The present invention discloses a level-shifting circuit to provide an initial stage to a differential amplifier circuit, a differential amplifier circuit, and a method of operating same. An example level-shifting circuit includes a first transistor and a second transistor to receive a first differential amplifier input. The first transistor has a drain receiving a power input, and the second transistor has a drain coupled to a source of the first transistor and a source coupled to a biased tail circuit. The example level-shifting circuit further includes a third transistor and a fourth transistor to receive a second differential amplifier input. The third transistor has a drain receiving a power input and the fourth transistor has a drain coupled to a source of the third transistor and a source coupled to the biased tail circuit. Other examples, methods, and apparatuses are described herein.