The point is you can act like whatever you want, and so can everybody else, and often that means they'll be idiots, often in consequential ways. That's life.

The point is if you act like an employee, you will be treated as an employee.

Starting a company is not easy. If you stand around and only do tech, then you're not a founder, you are an employee. If you have to ask "what needs to be done next?" you are not a founder, you are an employee.

If you call someone your manager, then you are an employee.