Working at a startup is not more risky for employees than for founders. Consider that the startup you are applying to already has funding (I'm assuming it does

Working at a startup is not more risky for employees than for founders. Consider that the startup you are applying to already has funding (I'm assuming it does, since it sounds like there is already a team). The founders started with nothing but an idea, probably invested their free time to implement v0 and then sold it well enough to attract funding. They could have failed at any time, and would have had nothing except experience and pissed off investors to show for it, not to mention the loss of any personal investment in the firm. You on the other hand will draw a salary from day 1, and you already have a better idea of the company's trajectory than the founders did when they conceived of the idea. Even if the company goes under, you will have earned $X in addition to the experience gained. And you have the luxury of not having to worry about how to get funding, sign deals, etc. If you don't like the risk/reward, the best way to change the equation is to become a founder, or build/lead something so amazing that your rep alone compels startups to offer you a significant percentage.