As Jeremy Stop-pelman, the founder of Yelp, said, "In 2005, it was not necessarily cool to have a start-up. It was cooler to work for a great company or have a job that was layoff free. And so now, the pendulum [has] shifted back to you're uncool unless you're a founder of a company." Being "safe" isn't cool, and brands you as a fuddy-duddy tied down to someone else's dream. If you are a rank-and-file employee, it is better to be one at a hot startup than a large company; there's more risk, but more chance of getting rich by proxy. While the chance for massive wealth rarely pans out—something like 85 percent of startups fail—it is this hope that fuels entrepreneurs and workers alike.

Alice E. Marwick, Status Update, loc. 182