I'm the opposite of the person you're asking for, but I'll take a stab. I have the academic pedigree to have worked in a lucrative scientific / banking / manage

I'm the opposite of the person you're asking for, but I'll take a stab. I have the academic pedigree to have worked in a lucrative scientific / banking / management field, but instead chose to take an entrepreneurial path. I could likely have made more money (risk adjusted) on the other path, but am thankful on a DAILY BASIS that I'm a pirate, and didn't join the navy. Had I not chosen the entrepreneurial path, I'm confident I'd be the person you're asking for: late in my career and regretting not starting a business.