Man Quits $400K Job to Open a Bakery — One Year Later He's Never Been Happier

At 34, Marcus Webb was earning over $400,000 a year as a hedge fund analyst in Manhattan. He had the apartment, the wardrobe, and the LinkedIn profile that many people spend their careers chasing. He was also, by his own account, completely miserable. One Tuesday morning in April last year, he submitted his resignation letter with no plan except a bread recipe he'd been perfecting in his apartment kitchen for two years. Today, "Webb's" is a tiny bakery in Brooklyn with a line down the block every weekend morning. "I used to wake up at 4am dreading the day," Marcus told us, flour on his forearms, looking more relaxed than any version of himself in the photos on his old social media. "Now I wake up at 4am because I want to. There's a difference that's impossible to explain until you feel it." The bakery, which specializes in sourdough and laminated pastries, has developed a cult following. A croissant he posted on Instagram during the first week sold out 200 units before lunchtime. He's never advertised. "Money is a real thing and I won't pretend the first six months weren't scary," he says. "But I sleep differently now. I think differently. I'd never go back." His story, shared in a long-form post last month, has been read over 8 million times.