Achieve Operational Excellence Today
As your Interim Fractional COO, I will take a process-oriented approach to address current and future pain points while laying a foundation for scaling.
Interim
Success means I will be replaced by a great full-time hire. I work with founding teams to stabilize various operations. My strength is in laying the foundation for that successful hire who will be on the journey in a more permanent role. We will work together to scope the duration of our sprint.
Fractional
At the early stages, full-time COOs are often either founders or are brought from the outside at a high price. The hours I invest (typically 2-10 hours per week) focus on scaling teams, risk mitigation, and strategy. I enjoy getting my hands dirty, jumping into collaborative and asynchronous tools while recruiting and leading the team. Though some of my hours will be remote, I am on-site during critical moments.
COO
Founders (rightfully so) lean into what's working -- often seeing initial success by building a great product and finding customers who want that exact solution. As startups scale past their Series A, some functional areas mature to best-in-class, while others are good enough due to limited resources and time constraints. The "good enough" areas continue to be ignored until they can no longer be ignored. A COO identifies and takes ownership of many of these areas.
The Best Fractional COOs are Strategic Instigators Who Get Their Hands Dirty
IS SHAUNÂ RIGHT FOR YOU?
Maybe.
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I typically serve first-time CEOs leading organizations of 10-100 people.
The companies that benefit most from my strengths are led by product visionaries seeing customer traction and some level of product-market fit. They have worked incredibly hard to reach the Series A milestone and recognize they are perhaps working harder than they should -- given the long journey ahead.
SHAUN'S PROCESS
CEOs bring me in at a time just as the need for operational excellence adds friction to the founder's goals to advance their vision and team.
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During our first 30 days, we will work together to identify the areas we wish to transform and the people and tools available to shepherd that transformation. We will collaborate on a contract that includes expectations around outcomes, time commitment, and compensation.
I am aware of the cash constraints on startups and am drawn to the alignment of incentives. My preference is 0% cash and 100% equity (vested monthly) instead of billable hours or a paycheck on the 1st and 15th.
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Once under contract, it's go time. After joining a founding team, CEOs tell me that they see me as another cofounder because of how I go "all-in" emotionally to achieve our mission.
HERE TO HELP WITH
Business Operations
StrategyÂ
Sales & Marketing
Talent & People
WHAT I'M GOOD AT:
Business Operations
Company Operating System
Overseeing Manufacturing, Supply Chain, and Vendor Management
Value Stream Mapping
Inquiry-to-Order-to-Cash
Process Management and Scale-Up
Banking and Legal Setup
Launching and Managing KPIs
Data-Driven Insights
Prototype-to-Production Execution
ERP Implementation
Expense Reduction
Kaizen and TPS
Strategy
Customer Discovery and Pain Analysis
GTM De-risking
Organizational Alignment
Business Experiments
Optimizing Product Roadmap
Fundraising Strategy
Pitch Deck Narrative and Storytelling
Investor Data Room Support
Investor Mapping and CRM
Sales and Marketing
Marketing Strategy and Execution
Funnel Optimization
Customer-Oriented Product Execution
Launching and Leading In-house and Outsourced Customer Service and Customer Success Teams
Guerilla Marketing
Content Strategy
Brainstorming
CAC and Cohort Analysis
CRM Implementation
Talent and People
Talent Strategy
Recruitment and Development
Onboarding
Payroll and HR Processes
WHY ME?
I believe that all businesses can be built in a more resource-efficient manner, and I will help your team punch well above your weight-class.
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While I did not join your journey on Day 0, I embed in your team much like a cofounder. I currently serve in C-level roles for up to four startups at any given moment, in engagements of up to 10 hours per week.
I earned my operational stripes while scaling NEO Tech (a global contract manufacturer) from 20MM to 800MM in revenue in under 10 years, and in the process we received Inc 5000's award for fastest-growing companies, Raytheon’s 5 Star Supplier Award for delivery and quality, and Boeing’s Performance Excellence Award.
I was a founding partner at MiLA Capital, a Venture Capital firm that seeded hard tech companies such as Emerge, Feel, and Caban, and was the cofounder of the Make in LA accelerator and Toolbox LA innovation lab.
We want to give you every shoutout in the world for all of your support -- spanning so many topics from manufacturing to pitch feedback to process implementation to leadership advice. - Christine Schindler, PathSpot CEO
When others see the road turn ...
... I see the multitude of off-road possibilities
When priorities cloud the path ...
... I align teams around a narrow focus
Ready to Take the Next Step?
People seek me out for my ability to see creative solutions and move multiple objectives in parallel.
I am proud to have helped thousands of founders, builders, and executives break through their roadblocks. Reach out if you are curious how I can support you and your business. Always a sucker for a good underdog story ;-)