how do you avoid burnout and getting taken advantage of?
nostrademons: Take more risks.There's this idea that's beaten into us as children: our success depends upon how hard we work.  That's only true insofar as zero effort probably equals zero reward.  In reality, your reward is much more proportional to the risks you take (and of course, you have to be lucky and skillful enough to see that risk pan out).You have to understand the bargain that you are making when you accept an employment offer.  You are pledging your effort in exchange for a mostly-fixed amount of cash.  In return, the company bears the (not insignificant) risk that your project will be a failure in the marketplace.My last project made more money for the company than I will ever earn in wages during my lifetime.  However, there's a good chance that my current project will lose more money for the company than my last project made.  And then future projects that it enables will hopefully make all that back.  At my previous employer, I completed two projects that were big successes inside the company and big failures in the marketplace.  The point is that my employer is bearing the risk, not I.  I knew that was the tradeoff that I made when I accepted their offer.If I were in your position (and I have been, several times), I'd ask myself: given the startup ideas I have, what are my chances of success?  And what can possible employment opportunities give me that will increase those chances of success for future startup ideas?  Part of playing your hand well is knowing when to fold, and part is knowing when you're right and everyone else is wrong and you ought to double-down.In other words, you should think more like a hedge fund manager and less like a programmer.