Why do you need to work up to being a founder? Any bozo can start something new especially given that the vast majority of start ups either never go anywhere or flame out somewhere in the first year or two. Even I've "become a founder" a couple of times.
I used to be pretty close with the founder of my company and his life doesn't look like any fun.
you could in theory define it as having a sole-proprietorship type lifestyle business.
it's poignant in this thread because many people have worked on "meaningless" projects within a company for years on end - and you don't have a choice.