>> You feel guilty if you go home to sleep while your friends are coding 'til their eyes bleed, even when the overwork is brought about by extrinsic factors (se

>> You feel guilty if you go home to sleep while your friends are coding 'til their eyes bleed, even when the overwork is brought about by extrinsic factors (see above). Been through that at the early stage of my career. It was a startup too. Right now if anybody trying to pull that out with me, its not going to happen again. If they should hire more people but not hiring, then its their problem. I'm not staying more than I should, and if I put on extra time (funny that I still do this a lot, I guess I just love what I do), its on my terms. Not happy, then let me know when to quit. I also found out that when you go through the extra mile a lot, without proper compensation, they will treat you cheap. In a way, its sort of true, since if we put more effort that we are paid for, then we are cheap in that sense. Its easier to get respect when you just stick to your guns and politely declined those request for extra effort unless its paid up for. You may not get what you demanded, but its easier for them to treat you with respect (oddly!). The lesson that I learned from my version of failed startup is that you should have the funder/entrepreneur to know the trade. Warren Buffet says never invest on anything that you do not understand. If the funder/investor/entrepreneur does not know the trade, then there is no way they could tell that you are telling the truth, other than pushing your buttons. And they will push your buttons, as much as they can get away with. Its a good lesson learned, and I'm glad I'm through. But there is no way I am going through that again.