Assuming that your next job is going to be a founder the most important thing for you to do is to build and/or maintain a relationship with the VCs. Both the founders and the investors are going to want to maximize the sale price. you want to be on that team so that when the VCs have an company that needs a solid technical founder they think of you or if you start your own thing you have investors that you can call that already know you can build a product and not freak out while selling the company.
Trying to get at a "seat at the table" could mess that up.