Meet Julie Zhu, who built her startup while working at Apple, it later reached nearly six figures in revenue; what was her strategy?

Julie Zhu is a New York City-based entrepreneur who faced challenges with full determination and worked hard enough to achieve her goals. Her decisions and aim to succeed in life made a huge positive difference for her.

She used to work at Apple, but later in life built her own startup. It was named Odd One In. She achieved success while working a full-time corporate job.

How was her career journey?

Zhu built Odd One In. It is an artist collectible business. The startup was co-founded by her with a friend in December 2024.


Till then, Zhu continued to work her corporate job at Apple. Simultaneously, she went on to work on her startup and build the brand.

According to her Business Insider report, she used to spend around 13-14 hours a day working across her corporate job at Apple and her startup.

Later, she took a bold decision, which many think but fail to achieve. Zhu quit her job in August 2025. She balanced the two work commitments for around eight months, which in itself was a hard task to manage.

ALSO READ: Meet Steve Nadramia, the high school teacher who bought 3 used hot tubs for $6,500; how he turned them into a rental side hustle

Why did she quit Apple?

According to a Business Insider report, she had wanted to become a founder since she was 18. Zhu started working at the technology giant in 2022. She found the work environment at Apple to be very high-pressure and stressful. The report states that she also struggled with imposter syndrome and wanted more control over decisions.

Many people advised her to quit Apple and work full-time on her startup. But, she took a step back and thought of things realistically. At first, she wanted to establish a clear business plan and achieve milestones. After that only she thought that quitting the job was the right option.

ALSO READ: In 2012, a Philadelphia property went to a tax sale after unpaid bills piled up; years later, the fight over leftover money continued

What happened after she quit Apple?

She left the company after four years of working. Later, Odd One In generated close to six figures in annual revenue in 2025. Interestingly, the business did not take outside funding. It was launched using the savings of the founders.

Zhu reportedly said she did not pay herself a salary as the money earned was later reinvested in production, warehousing, payments and other expenses.