I suppose its a lesson for them in how real risk works. They traded in an opportunity with a high chance of making 200k for an opportunity with a very low chance of making 1mm+ and a very high chance of making much less than 200k. They ended up probably statistically somewhere in the realm of average which in reality should be of no surprise - its just unfortunate that it seems they didn't take many safeguards for when the most likely scenario occurred.

I think there is an unfortunate side to the way the tech media has turned into a machine at pumping out stories about all the big hits in that it gives a very skewed perspective of how rare true sustainable startup success is. That doesn't mean that it isn't worth pursuing but I think doing things like cashing in your 401k is incredibly foolish to be totally honest. I dont blame people for taking big risks being that most big success comes with big risks but make sure you are completely ok with what big risk truly means.