[handwavy]

Timely and poignant question for me, as I am currently dissolving my first startup. I actually called it quits a year ago and took a job with another startup, but kept my company alive 'just in case'. Well, the new job is going well and I haven't touched my project in over a year, so rather than cling to the past I decided to let it go officially. That would be my suggestion to anyone in this position.

There is a bright side, though, at least for me. Doing my startup (which lasted about a year) provided invaluable lessons in many topics, and ultimately made me more attractive to other companies. In the end I gained a ton of knowledge and connections and have mostly recouped the lost savings at a higher paying job than I had before. I acknowledge that this is attributable to good luck, but I would argue that anyone who has tried a startup, even just once, has a professional advantage that could potentially pay back the investment.