IOW, a few sharks eat a tremendous number of minnows.

Something I try to remember whenever the urge to "hustle" comes back: taking payoff I got from years of startup work, subtracting taxes and spread across those years... Still put me at just above market rate for those years. But instead of that market rate for 40 hour weeks, it was that rate for 80, 100, 120 hour weeks. I could've been working two bog-standard jobs for normal companies, worked fewer hours, and come out ahead.

Everyone has a reason for gambling. It's rarely ever a good reason. But man, it's easy to lose yourself in rationalizations when you're in its thrall...