Contractor vs Employee Checklist

INTRODUCTION

DripEZ is a fast-growing e-commerce brand that scaled from a small startup to an eight-figure business in just four years. As the company grew, its financial infrastructure couldn’t keep pace. AVL Growth Partners stepped in to bring structure, clarity, and the fractional finance team DripEZ needed to keep scaling with confidence.

CHALLENGE

DripEZ’s rapid growth outpaced its accounting setup. The business had relied on a small local accounting firm operating on a cash basis, a system that worked early on but became untenable as the company scaled. When DripEZ needed to transition to accrual accounting to accurately track profitability and inventory, the firm couldn’t support it and effectively walked away, leaving DripEZ without clean financials heading into Q4, their biggest quarter of the year.

For nearly three months, the team had no real visibility into where the business stood. CEO David Barton knew they needed more than a single hire. They needed a team.

SOLUTION

AVL Growth Partners embedded a full fractional finance team into DripEZ, including a CFO, senior accountant, and bookkeeper, all working in coordination. Together they tackled the transition from cash to accrual accounting, cleaned up years of books, and built the financial infrastructure the business had been missing.

The team focused on:

• Transitioning the company to GAAP-compliant accrual accounting
• Establishing financial SOPs across the organization
• Improving visibility into multi-channel revenue tracking, including Amazon and Shopify
• Setting up Bill.com to streamline expense management and vendor payments
• Educating the broader team on how day-to-day decisions show up in the books

RESULTS

AVL helped DripEZ go from flying blind to running a financially mature operation.

• The books finally made sense. AVL transitioned DripEZ from cash to accrual accounting and cleaned up years of financials, giving leadership real visibility into the business for the first time.
• Savings hiding in plain sight. With cleaner books came clarity. DripEZ identified nearly $500K in avoidable expenses they simply couldn’t see before.
• A strong return on the investment. For every dollar spent with AVL, DripEZ found a dollar in savings, making the engagement pay for itself.
• Payments streamlined, pressure reduced. The Bill.com setup removed a significant operational burden and brought consistency to how the team managed expenses.
• The whole org got smarter about finance. New SOPs helped everyone understand how their decisions show up in the books, changing how the team thinks and operates.

CONCLUSION

For a founder growing fast without a finance background, AVL Growth Partners delivered exactly what DripEZ needed: an experienced, coordinated team that could clean up the past, build for the future, and give leadership the visibility to make smarter decisions. AVL didn’t just help DripEZ keep up with its growth, they helped the company understand it.

EMBEDDED HR THAT ACCELERATES SCALE
SkyFi boosts hiring velocity and operational maturity with Ampleo HR

INTRODUCTION

SkyFi is an Earth intelligence company delivering satellite imagery and AI-driven geospatial analytics to government and commercial clients worldwide. As a fast-moving pre-Series A startup, SkyFi needed to scale rapidly—but without the overhead and delay of hiring a full-time HR team. That’s where Ampleo came in.

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CHALLENGE

As SkyFi approached a critical inflection point in its growth, CEO Luke was faced with a classic startup dilemma: hire a full-time HR team or stay lean and outsource to a trusted partner. The business needed structure, talent acquisition, and onboarding—fast—but without the overhead of full-time salaries, equity, and training.

The internal team didn’t yet know if they needed one person or five, but they knew they needed expert help right away.

SOLUTION

Ampleo HR embedded directly into SkyFi with Leslie, a hands-on HR expert who operated like a true team member from day one. She joined team Slack channels, integrated into day-to-day operations, and immediately earned trust.

Leslie handled:

• Candidate sourcing and interview coordination
• Job description development
• Onboarding and offboarding processes
• Structuring HR systems to support scale

She even introduced a structured onboarding experience across departments—helping elevate SkyFi’s people ops from early-stage chaos to a repeatable, professional experience.

RESULTS

Faster hiring: HR systems optimized to attract and onboard top talent
Stronger product velocity: Faster hiring led to faster delivery for customers
Team integration: Ampleo felt like part of the team, not an external resource
Capital efficiency: Expert support without the cost of full-time hires

CONCLUSION

For a startup scaling at speed, Ampleo HR delivered exactly what SkyFi needed: expertise, efficiency, and execution. By embedding directly into the team, Ampleo helped SkyFi stay lean, scale fast, and build the people infrastructure needed for long-term success.

EMBEDDED HR SUPPORT THAT EVOLVED WITH THE BUSINESS
Listen Technologies transforms HR from reactive chaos to strategic clarity

Download the full PDF here: Listen Technologies Case Study

INTRODUCTION

Listen Technologies is a global leader in assistive listening and audio communication systems, helping people overcome barriers related to hearing loss, language, and noise. As the company scaled, CEO Maile Keone knew HR couldn’t be left to chance. After more than 18+ months without dedicated HR leadership and evolving hiring needs, President & CEO Maile Keone turned to Ampleo HR for support.

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CHALLENGE

During a period of growth and organizational transition, Listen Technologies operated without internal HR leadership for over a year. With no dedicated HR leader in place, Maile was managing benefits questions, compliance risks, and employee issues on her own—while driving a fast-growing product strategy. The result: HR was reactive, fragmented, and pulling her away from higher-impact work.

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SOLUTION

Referred by Ampleo Finance, Maile reconnected with Abby Martin and quickly saw a difference. Abby’s deep expertise, empathy, and flexibility stood out. The engagement began with a search—then evolved into a part-time placement with Chris Lynford, who proved to be such a strong fit that the company ultimately hired her full-time.

Chris integrated quickly, bringing structure and professionalism from the start:

RESULTS

Rapid risk reduction: Legal and compliance gaps surfaced and prioritized within weeks

Increased leadership bandwidth: Maile shifted HR tasks off her desk and back into the right hands

Clearer HR roadmap: Defined the right level of support needed—including a transition to full-time HR

Employee confidence restored: Chris became a trusted, in-house-level presence

Strategic shift: From reactive firefighting to proactive HR planning

CONCLUSION

Ampleo HR helped Listen Technologies move from HR uncertainty to confidence and clarity. What started as a flexible solution quickly became essential—so much so that the part-time resource became a full-time hire. With a trusted HR foundation in place, the company is scaling forward with focus, backed by a partner that delivers just-right support at every stage.

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