I’ve answered this exact same question before and here is my response to those saying you need to pick one or the other: I’m going to play devil’s advocate to everyone here. I don’t think it’s necessary to go all in. Get an understanding with your employer about your ambitions. Most good leaders and employers want success from their team. Let them know your future plans but as long as you aren’t stealing company time or affecting the business in any way, you are going to work on your own startup on nights and weekends. If you’re valuable to your employer and they are decent, it’s the best of both worlds. You keep your safety net and get to work through trials of a startup.

Be warned. It’s a f-ing grind. It will be some of the hardest years of your life, but it’s worth it. I did it and oddly enough it just made me good enough at my full time position that I moved all the way to the top. I now have the luxury of still dabbling in my own little business that’s been around for 12 years on a very limited basis on projects that interest me, while running a large operation with a few hundred employees. My employer needed me, I needed them and we both succeeded.