I'd claim you've been wise enough to understand there's a cost to letting your skills languish at a mature tech company that pays you liquid RSUs, limiting your

I'd claim you've been wise enough to understand there's a cost to letting your skills languish at a mature tech company that pays you liquid RSUs, limiting your future earning potential vs working in startups in fields with growth potential and where you can develop highly specialized and coveted skills. That's the real story I'd argue as to why your strategy is a good one v. diversifying with these startups. I don't know maybe one of your startup journeys hit or will hit massively (versus comfortably positive) and I'm wrong but at the end of the day it's about your risk tolerance and understanding the distribution of potential outcomes. The distribution had fewer massively positive outcomes than we all thought in the economic expansion/zero interest rate days of 3-10 years ago I think, and that motivated people to stay late, play ping pong with coworkers, leetcode for sideways promotions, etc. That was my initial point, it wasn't the free food and ping pong it was the hope of a ridiculous (instead of decent) exit.