I will be very harsh, but only because I think you need to take a step back and take some time to figure things out. The reason you need to go to school, and not do a startup, has nothing to do with your equity&#x2F;pay situation.<p><i>You are simply not emotionally mature enough to be working at a startup.</i><p>The first thing that stood out to me is the judgmentality over such trivial matters.<p>Saying things like &quot;i associate homelessness with lack of skills and i want to keep my identity small. i&#x27;m known for being well read&quot; really reminds me of when I was really arrogant in high school and felt the need to maintain an internal (and wholly undeserved) sense of moral&#x2F;intellectual superiority over my more popular (not unsurprisingly) classmates.<p>And then worrying about how your friends might perceive you because you&#x27;re associated with him. These are not the signs of legitimate concern. These are the signs of insecurity. Similar to your fear that your parents would kick you out of the house if they read this post. This is not the sign of someone emotionally mature enough to be working full or part time at a startup.<p>Now, you could be totally right about there being too much focus on media attention. But a socially mature adult (and business partner) would be comfortable bringing those concerns directly to their cofounder, not to an internet forum where they can let their ruminations run wild.<p>The fact that you&#x27;ve also accepted an arrangement that is an absolutely terrible deal financially indicates a certain sense of naivete about employment, how startups work, and finances. This is not how unpaid internships work. The only reason to ever take an unpaid internship is if 1) it&#x27;s at a highly prestigious company, or 2) it&#x27;s in an industry where there are hundreds of <i>overqualified</i> applicants for every position.<p>Either get a proper paid tech internship so you can actually learn what it feels like to have a real job at a real company with real mentorship, surrounded by people smarter than you. Or take classes and study hard so you can get into a good school.