I agree that I slipped in between 'founding' and 'working' a bit. The conversation that inspired the post was agnostic to the distinction, obviously, but you're right there are differences. I think it's most useful to actually explore the 'employee' experience, as outsiders will most likely end up there if they jump from traditional work - this is what I'm seeing most often anyway.

I wouldn't go so far as to say working in startups leads inevitably to bitterness for the people who are made for it. I did certainly write the post hoping it serves as fair warning that you should expect it to suck a lot.