This article discusses things to consider when thinking about joining a startup. A job may provide higher salaries, more perks, security, less stress, and other benefits, but working in a startup can result in huge payoffs. Startups require a ton of challenging work to be successful, they have minimal infrastructure in place, and startup employees have lower salaries. However, startup employees own a portion of the company, and this could be worth a lot in the future.

Founder liquidity is the practice where founders sell a portion of their shares during a funding round. It allows founders to reduce risk and secure personal financial stability while continuing to build the company with a fresh influx of venture capital. The practice is often kept secret because it undermines the narrative of the founder who is 'all-in'. It might change how startups are perceived and valued if it were widely known that founders could de-risk their financial position while their employees remained all-in.