Everyone loves a Silicon Valley success story: A handful of smart, driven young entrepreneurs gets together to work on a passion project, find an idea with real legs, and are rewarded with an lucrative "exit" of making it big or being purchased by one of the industry's giants.

While there are notable examples of software company exits making thousands  of people wealthy, there are always cases of workers who for one reason or another miss out on their potential fortunes.

Some leave for other opportunities that they are more passionate about. Others leave to found their own companies. Some just made decisions they regret.

Source : entrepreneur