I completely agree. After working for a startup for over year, I have witnessed behaviors, actions and decisions that create progress as well as the ones that hold it back. You begin to see all of the mantras and advice trickled throughout the web actually applied (or at least attempted).

You see what works for you and what doesn't. You identify your strengths and whether you can handle stress or not. Consider it getting paid to learn about the things that interest you (startups, hacking, marketing, etc).

Other Tips: To get a basic overview of funding strategies, read http://www.venturehacks.com. Attend events like http://sf2.startupweekend.com and be in a room full of people you can ask questions to (let me know if you would like a discount code for this).

Understood sir!