2025: Lookback
Reflecting on the highs and lows of an unusual year
Hi everyone!
Happy New Year! Today is a reflection post for 2025.
A year of pivots
2025 was an unusual year for me. On the work front, I had many job transitions all within a few months after previously being in the same company for 15 years! I left a job that I had joined just 4 months ago (Stripe) after 15 years in another job (Google) to put family first. I had the opportunity to be the first CTO of a seed-stage startup (Glīd). I also started my own business to embark on the solopreneur journey with ChaiTime. Towards the end of summer, I accepted an offer from Capital One for an exciting new role as a Managing VP in CardTech!
Here are some learnings from my year of pivots.
Embrace The Discomfort
I left my job as an engineering director at Google in August of 2024. I was very good at it. I had the opportunity to grow in that role and even had some AI projects on the horizon. But I wanted to push myself out of my comfort zone and “see the world” after 15 years at Google. I did just that and learned so much more than I ever would had I stayed in my comfort zone. I have previously talked about keeping your career sparkling; 2025 was the sparkliest year for me!
Live Your Values
During my time at Stripe we had multiple health scares, including a personal one that landed me in the ER on my very first day on the job! We lost a beloved family member and faced many other difficult moments as a family. In Jan 2025 I decided to leave my job even though I was just there for a few months because my family and I all needed this time to regroup and recover. I learned that I value my family and when push comes to shove, I will put them first.
Know Thyself
My solopreneur journey was a journey of self-discovery. I had to confront my shortcomings and amplify my strengths. I learned to either overcome my skill gaps or embrace and work around them like never before. I sharpened my voice, understood what I had to offer and defined my story like never before. All of this was useful in figuring out who I was as a leader and what I wanted in my next opportunity so I’d give this advice to any current job seeker to take time to craft your story!
A year of writing
ChaiTime also completed one year as a newsletter and brand! Thank you to all of you ChaiTime readers who showered me with hearts, shares and comments! Your feedback means a lot and keeps me writing! If you haven’t already done so, please take a moment to subscribe here so we can continue to stay connected in 2026!
Here are my top posts from 2025.
A year of guesting
I also had the opportunity to do several guest posts in 2025. Thank you to all my fellow Substackers who invited me to guest-write and coached me to write something interesting for their readers! Here are my top ones!
Drop The Ball: A Strategic Guide to Letting Go - guest post for the Level Up Newsletter by Ethan Evans and Jason P. Yoong
Being an “Intrapreneur” as a software engineer - guest post for the The Pragmatic Engineer by Gergely Orosz
Powerful Persuasion Methods for Engineering Managers - guest post for the Manager.dev newsletter by Anton Zaides
Lessons Learned Setting Up a Global Engineering Org at Google - guest post for the Engineering Leadership newsletter by Gregor Ojstersek
A year of connections
The most satisfying part of my 2025 was the number of new 1:1 connections I made. Some were email exchanges, some were comment threads on LinkedIn and Substack and some were calls. All were driven by my writing, teaching and coaching work!
I loved sharing my own learnings where I could and I loved even more to hear how I made a difference to someone’s career!
If my writing, teaching or coaching helped you in any way, drop me a comment if you are reading this on Substack or LI. Or reply to this email if you are reading this post in your inbox.
Looking Ahead
Looking ahead, I am excited to see what 2026 has to offer! I will continue to write more here on ChaiTime. I hope to do more collaborations and guest posts. And I’d love to continue making more meaningful connections this year.
Happy New Year again and Welcome to 2026!
Thank you Chaitali! Your mentorship and support made a difference and continues too!! Your journey and perspective towards work and life outside of work have inspired me since the time I attended your first guest session.