded AMDK, a marketing startup. King’s employment has been verified with documents. It has been edited for length and clarity.
Getting laid off from PwC was the best thing that ever happened to me. But at the time, it felt like my world was crumbling away.
I was 25 and had been a technology consultant at the firm since 2021.
When I got the ax, I was working in the PwC AI factory, building AI agents for enterprises. It was the hardest eight months of my working life, but it was a dream job.
In October 2024, on the day of my layoff, I won first place in a firm-wide AI hackathon with over 3,000 contestants. A few hours later, I got the call. It was a straight-up humiliation.
PwC didn’t give me much of a reason for letting me go, but the business had been shrinking, consulting especially, and from what I understood they had overhired during my first years at the firm.
I filmed the moment because I knew it would go viral, and I could use that as leverage. It was a raw, authentic moment.
Watch me get laid off. that was 14 days ago… #laidoff #big4 #startup #seed #ai
Next steps
After being let go, I decided pursue a startup — something I’d wanted to do since I was a kid.
At first, I pursued an AI startup.
I’m Gen Z, so I know how powerful going viral can be for businesses. I knew I could use social media to build a community and find clients. At first, I was only getting 20 views per post, but two weeks later my layoff video went viral.
By mid-November, I pivoted to the idea of starting a marketing agency and officially launched in December 2024.
Setting up a company doesn’t cost a lot and takes half a day. The structural parts, like the website and the legal filing, cost under $500, and we paid a one-time corporation fee of $300.
I’ve had to dip into savings, but I had been making low six figures at PwC, and I got a severance package that funded me for a few months. I am not making as much as I used to, but the company is making a small return and financially supporting me. I also moved out of New York were the cost of living was high.
A Gen Z marketing agency
Our target clients are CEOs who have been in their industry for 20 to 30 years. We are basically the Gen Z agency helping them build a personal brand in the TikTok world.
Donald King
The hardest part was landing my first customer. I had 3,000 followers on TikTok when we launched AMDK, and I would message about 100 of them a day looking for opportunities.
We’ve signed two clients and have more proposals in the pipeline — all of them have come from social media.
It feels good not to be a cog in the machine
Having a background in professional services has really helped launch the business. When people learn that I’m ex-PwC, they instantly trust me.
Tasks I saw as boring work as a 22-year-old analyst were actually helpful to develop the skills to start my own business.
Working 80-hour weeks, completing tons of proposals, and learning how to pitch teaches you a lot about how deals are made in the business world.
I had so much access at PwC to resources and tools. If you get laid off, write down everybody’s name that supports you and reach back out to them — continue using and growing your network.
Donald King
Working at PwC, I often felt like a cog in the machine.
The eight months I spent working for PwC’s AI factory were the hardest of my work life. I was tossing away hours and weekends for someone else’s dream. It’s been really freeing to be on my own schedule.
I probably have a worse work-life balance now than I did at PwC, but the difference is that my work is for my business instead of for someone else’s.
I have no regrets
Entrepreneurship is difficult at the beginning. My income isn’t as stable as at the Big Four.
Some days you can feel like the king of the world, but 90% of the time, you’re working unstructured days doing all the aspects of running a business at once. It’s overwhelming and takes an emotional toll.
That said, I have no regrets. I want to inspire others, especially right now when a lot of people are getting laid off — you can find a silver lining.
PwC did not respond to Business Insider’s request for comment.
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