The Time I Left My 9 to 5

In an era where the internet and creator economy are reshaping careers, a traditional 9 to 5 is no longer the only way to make a living. This podcast explores the stories of people who’ve chosen unconventional career paths—be it entrepreneurship, freelancing, or content creation. Join us as we invite guests from diverse backgrounds to share their journeys, insights, and advice on building fulfilling, nontraditional careers. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The Time I Left My 9 to 5 is a business podcast hosted by Maggie Ma, with 17 episodes on record and a Required Pod Score of 80. PitchCentric scores this show on Booking Probability, Listen Score, and live audience signals refreshed every 24 hours.

Maggie Ma hosts The Time I Left My 9 to 5, a business show with 17 episodes published.

Our AI reads these to draft pitches. Use them as grounding for a pitch that cites a real guest and a specific topic.

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  Episode #16

  Inside the Private Network World: Christine Song on Reputation, Founders & the Courage to Start Over

  Nov 26, 202548 minS0

  <p>Christine Song spent ten years moving from corporate HR into high-growth startups, serving as Head of People and CPO across multiple companies, hiring executives, supporting founders, and navigating the speed and pressure of early-stage environments. Eventually, she walked away from the C-suite to build something of her own. Today, she’s the founder of Five to Nine Society, an invite-only network for operators, founders, and investors.</p><br><p>In this episode of The Time I Left My 9 to 5, Christine Song shares why she outgrew the startup people-ops path, how she knew she was in the “danger zone” of boredo...

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  Episode #15

  Choosing to Build: Jia Chen on Risk, Hackathons, and Founding Early

  Nov 5, 202524 minS0

  <p>In this episode of The Time I Left My 9 to 5, Maggie sits down with Jia Chen, a 21-year-old founder, indie musician, and content creator who turned down software engineering offers from Disney and Intuit to build her own company.</p><br><p>Jia shares her journey from studying finance to switching into computer engineering, winning 23 hackathons, and raising six figures in funding after a viral pitch video. Jia opens up about navigating parental expectations, building Sprint.dev to 20,000 users and $48K profit, and balancing creativity across music, tech, and social media.</p><br><p>Whether you’re a student, ea...

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  Episode #14

  What Happens After You ‘Make It’ with Zach Wilson

  Oct 28, 20251h 3mS0

  <p>This isn’t just a story about quitting a job — it’s about rediscovering meaning after you’ve already “made it.”
</p><br><p>Zach Wilson, data engineer turned creator and founder, walked away from a high-paying career in big tech to build something of his own. What started as a leap toward freedom became a deeper journey into burnout, identity, and what success really means once you already have it.
</p><br><p>In this conversation, we unpack what it really takes to build a meaningful life after success — systems over ambition, investing and learning from a new form of education...

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  Episode #13

  Unlearning Success: Rachel's Journey from Tech Layoffs to Food Media Founder

  Oct 21, 202540 minS0

  <p > Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.</p>

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  Episode #12

  In Conversation with Maddy Zhang: Breaking into Big Tech and Beyond — Google, Airbnb & More

  Oct 14, 202517 minS0

  <p>In this episode of The Time I Left My 9 to 5, Maggie sits down in San Francisco with Maddy Zhang, a senior software engineer and content creator with over 100,000 followers online.</p><br><p>Maddy opens up about her journey from studying computer science at MIT to landing roles at Amazon, Microsoft, Google, and Airbnb. She shares how she navigated rejections, defined impact in her work, and built a creative outlet through social media.</p><br><p>From the realities of Big Tech to handling online criticism and finding meaning beyond work, Maddy’s story is full of insight and in...

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