I imagine that many people on HN would wither in a six-figure corporate job, and virtually all are aware of the rarity of the $1B exit. I'd take a self-sustaining entrepreneurial situation over the day-to-day corporate grind any time. You're still a rare hero if your exit is $100M or "only" $10M. Even a $1M payout would put you ahead about twenty years compared to that corporate job, provided you don't live like it's your new salary.