[hnwebservices]

That really depends on your definition of "promising startup". About 75% of IT startups fail and most were promising to at least some people.

You really can't bet on getting rich just out of pure luck though. There are a ton of millionaires around Silicon Valley because the area attracts the best engineers in the world to work with great companies. Your odds don't really increase if your a shitty employee. It's also very expensive to live out there.

With that being said this industry allows you to switch jobs pretty easily. If you put in a couple years at several different startups over your career then the odds of getting a huge paycheck from a startup increases dramatically. In addition to that you will gain many contacts, friends, and job experience.