As an employee, why should I bust my ass working all day if you're just going to answer a few emails over coffee and that's it?
The real risk of doing it this way is your market slipping away from you while you're on the beach checking out. Of course, you can always book a flight home and build a new muse once this one peters out, but the high margins that allow you to automate will run out eventually.
I find those "The Dog in the Manger" assertions weird. Most businesses are started by people wanting to make big money - often to secure not only themselves, but their families and causes they care about. Can't blame them, because frankly, even 8h of work week most of us are trapped in seems like a ridiculous waste of life. So the system promises them more money for less effort if they shoulder the risks and initially work their asses off to build a business. They do so, and now we should renege on the promise? Sounds like a great idea if you want to ensure the next people decide not to bother starting anything.