I agree, and it's also a direction that I'm personally headed (currently focused on freelancing/bootstrapping), but I also think it has more to do with the current recession more than anything. It's a really tough environment now and I think a lot of the innovation over the next few years is actually going to come from the big tech companies.
No one ever becomes a great entrepreneur overnight and it's a fallacy to think that you could do a high-growth startup only when you're young and in your 20s (Jeff Bezos, Larry Ellison, Jim Clark, Mike Bloomberg all started their big companies in their 30s; Mark Cuban and Mark Pincus started their billion-dollar co's in their early 40s).
I think it's wise to maintain a very long-term view of the startup game, and to take bigger risks gradually as you develop into a stronger entrepreneur. So, I think it's smart to prove yourself as a bootstrapped entrepreneur and make your first few million and be financially independent, and then be in a position to take big risks to work on a high-growth startup.
Jim Clark, the greatest serial tech entrepreneur to date, started SGI when he was 37 and Netscape when he was 50. This is a long-term game.
Some of the best startup advice you'll ever get is by @yegg in "Paths to $5M for a startup founder": http://gabrielweinberg.com/blog/2010/06/paths-to-5m-for-a-st...
No one ever becomes a great entrepreneur overnight and it's a fallacy to think that you could do a high-growth startup only when you're young and in your 20s (Jeff Bezos, Larry Ellison, Jim Clark, Mike Bloomberg all started their big companies in their 30s; Mark Cuban and Mark Pincus started their billion-dollar co's in their early 40s).
I think it's wise to maintain a very long-term view of the startup game, and to take bigger risks gradually as you develop into a stronger entrepreneur. So, I think it's smart to prove yourself as a bootstrapped entrepreneur and make your first few million and be financially independent, and then be in a position to take big risks to work on a high-growth startup.
Jim Clark, the greatest serial tech entrepreneur to date, started SGI when he was 37 and Netscape when he was 50. This is a long-term game.