I think in the right sort of corporate environment, a bit of initiative can give you a lot of opportunities the less-motivated might not have (or want). You als

I think in the right sort of corporate environment, a bit of initiative can give you a lot of opportunities the less-motivated might not have (or want). You also can learn how to work in a team, and probably have better hours than your startup counterparts, giving you more time to work on outside projects--such as your own startup--or in general to just have a life, meet people and pursue hobbies. I like having some distance between me and management when I'm working as an employee, because then it doesn't grate on my nerves that I'm not working on my own startup while watching someone else run theirs, with the knowledge that they're using me to make their own dreams come true. I'd rather not see that, and in a large organization you don't have to because they're somewhere else, in a different building perhaps, or political appointees, for example.