In my experience, the best way to know whether you would actually like work on your own start-up is to work for someone else's. You don't mention where you are located. Are there any startups nearby where you could intern to gain some experience? I can't comment on the hacking side of things as I am on the business side myself. But I do agree with PG's point that those who work on startups and fail increase their value to other startups... with each new experience you will learn more. The growth rate at most small startups is many times that of large corporations- that is the benefit of wearing many hats.