Losing a job can be a nightmare for many but for Tatiana Teppoeva, a 49-year-old former Microsoft employee, it was the moment she had been waiting for. Teppoeva, who worked for the global tech giant for 14 years, described her first reaction “pure happiness.”
“My first reaction was disbelief and pure happiness. I picked up the phone and called a friend to share the news,” she told Business Insider.
Teppoeva revealed that she had long dreamed of leaving her corporate job to pursue entrepreneurship but was held back by the security of full-time employment. “For more than a year, I had been thinking about leaving to start my own company, but it was not an easy decision after a 17-year stable career at Boeing and Microsoft,” she said.
“I even had a resignation letter saved in my drafts, waiting for the right moment. When the layoff happened, I felt it was a green light, and I was grateful,” she added.
After spending over a decade at Microsoft, where she worked her way up from senior research manager to senior data and applied scientist, Teppoeva finally took the leap and founded her own venture ‘One Nonverbal Ecosystem’. The company focuses on helping executives enhance their presence and communication.
“When I was laid off from Microsoft after 14 years, I started a company, One Nonverbal Ecosystem, rather than seeking a new corporate job. Now I teach executives how to command the room and project the presence they want,” she further said.
Her biggest inspiration, she added, was her son, who built a successful construction business from scratch.
According to her LinkedIn profile, Teppoeva holds a master’s and a PhD in economics from St. Petersburg State University and two degrees from Harvard University. She began her career as an assistant professor before working at Boeing and later Microsoft, and launched her company in May 2025.