Elixir

Yesterday was my last day at Riot Games. It’s been 3 years since I dropped out and joined the company. And despite the way my relationship with Riot ended, this has been the best learning experience I could have asked for. I had the chance to work with an amazing, passionate group of people, and count it among my many blessings. I was fired. I did not leave, and I was not laid off. I’m not going to come on here and pretend otherwise. They flat out fired me, and offered me 15k to keep my mouth shut. Needless to say, I did not take them up on that. The official reason for my termination that I was given was about an Applied AI pitch deck I made. I had put it up as a website with a password protection on it before sharing the site with our execs. They are claiming that I broke confidentiality. While I highly doubt that this was the real reason, I’m not gonna open myself up to libel by saying here what I believe the real reason to be. There has been no proof that anyone outside of Riot has seen the pitch deck, and that the security measures I’ve taken were not enough. What is more absurd, however, is that our CEO and various other execs have read it, told me how much they enjoyed reading it, and further encouraged me to explore the concepts I’ve outlined in the deck. Zero mention of needing me to take it down. If this was the decision of a random middle manager up my chain of command, I would have found that a lot easier to accept. What broke me though was the fact that an exec who I viewed as a role model, one of two people that I shared the deck with originally, who explicitly told me to share it out further, he knew about my termination ahead of time. And he did nothing to stop it. I was sad. Then I was pissed. Then I was sad and pissed. Now though, all I feel is an overwhelming sense of freedom. Normally, posting something like this is a big no no, since it will kill your chances of ever working in corporate. Luckily for me, I have made the decision that I will never work corporate again. Riot, if you’re reading this, I have also made the decision to not legally pursue the case of wrongful termination. We’re cool. I’m taking today off. Tomorrow is my first day as an entrepreneur. This is a step that I’ve thought about taking for a while now, but could never bring myself to leave Riot for. In a twisted way, I’m grateful the decision’s been made for me. I have a few ideas on direction. I will not be raising money. And I cannot wait to build, truly build.