An IIT Kanpur graduate and former McKinsey consultant, Kanak Agrawal, has traded a high-powered corporate career for a life of peace and personal fulfillment. After co-founding a startup, she realized neither path felt truly hers.
The corporate world is obsessed with hustle, climbing ladders, and stacking achievements, but some brave souls rewrite the rules. They trade corner offices for open roads, deadlines for sunrises, and paychecks for peace.Kanak Agrawal has set one such example by living this truth. An IITian who left it all behind for a peaceful life ahead.
Meet Kanak Agrawal- The IITian who left her top job for a peaceful life ahead
Kanak Agrawal is an IIT Kanpur graduate, who worked at McKinsey in Gurgaon. She then co-founded a startup which she built for five years. But it never felt right. Growing up near Kota, where IIT coaching dominated everything, she recalled, “I grew up near Kota when IIT coaching was all-consuming. My brother went to IIT, so I followed.
It didn’t really feel like a choice,” she told Moneycontrol.She joined McKinsey from campus; friends had a startup idea, so she joined them. “Things went well, but I didn’t feel satisfied,” she added. At 31, she quit both, not because they were bad, but because “none of it felt mine”.
Her Instagram account shows that she is now based in the hills of Himachal Pradesh, and her routine has changed. Corporate days meant rushed, anxious mornings and constant startup worries, “There was always something wrong or pending.”
Today, she wakes slowly, sips hot water, journals 30-40 minutes, cooks fresh meals, and weaves in hobbies, people, and rest. “I enjoy the flexibility,” she said. “I don’t have to wait for permission to live”.
She earns less than her corporate life but is contented
Agrawal now creates travel content and ghostwrites, hosting small slow-living retreats while backpacking across India and abroad for four years. Earnings are lower than her corporate pay, but “Mostly, I’m happy because this life feels like mine,” she shared with Moneycontrol.Her parents were shocked twice, first McKinsey, then the startup. She broke the news after quitting. “They didn’t understand my choices at all,” she said, noting they still push for stability and settling down. “They still don’t understand why I want to live like this. But they let me be.”
Challenges still persist
Solo work lacks structure or safety nets. “It takes a lot of mental strength,” she admits. But gives you mental growth, “You grow in ways you never would otherwise. You’re forced to take responsibility for every part of your life,” Agrawal said. Now, every choice, from location to work, is deliberate. “For a long time, I did what was expected. Now, even the uncertainty is my choice. And that makes all the difference.”
