Questions

Straight answers.

Who do you work with?

Founders and CEOs of established, founder-led service businesses, mostly agencies, that already have clients, a team and managers. The best fit is a founder who is ready to hand real decisions to other people.

Who isn't a fit?

Early-stage startups still finding product-market fit, and founders looking for a coach to motivate them.

How is this different from a business coach?

A coach mostly works on you: your thinking, habits and accountability. I work on how the business runs: who owns what, which decisions still need you, and the weekly meetings, scorecards and check-ins that keep work on track. As a fractional COO I take responsibility for agreed operational outcomes. If you mainly want motivation, a coach is the better fit.

How do we start?

Book a Structural Diagnosis call. It's free and takes about 30–45 minutes. Then we book a Structural Plan call, also free and about 45 minutes, where I walk you through a plan for fixing the main constraint. You get both calls whether or not we work together after. If I'm not the right person, I'll say so.

What happens on the Structural Diagnosis call?

It's a primary-constraint call. Every business has one main thing holding back its growth, profit or delivery. In founder-led businesses that's often the founder, but not always, so we check. We walk through how the business actually runs, where work, decisions and problems get stuck, and what that's costing you in revenue, margin, client retention or your own time. You leave knowing what your main constraint probably is and why it matters commercially.

How much does it cost?

• First two calls: free
• Advisory: AUD 1,500–3,000 a month (USD 1,100–2,100, CAD 1,500–3,000)
• Fractional COO: from AUD 6,000 a month (USD 4,200, CAD 5,900)

USD and CAD figures are approximate.

Is there a minimum term?

No.

How often do we meet on advisory?

At a cadence that fits the business. For example, weekly, or quarterly planning plus a monthly review and a mid-month check-in.

What does a fractional COO actually do?

It takes the running of the team off your plate. In an agency of around 20 people, that usually means:

• running the weekly leadership meeting
• managing your heads of sales, fulfilment and account management, with a weekly 1:1 each
• holding each of them to their KPIs, and following up when the numbers slip
• hiring and onboarding managers
• handling the escalations that would otherwise land on you
• turning your priorities into monthly and quarterly plans, and making sure they get done

You stay the founder. You set the direction and keep the calls that need your judgment. The day-to-day management sits with me, within a scope we agree up front, with the authority to act on it.

What's the difference between a fractional COO, an Operations Manager and a Director of Operations?

The difference is how much each one takes off you.

• Operations Manager: takes the day-to-day work. Projects stay on schedule, deadlines get chased and processes get followed. You still manage them, and the rest of your managers.
• Director of Operations: takes a whole function, usually delivery, including the managers in it. Sales, account management and the leadership team still run through you.
• Fractional COO: takes the management of the business. Your heads of sales, fulfilment and account management report to them, and they run the leadership meeting and the plan. Part-time, so you get it before you can justify a full-time COO.

There's a fuller comparison on the operational leadership page.

What is founder dependency?

It's when work, decisions and quality control still have to go through the founder, so the business slows down whenever the founder is busy or away. There's a full explanation on the founder dependency page.

What results have clients had?

• Paul Evans, Toro Digital: internal meetings went from 20+ hours a week to about two, with the same team size.
• Reza Shobeyri, Rezztown Studios: had always relied on referrals. Since our work together he has closed six deals from his own campaigns.
• A 17-person Australian salon: the founder estimates about 75% fewer operational questions now reach her, and her managers ran the business while she was overseas for several weeks.
• Michael Colman, Local Health Marketing: after we worked on project management and client onboarding, he hired an assistant and handed that work over.
• Jennifer Grojean, Baloo Living: handed off her operations work and was fully away from the business for about two months.
• A 20-person US performance marketing agency: as fractional COO, I led the selection of their new Director of Operations, built the 30-day handover plan, and tightened their weekly leadership meeting and department scorecards.

The named clients tell their stories on the podcast. The other two aren't named here. Three are written up in more detail on the home page.

Will I work with you or with someone on your team?

With me, directly. Founder Bottlenecks is the name of the site and the podcast.

Where are you based, and which time zones do you work in?

Manila, Philippines. I work with founders in Australia, the US and Canada.