It means something different for startups and big companies
“Risk” to a big company is about avoiding loss.
“Risk” to a startup is about the possibility they will never have something worth losing.
Big companies spend time protecting what they have more than they do inventing something new. While they are doing it, they frequently destroy the value in the new idea.
Startups spend most of their time inventing something new and remove the risk that their idea is weak or downright wrong.
“Risk” to a big company involves lawyers, regulators, governance, systems…
“Risk” to a startup involves customers.
Next time you say or hear “Our job is to systematically de-risk a business model over time”, the context matters.