You usually have 3 stages (based on the successful guys I've met before):
A) Vesting period- after the initial sale, you take on the day job of either (a) doing what you were doing before, if you were properly aligned in incentive structure, or (b) doing something different that they bought your team for. For some, they find that they have now reached a state in corporate America that allows them to vault to the upper echelons of management, while others feel these days don't go by fast enough.
B) Soul-searching/vacation period- for those who don't stay after vesting, some people go and soul-search, Entrepreneur In Residence gigs, live 4-hour workweeks, travel copious amounts, become advisors or investors in other companies, or find their original cadre of friends to start hacking on stuff. Some start dating.
C) Next gig- depending on the riskiness of the individual, they may never sell another startup again and become the circling crew of technology professionals, others will compete with much furor with another startup, while others will forget their hacker roots and take $5M from a big VC firm on an unproven idea.
A) Vesting period- after the initial sale, you take on the day job of either (a) doing what you were doing before, if you were properly aligned in incentive structure, or (b) doing something different that they bought your team for. For some, they find that they have now reached a state in corporate America that allows them to vault to the upper echelons of management, while others feel these days don't go by fast enough.
B) Soul-searching/vacation period- for those who don't stay after vesting, some people go and soul-search, Entrepreneur In Residence gigs, live 4-hour workweeks, travel copious amounts, become advisors or investors in other companies, or find their original cadre of friends to start hacking on stuff. Some start dating.
C) Next gig- depending on the riskiness of the individual, they may never sell another startup again and become the circling crew of technology professionals, others will compete with much furor with another startup, while others will forget their hacker roots and take $5M from a big VC firm on an unproven idea.