Reputation risk is important, but you’re still a disposable cog. When an opportunity to succeed presents itself, it’s a calculated risk. Could’ve death marched through the holidays and still been fired, for any reason. Sometimes you gotta manage up aggressively.

(Have seen an engineering team liquidated the day after successful delivery, death marched to it, for example)

take your shot. don't miss.

If the chipper younger dev had failed, we wouldn't be reading this story. so there's survivors bias at play here. but we were all young and dumb like that at some point in our lives. it worked out for some but not for others. some exit the field entirely and go find other vocations.

meh, if you did everything right, you'd be laid off 1 day after launch.

So there's really absolutely no risk to do this.

Either way you will be fired/laid off, so why not just do it.