If you took angel/VC what you basically did is create a very interesting job for yourself with a lot of upward mobility and a comp package that is strongly tied

If you took angel/VC what you basically did is create a very interesting job for yourself with a lot of upward mobility and a comp package that is strongly tied to the company's performance. If you want it to be 100% yours you must bootstrap or keep it as a side project (either side income or just FOSS). Expecting something to be 100% yours after taking other peoples' money to build it feels kind of entitled TBH. That being said, good investors want the founder to be very committed and to have a personal attachment to the company. They need you to really give a damn. So some amount of attachment beyond "just a job" is good and even expected. I'm just saying there is a continuum between "just a gig" and "it's 100% my baby" and an externally funded company is neither. Closer to your baby than just a gig, but not 100%. If you don't let go a little bit and put a little bit of boundary up when you take capital, you are setting yourself up for heated conflicts with your investors, co-founders (if any), and other senior employees. You're also setting yourself up for a soul-crushing ego blow if it doesn't go well and especially if it goes sideways for reasons you don't have full control over.