I think you are falling victim to survival bias here. >* Even with significant obligations, a startup failure is unlikely to result in your opportunities being

I think you are falling victim to survival bias here. >* Even with significant obligations, a startup failure is unlikely to result in your opportunities being limited for very long. It depends on the obligations, I assume you mean mainly family. If you are lucky(?) you may have a spouse crazy enough to follow you down that uncertain path, but that is not the case for most people.