PwC Employee Trades Corporate Grind for Five Months of Backpacking and App Building
KEY POINTS
- •Glenn Stephenson started working at PwC in 2016 after getting his business degree and stayed for seven years.
- •He took a five-month sabbatical in 2024 to backpack South America and develop an app called Fluid Focus.
- •After securing £640,000 funding in 2025, Glenn resigned from PwC in April to fully commit to his startup.
Meet Glenn Stephenson, 32, who survived 7 years at PwC, a place where career paths are as rigid as a frozen spreadsheet. In 2016, with a business degree freshly minted, Glenn joined the hyper-competitive circus. By 2024, he’d had enough of chasing partner status — because apparently 'all-consuming' wasn’t just a word, it was his side hustle. Glenn and a friend took a five-month 'sabbatical'—aka hardcore South American backpacking plus hacking on their app 'Fluid Focus,' designed to help people (read: distracted humans) curb screen addiction. Saving cash for 3 years, Glenn wasn’t paid but confident enough to return to PwC–if he needed to. Spoiler: he didn’t. After launching a minimum viable product and scoring £640,000 funding, Glenn quit PwC in April 2025 and jumped all in. PwC refused to comment on losing one of their own to a startup dream. Because nothing screams 'career growth' like 10-hour work Sundays on a beach rather than Excel sheets. #LifeChoices
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(1 of 3)Taking a corporate sabbatical to backpack and build an app sounds like the adult version of 'calling in sick to your homework'. Spoiler: quitting PwC to chase dreams is still seen as wildly risky, probably because they don't offer frequent flyer miles.
Nothing says corporate rebellion like turning 'career break' into a 'please fund my startup while I climb mountains' party.
He saved for 3 years, took 5 months off to build an app and got £640k. Meanwhile, I’m just proud if I remember my Zoom password.
Source: Businessinsider | Published: 8/12/2026 | Author: Charissa Cheong
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