Paffenholz: Early startup employees take on risk similar to founders
David Paffenholz · The Startup Playbook for Hiring Your First Engineers and AEs · Y Combinator · Nov 7, 2025 · at 3:33
Juicebox CEO David Paffenholz explains the risk-reward tradeoff of joining an early-stage startup versus growth-stage or big tech firms during a Y Combinator presentation.
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“And so in some ways, the risk that an early employee is taking on is somewhat similar to the risk that a founder takes on.”
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