[neoveller]

The last one likely matters the most, at least in my case. Ambitious ideas take more time than just product development/implementation. Marketing and business development run on much lengthier schedules. At half a year in on savings, I'm being pulled away from full-time on my startup back into contract work, where I'm constantly encouraged to just go full-time instead with these companies (mostly founding-stage startups with funding). Meanwhile, my entrepreneur friends who come from exceptionally wealthy backgrounds have no such constraints or risk of going homeless if their startup doesn't get funding or start making revenue. I'm not sure if I'll be able to make rent next month, short of a loan, unless I get a contract invoice paid in full within two weeks. I'll be just fine, but that fear of not making it on the basics is not weightless. I suspect I'll be looked at differently when it shows that it took me N months to get to X revenue, instead of 0.25N, as a result of just needing to survive.

[a_bonobo]

The "fallback option" matters in so much and is something that's, IMHO, extremely underdiscussed in society. I see politicians rail about how poor people don't risk anything without themselves realizing that they come from middle-class/rich backgrounds and could risk more in their lives.

In my case, I've moved from Germany to Australia without many prospects and still managed to land on my feet. Friends with less money always asked me "aren't you scared?", after a while the realization hit me - I wasn't particularly scared because if things wouldn't have worked out, I could've just used my parents' credit card for a $2000 flight back, no need to worry. My "poorer" friends don't have that option so they're naturally scared of something I didn't even consider, an "unknown unknown" for me.