FRACTIONAL COO · SERIES A–B SOFTWARE
Your COO on
I run operations for growing software companies one day a week, so the founders can stop being the ops team.
2 of 3 client seats taken. Next opening: February.
MON
TUE
WED
THU
FRI
Async · 2h Slack window
Async · 2h Slack window
Async · 2h Slack window
On site — ops review, hiring loop, board prep
Weekly memo
WORKED ALONGSIDE TEAMS AT
Quillstack · Fernhill Health · Orbitly · Parcel & Pine · Northwind Labs · Tallow
You don’t need a full-time COO yet. You do need someone who’s done this before.
01 The founders still run hiring, payroll questions and every vendor call.
02 Planning happens in a spreadsheet nobody trusts.
03 Board decks get built the night before.
04 Every new hire makes things slower, not faster.
HOW A WEEK WORKS
THURSDAY
On site or on call, all day.
Leadership sync, the hard problems and unblocking the team. This is where the work moves.
MON–WED
Async, with a fixed window.
A 2-hour Slack window each day, and quick reviews of anything that can’t wait until Thursday.
FRIDAY
A one-page memo.
What moved, what’s stuck, and exactly what I need from you next week.
ENGAGEMENTS
Three ways to work together.
Example rates. Edit them in the CMS.
MOST CHOSEN
Operator retainer
One day a week, every week. Minimum three months.
✓ Thursday on site
✓ Async window Mon–Wed
✓ Friday memo
✓ Board and investor prep
Sprint
Fixed scope. One system built and handed over.
✓ A hiring engine
✓ A planning cadence
✓ A support operation
✓ Handover playbook
Advisory
A second brain for the founders, on call.
✓ Two 60-min calls a month
✓ Async questions
✓ Hiring and vendor reviews
FULL-TIME COO
≈ €210k salary + equity + 4–6 months to hire
THURSDAY RETAINER
≈ €78k a year, starts in 2 weeks. (Illustrative.)
SELECTED WORK
Results, not reports.
WRITING
Notes from the operating week.
FIELD NOTE
3 min
A hiring loop should make decisions easier
The useful part of a hiring process is not consistency for its own sake. It is faster, better decisions.
Read note →
FIELD NOTE
3 min
The operating plan is a conversation
A plan is useful when it exposes trade-offs early enough to change them.
Read note →
FIELD NOTE
2 min
Build the board deck before the month ends
The best board prep is a reporting rhythm that already exists.
Read note →
DANA WHITFIELD, CEO, QUILLSTACK
Let’s be honest about fit.
A good fit if…
✓ You’re 15–120 people and raised Seed to Series B.
✓ A founder spends more than a day a week on ops.
✓ You want systems that run without me, not a deck.
Not a fit if…
× You need someone in the office five days a week.
× You’re still looking for product–market fit.
× You want strategy slides without the implementation.
Questions founders ask.
How fast can you start?
Usually within two weeks of our intro call. Sprints can start the following Monday.
Remote or on site?
Thursdays are on site if you’re within a train ride of Amsterdam. Otherwise, on video, all day.
What happens on the other four days?
You get a fixed async window Monday to Wednesday and a written memo every Friday.
Can we hire you full-time later?
Sometimes. More often, I help you hire your first full-time COO and hand over.
What does month one look like?
Two weeks of listening, an operating review in week three, and the first system live by week four.
30 minutes, no deck needed. You’ll leave with a clear yes, no, or not yet.