- Ziwei Li is a former Lyft employee and the founder and CEO of Wei Good Food.
- Li was surprised when her role at Lyft was eliminated in November 2022, but she also felt relief.
This as-told-to essay is based on a conversation with Ziwei Li, a 28-year-old LA-based former Lyft employee and founder and CEO of Wei Good Food. It's been edited for length and clarity.
My life took an unexpected turn one Thursday morning in November 2022, when I learned I was part of Lyft's first wave of layoffs.
I had led the food delivery vertical within Lyft Delivery as strategic partnerships manager, and my role was eliminated when Lyft decided to shut down its delivery business.
The day of the layoffs, I was going through my usual morning routine
I was checking my calendar and to-do lists, and mentally dreading that day's back-to-back meetings.
Then I checked Slack, where I saw a post alluding to layoffs. I hadn't seen any emails announcing layoffs in my own inbox, but a coworker forwarded the email and I then received a clarifying note from my director — my role was definitely eliminated.
My parents saw the news on the internet and called me right around the same time I found out. The whole experience was bizarre, and the rest of the day was a blur.
I spent the next couple hours notifying my external partners, many of whom had become friends, before losing access to my company Gmail, Slack, and ability to log into my laptop that same afternoon.
I was surprised — and relieved
The news of the layoff did come as a surprise. But amidst the shock, I also felt a sense of relief.
I'd enjoyed my job as the strategic partnerships manager. It was in a space I knew well, and I'd liked collaborating with internal and external teams.
But while I loved my role and the relationships I'd built, I'd also experienced the monotony of corporate life. The day-to-day routine and constant struggle for progress left me searching for something more meaningful.
The layoff presented an opportunity to immediately step into my dream, instead of indefinitely postponing the decision.
I took a couple of weeks to contemplate what would come next
Since I'm pursuing my MBA at UCLA part-time, I was in the right mindset to evaluate if this was the time to transform my side project into a real business. It had started as a passion project on the side while I was still employed at Lyft: testing recipes and producing small batches of chili oil for friends and family.
Starting my own business had previously seemed like a distant dream. While I had a product, I lacked a comprehensive strategy and vision.
But I'd spent the past year networking with other food and beverage founders around LA in my free time after work and on weekends. I used the post-layoff downtime to reach out to these fellow founders along with mentors and classmates for advice. They really opened my eyes to seizing the layoff as an opportunity.
I was able to kick off the next chapter of my career
Determined to make the best of the situation, I decided to use a portion of my severance package as an initial investment to establish my own company, Wei Good Food.
Starting a company is hard and there are countless things to learn, but I've met so many people willing to offer guidance and advice. My MBA program colleagues helped me develop the business plan and financial model, while my network provided guidance and advice.
It's been very rewarding to embark on an entrepreneurial journey that is deeply rooted in sharing culture. Getting laid off from Lyft was the instigator for starting my dream business — but tapping into my background and relationships is how I translated the opportunity into reality.
In the current economic climate, everyone should have a backup plan
Financial security is important, so I'm not saying you should quit your corporate job to start a business today. But if you have a dream, it's essential to start laying the groundwork and evaluate the possibility of pursuing it full-time in the future.
This could include conducting thorough research on requirements, building a network within your desired industry, or starting small-scale operations. The hardest part is starting, so it's wise to explore these opportunities while benefiting from the security of your existing job.