Indeed. I tell would-be founders exactly this. I bootstrapped my company for quite some time before successfully courting investors, and this was only possible

Indeed. I tell would-be founders exactly this. I bootstrapped my company for quite some time before successfully courting investors, and this was only possible because being an engineer pays well enough to build a solid savings in advance. While on one hand I take pride in having had the willpower to make things work, this isn't a satisfying solution for entrepreneurship in general.