The old saying... With big risk *may come* big rewards. But let's not forget the RISK part of it.
Ultimately, if this startup had actually succeeded, these founding employers may have been able to ask for stock options in lieu of salary which could someday be worth millions. Sadly, their eyes and judgement as to the job risk they were undertaking were clouded in the excitement of this venture..... How many "startups" actually make it, and how many crash and burn? Would you quit a stable job to be part of an unknown startup, the majority of which never last?
You need to treat a startup differently, keep light-footed and don't make any major life-changes. It seems that is what Penny, the author of the article DID. She covered her arse "CYA"
It is especially easy if you are young, not settled down, have no kids, can move to a new town and rent a place by the week or month, commute by bike or transit, and just to see how things go. A startup is not the kind of venture someone with a family and other responsibilities should be involved with, unless they have bonafide SECURITY such as guaranteed pay up-front. But even here, the moving bonus and severance was not guaranteed... it had to be fought in court. At your own expense, and likely not worth the hassle.
I'm not trying to blame employees for this. Especially those H1-B VISA people who were basically taken advantage of. How many are brought over to slave away lest be deported when the sponsoring company pulls your plug? Then again, what options would they have had back home? Yes every employee should be paid, for every hour of work, and on time. The CEO was a criminal or at least acted in ways that should be considered that way. However, as the article mentions there were many red flags that should have been heeded. Of course, no amount of contracts and signatures will completely protect you, and if somebody scams everybody and goes bankrupt, good luck getting paid.
Life lesson... don't be strung around for too long, the job was insecure, the company had a huge risk of not making it and defaulting on payments. Penny seems to have been more skeptical than most and didn't let herself get too cozy. It went pretty fast too... all started May 2016... June... July... August.... Hasn't been that long. But it was a RISKY job proposition from the start, which is why Penny did "CYA" and probably kept her ears and eyes wide open throughout the entire time she worked there.... And ended up not losing that much in retrospect than she might have otherwise.
NOTE: Apparently, they used to be called 1for.one, then JobSonic, then WrkRiot, but may have returned to using JobSonic again. They are lashing out against "Penny" for defaming them and things are getting ugly. Time for courts to step in.