It seems like there are a lot of potential CEOs out there with ideas looking for a CTO to do the heavy lifting -- and the VCs are all over them -- met multiple

It seems like there are a lot of potential CEOs out there with ideas looking for a CTO to do the heavy lifting -- and the VCs are all over them -- met multiple in last few weeks with nothing more than an idea And they want to treat them like poorly paid employees (which, often, they are poorly compensated). People see high compensation for FAANG types and think engineers are respected. Let me tell you, having been in management, nothing is further from the truth. ICs are still ICs, a lower social class, and thought of as such. Any “respect” is simply a temporary condition of the labor market: they’re placated and their egos tolerated until something less expensive comes along.