The layoff that redirected
Won a 3,000-person hackathon, was laid off hours later, then founded a company.
hoursbetween first prize and the layoff call
What they did
King had been a technology consultant at PwC since 2021, building AI agents for enterprises. He entered a firm-wide hackathon and won it.
What they did not choose
The cut was a restructuring, not a verdict on the win. The same skill, on a different schedule, keeps him at PwC. The forced exit opened a door he had not planned to walk through. Many other laid-off workers do not found companies: John Huân Vũ applied to more than 6,000 jobs after a PayPal layoff and relied on a food pantry.
Figures
- Donald King, 25, technology consultant at PwC since 2021 (Business Insider, June 2025).
- First place in a PwC AI hackathon with 3,000+ contestants; laid off hours later.
- Founded AMDK, a marketing startup, after the layoff.