> Who is right? Well odds are in favor of it being wasted as 9 in 10 startups fail.

This commonly cited 90% startup failure rate is actually based on a 7yr timescale (if I'm not mistaken). I remember it being an example of a common misconception in the book "The Illusions of Entrepreneurship" [1]. Just because a small company eventually fails, it doesn't mean the investors didn't get any amount of ROI out of it.

For example: It's possible a company makes 10's of millions in revenue but fails from cash flow issues after a long-term of being operational.

So this isn't a good way to measure return potential when investing in companies. Unlike VC-style investments, not all businesses (even with $1 million capital) are billion dollar or nothing businesses.

Not everything The DAO invests in has to be 100x return to be viable (unless they want to be VCs). So this changes the math quite a bit.

[1] http://www.amazon.com/Illusions-Entrepreneurship-Costly-Entr...

>If you're sick of your current job, want a change, and hate being a subordinate, the answer is 'no'.

According to Illusions of Entrepreneurship, most entrepreneurs are in their 40s, not 20s.

Additionally, many entrepreneurs, (I believe it said a plurality) were entrepreneurs because they didn't like or couldn't work well under a boss more than any other reason.

[1] Non-aff link: http://www.amazon.com/Illusions-Entrepreneurship-Costly-Entr...

According to the Book Illusions of Entrepreneurship, most people who work in their own businesses make significantly less than they would working for others. However, they're as happier as if they made 200k more than they do, so in general they're happier though they make less.

Non aff link to the book (I really enjoyed it for it's real world stats on running a company and what it means for me): http://www.amazon.com/Illusions-Entrepreneurship-Costly-Entr...

Lots of costs, risks, benefits... to be weighed. And certainly a lot of them are NOT about salary and security. It's worth taking a look at Scott Shane's January 2008 “Illusions of Entrepreneurship: The Costly Myths that Entrepreneurs, Investors, and Policy Makers Live By” - or at least the discussions at Amazon reviews: http://www.amazon.com/isbn/dp/0300113315 It is a huge leap, and this will help you ask a lot of questions about whether you are suited for the startup world, temperamentally as well as otherwise.