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> it's a long road of several failed startups and well over a decade before they find success

How is that not compressing your career into a few short years? Most people start working at about 20 and retire at about 65. That's 45 years of a career.

A decade sounds like "a few short years" compared to four or five decades if you ask me.

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http://paulgraham.com/wealth.html

It says 4 in there, that's the figure Vince will probably be referring to.

4 years is missing a few of your kid's birthdays. 10 is missing most of them.

Or if you're in your 20s, 4 years is missing out on some great life experiences in your prime. 10 is missing out on all of them.

I'd be interested to know how many YC grads actually successfully exited and earned out within four years. I'd guess it's a pretty small fraction.

You don't need to exit to stop missing out on your family life. Some people may choose to focus exclusively on work, but there are plenty of founders who have a life outside of work long before an exit/ipo event.

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