There's nothing stopping you from hedging your bets. I work full-time and put away 60%+ of it. This is capital for whatever investments I make, including into my own startup that I work on when I get home. Fact is I get paid what I do by the corp because I'm worth at least that much. As a single, unmarried software developer there's nothing stopping me from exploiting my value generating capabilities directly, so not attempting a startup is nonsensical IMO.