PwC Sabbatical Led to Fluid Focus Startup, $640K Raise

Glenn Stephenson, 32, joined PwC in 2016 after graduating with a business degree. Seven years in, he requested a sabbatical. He did not go back. In April 2025, Stephenson resigned from the firm to run Fluid Focus, an app he built with a friend that helps people develop healthier screen time and focus habits. The company completed a £640,000 funding round last summer.

Stephenson said the structured path toward partner at PwC stopped exciting him. "Becoming a partner seemed like a very all-consuming role," he said. He wanted to build something new, but said he lacked the headspace to think through the next step while working. He and a friend, both keen to step away from corporate life, locked in career breaks at the same time and planned roughly five months of travel in South America.

He was not paid during the sabbatical. Savings built up over about three years made the financial risk manageable. "I felt quite confident that I would keep my job if I were to return, but I did wonder whether stepping away would slow my progress," Stephenson said. He weighed that against the risk of not taking the break at all. "I've always placed a premium on adventure, experimentation, and personal growth, so not taking a break and regretting it would have been the bigger risk."

The pair balanced planning the trip with committing time to the business. What started as "a little bit of work with more of a focus on travel" developed into full-time work on the venture with weekends abroad. By the five-month mark in July 2024, they had created a minimum viable product and were accepted onto an accelerator program in Belfast, which provided office space.