{"id":2468,"date":"2026-05-11T12:05:39","date_gmt":"2026-05-11T17:05:39","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/alphatechcounsel.com\/blog\/?p=2468"},"modified":"2026-05-11T12:05:39","modified_gmt":"2026-05-11T17:05:39","slug":"improperly-classifying-personnel-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/alphatechcounsel.com\/blog\/improperly-classifying-personnel-2\/","title":{"rendered":"Startup Mistake 11 of 13: Improperly Classifying Personnel"},"content":{"rendered":"\t\t<div data-elementor-type=\"wp-post\" data-elementor-id=\"2468\" class=\"elementor elementor-2468\" data-elementor-post-type=\"post\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-0c1adca e-flex e-con-boxed e-con e-parent\" data-id=\"0c1adca\" data-element_type=\"container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"e-con-inner\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-9623b5d elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"9623b5d\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<section class=\"text-token-text-primary w-full focus:outline-none [--shadow-height:45px] has-data-writing-block:pointer-events-none has-data-writing-block:-mt-(--shadow-height) has-data-writing-block:pt-(--shadow-height) [&amp;:has([data-writing-block])&gt;*]:pointer-events-auto R6Vx5W_threadScrollVars scroll-mb-[calc(var(--scroll-root-safe-area-inset-bottom,0px)+var(--thread-response-height))] scroll-mt-(--header-height)\" dir=\"auto\" data-turn-id=\"0c24cf7b-548e-4b5d-903e-f3b570bdafaa\" data-testid=\"conversation-turn-23\" data-scroll-anchor=\"false\" data-turn=\"user\"><\/section><section class=\"text-token-text-primary w-full focus:outline-none [--shadow-height:45px] has-data-writing-block:pointer-events-none has-data-writing-block:-mt-(--shadow-height) has-data-writing-block:pt-(--shadow-height) [&amp;:has([data-writing-block])&gt;*]:pointer-events-auto [content-visibility:auto] supports-[content-visibility:auto]:[contain-intrinsic-size:auto_100lvh] R6Vx5W_threadScrollVars scroll-mb-[calc(var(--scroll-root-safe-area-inset-bottom,0px)+var(--thread-response-height))] scroll-mt-[calc(var(--header-height)+min(200px,max(70px,20svh)))]\" dir=\"auto\" data-turn-id=\"request-WEB:61b64fd1-75f8-4dfc-a04b-b6af7e67cd03-11\" data-testid=\"conversation-turn-24\" data-scroll-anchor=\"false\" data-turn=\"assistant\"><div class=\"text-base my-auto mx-auto pb-10 [--thread-content-margin:var(--thread-content-margin-xs,calc(var(--spacing)*4))] @w-sm\/main:[--thread-content-margin:var(--thread-content-margin-sm,calc(var(--spacing)*6))] @w-lg\/main:[--thread-content-margin:var(--thread-content-margin-lg,calc(var(--spacing)*16))] px-(--thread-content-margin)\"><div class=\"[--thread-content-max-width:40rem] @w-lg\/main:[--thread-content-max-width:48rem] mx-auto max-w-(--thread-content-max-width) flex-1 group\/turn-messages focus-visible:outline-hidden relative flex w-full min-w-0 flex-col agent-turn\"><div class=\"flex max-w-full flex-col gap-4 grow\"><div class=\"min-h-8 text-message relative flex w-full flex-col items-end gap-2 text-start break-words whitespace-normal outline-none keyboard-focused:focus-ring [.text-message+&amp;]:mt-1\" dir=\"auto\" tabindex=\"0\" data-message-author-role=\"assistant\" data-message-id=\"526ae180-fc57-4b28-b668-2d82c360feb2\" data-message-model-slug=\"gpt-5-5-thinking\" data-turn-start-message=\"true\"><div class=\"flex w-full flex-col gap-1 empty:hidden\"><div class=\"markdown prose dark:prose-invert wrap-break-word w-full dark markdown-new-styling\"><p data-start=\"0\" data-end=\"240\">Early-stage companies often rely on part-time help, freelancers, and advisors, but worker classification depends on legal standards, not just the label in an agreement. Getting it wrong can create legal, tax, and operational problems later.<\/p><p data-start=\"242\" data-end=\"417\" data-is-last-node=\"\" data-is-only-node=\"\">In the video below, Matt Storms explains why independent contractor classification matters and what founders should understand before relying on flexible support arrangements.<\/p><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/section>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-77a5db4 elementor-widget elementor-widget-video\" data-id=\"77a5db4\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-settings=\"{&quot;youtube_url&quot;:&quot;https:\\\/\\\/youtu.be\\\/t024VSzbR2k&quot;,&quot;video_type&quot;:&quot;youtube&quot;,&quot;controls&quot;:&quot;yes&quot;}\" data-widget_type=\"video.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-wrapper elementor-open-inline\">\n\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-video\"><\/div>\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-660ccf2 elementor-widget elementor-widget-template\" data-id=\"660ccf2\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"template.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-template\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div data-elementor-type=\"container\" data-elementor-id=\"1965\" class=\"elementor elementor-1965\" data-elementor-post-type=\"elementor_library\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-332c6ba5 e-con-full e-flex e-con e-child\" data-id=\"332c6ba5\" data-element_type=\"container\" data-settings=\"{&quot;background_background&quot;:&quot;classic&quot;}\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-7b808475 elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"7b808475\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p style=\"text-align: center;\">If you have questions about any of these issues or want to discuss your specific situation, you can schedule time with our team here:\u00a0<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-3acad1de elementor-widget elementor-widget-html\" data-id=\"3acad1de\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"html.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"calendly-link-wrapper\">\r\n  <!-- Calendly link widget begin -->\r\n<link href=\"https:\/\/assets.calendly.com\/assets\/external\/widget.css\" rel=\"stylesheet\">\r\n<script src=\"https:\/\/assets.calendly.com\/assets\/external\/widget.js\" type=\"text\/javascript\" async><\/script>\r\n<a href=\"\" onclick=\"Calendly.initPopupWidget({url: 'https:\/\/calendly.com\/mstormsalphatechcounsel\/introductory-call-w-alphatech-counsel-clone'});return false;\">Let's Talk<\/a>\r\n<!-- Calendly link widget end -->\r\n<\/div>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-a0ea7b2 elementor-widget elementor-widget-template\" data-id=\"a0ea7b2\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"template.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-template\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div data-elementor-type=\"container\" data-elementor-id=\"2264\" class=\"elementor elementor-2264\" data-elementor-post-type=\"elementor_library\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-3370f512 e-con-full e-flex e-con e-child\" data-id=\"3370f512\" data-element_type=\"container\" data-settings=\"{&quot;background_background&quot;:&quot;classic&quot;}\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-318c8481 elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"318c8481\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p style=\"text-align: center;\">Learn more about venture capital terms using our glossary:<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-365dc386 elementor-widget elementor-widget-html\" data-id=\"365dc386\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"html.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"glossary-link-wrapper\">\r\n  <!-- Glossary link widget begin -->\r\n    <a link href=\"https:\/\/alphatechcounsel.com\/glossary.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"stylesheet\">Glossary<\/a>  \r\n<!-- Glossary link widget end -->\r\n<\/div>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Misclassifying workers as independent contractors can create tax, compliance, and audit problems that are costly for startups to unwind.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":2139,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[30],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2468","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-start-ups"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/alphatechcounsel.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2468","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/alphatechcounsel.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/alphatechcounsel.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alphatechcounsel.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alphatechcounsel.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2468"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/alphatechcounsel.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2468\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2472,"href":"https:\/\/alphatechcounsel.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2468\/revisions\/2472"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alphatechcounsel.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2139"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/alphatechcounsel.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2468"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alphatechcounsel.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2468"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alphatechcounsel.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2468"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}