IT Business Analyst: Duties, Salary, and How to Become One - Coursera

Rob Waters moved from Virginia to San Francisco to focus on building his AI startup, Kanawai AI. This as-told-to essay is based on a conversation with Rob Waters, a former Google employee who was laid off last November. The 42-year-old cofounded Kanawai AI and lives in San Francisco. The following has been edited for length and clarity. In November 2025, I was on a flight to Los Angeles to meet with a customer when my laptop screen suddenly went black. My laptop rebooted, but when I tried to log back in, it didn't work. Then I felt my personal phone buzz. I had an email from Google HR saying I'd been impacted by a layoff and my role was no longer necessary. I had no notice. My access was cut off immediately. I had to email the customer I was flying to meet from my personal account and cancel our meeting. The timing felt like something out of a movie — like I couldn't make it up. I'd spent nearly six years at Google. Working there had been a dream of mine, and by the end, I was leading the data analytics and AI sales specialist team for Google Public Sector. Now, suddenly, it was over. I had a chance to return to GoogleI landed in Los Angeles around 12:30 in the morning.