This 29-year-old quit his 6-figure tech job to sell bagels, 9 months later he has earned $92,000

Meet the 29-year old who left his high paying job and started selling bagels in New York, earning $92,000 so far. Jacob Cooper, a former techie, turned his life around as he went from swapped keyboards to kitchen tools and launched his own bagel brand.

Starting his day as early as 4 am, Cooper starts rolling and baking hundreds of bite-sized pizza bagels daily at 5 am, according to a report by CNBC.

Meet 29-year-old who earns $20K a month by selling bagels

Cooper is the founder of Pizzabagel.nyc, a small business launched in January 2025 after quitting a 6-figure job in tech. Before baking, he co-founded an AI startup, serving as its chief technology officer for seven years. The company reportedly grew, and even survived the pandemic. But by 2023, burnout hit hard for Cooper.

By 2024, he quit his $120,000-a-year job with no plan. Then came the idea of baking bagels, another trending food on the internet.

How did he do it?

Cooper sold part of his startup equity for $250,000, used half after taxes to cover living costs, and invested the rest into his new venture.

“That is what allowed me to take a few months off, start this business, buy the equipment, buy the minivan, test things out, [and] lose money on it,” he told CNBC.

Today, Pizzabagel.nyc makes money through pop-ups, catering, and farmers' markets. The brand now offers six varieties— cheese, pepperoni, spicy vodka, buffalo dip, ricotta, and French onion. At the Queens Night Market, customers can grab two for $5.

In its first month, the business made $3,000. By July, monthly sales hit $10,000, and by September, Cooper's start-up brought in $20,000. He reinvested the $5,000 surplus back into the company. He continues not to draw a salary.

He added that he has enough savings for three years and has also invested $50,000 into the business.

"At the end of the day, I know that if this business doesn’t work out, I can go get another tech job or I can do something else,” Cooper said. “I’m probably not going to end up on my parents’ couch. Probably.”