[joesmo]

There are few people that benefit if a startup makes it. Generally they're the founders and investors. Investors invest, so they don't do any of the work. That really leaves the founders. Is it worth it for the founders? That depends on the exit, but if they get lucky enough, it will be. For everyone else that's 'killing it,' they're only killing themselves. It will not be rewarded in any objective way and it will be punished as everyone has physical limitations. I believe it's for the the rest of us that the article is intended, not founders. Of course, if the company doesn't make it, no one succeeds and no one gets a rewards. That's the startup gamble.

Personally, I stopped gambling a long time ago, soon after I realized that whether I worked hard or normal, without being a founder, it made absolutely zero difference.

EDIT: Comparing a startup to putting a man on the moon is a bit over the top and ludicrous. Startups are businesses designed to make money; landing on the moon is an accomplishment in and of itself.