I disagree with the idea that a startup is just a vastly unlikely to cash lottery ticket. The vast majority of the time it's actually a great idea. I've helped start nearly dozen companies, and less than half had any measure of success, and only two reached a profitable exit.

The value of doing a startup isn't just the value of the lottery ticket. It's the value of the journey and what you can learn from it.

I worked at Apple for 2 years between startups. I was a valued engineer but was never given a lead position on a project, or any managerial responsibilities. Which was fine, I was young, in my twenties.

But at startups in my twenties, at various points I - was lead engineer on the company's key product.

- was product manager on a company's most important product.

- ran tech support for all of the company's products.

- ran product development for a two person startup all the way up to a 140 person company (45 in development).

I formulated, or helped form, marketing plans, product strategies, architectures, and business plans. I helped pitch VCs, and we raised over $20M total in those businesses. I even presented to John Warnock at one point.

Every single thing I did at startups helped make me a better engineer, manager and opened up career opportunities I might have had to wait a lot longer for.

It's not just the lottery ticket.