I wasn't assuming consulting/freelancing at all. If you're going to run a business you're going to have customers. These customers need support and can be much worse than anyone you deal with in office politics.
The problem is that you're presenting a false dichotomy. Either work for yourself or slave 12+ hours/day for someone else. There are plenty of good 8 hour/day engineering jobs that pay well and have interesting problems to solve. If 'might make [you] rich' is why you want to do a startup you're probably going to be disappointed. The odds are stacked against you and the risks are high. If you're really good at tech, most of the top companies pay well and give job stability which is what many people want.
The problem is that you're presenting a false dichotomy. Either work for yourself or slave 12+ hours/day for someone else. There are plenty of good 8 hour/day engineering jobs that pay well and have interesting problems to solve. If 'might make [you] rich' is why you want to do a startup you're probably going to be disappointed. The odds are stacked against you and the risks are high. If you're really good at tech, most of the top companies pay well and give job stability which is what many people want.