The COO Search

I frequently talk to founders who are looking for a Chief Operations Officer (COO). These are early stage companies – 5 to 20 employees, $0 to $1,000,000 in revenue, 5 to 50 customers, bootstrapped or small seed funding.

The founder is looking for:

• Another leader
• Trusted resource who can handle mission critical initiatives
• Skills or experience the founder isn’t as strong in (e.g. sales, product/tech)
• Someone who can “free up” the mind or calendar of the founder

It’s hard, near impossible, to find an excellent, experienced, affordable startup COO for a company at this stage.

Do not despair! You don’t need to find your magical once-in-a-lifetime unicorn on day one.  

Here are 3 strategies to fill a COO role at an early stage startup.

3 Startup Hires To Make When You’re Looking for a COO

1. Hire an operations manager…that could grow into a COO.

Why buy a sledgehammer when a heavy duty fly swatter does the job? Yes, the very junior folks haven’t worked out. But the range between entry-level ops and COO is vast.

Is there someone smart, hungry, and operationally-minded in your network that could start as an ops manager and grow from there? COOs are hard to find but everyone knows an up-and-coming ass kicker, I mean, operator.

Think: project manager, exec assistant, event planner. Look for a few years of experience in a logistics-heavy role with people or vendor management experience. They will be well-respected, highly recommended, and have moved up quickly. You’ll hear people say, “I trust them to get shit done.”

2. Hire a function-specific leader…that could grow into a COO.

What area of your business could use a leader or more experience? Don’t hire a general COO. Hire a VP of Sales, Head of Marketing, Finance Manager, or Business Development Lead. Pick someone who thinks about systems, processes, and playbooks.

You’ll acquire deep expertise in an area where you need it today AND the potential to develop a COO from within your organization.

3. Outsource to a contractor or virtual assistant.

If someone was managing your calendar, paying invoices, following up on client to-dos, designing marketing materials, running your social media, buying groceries, setting meeting agendas, onboarding new hires –OR WHATEVER ELSE YOU NEED– how much time would that give you?

Not sure what could be delegated? Levels CEO Sam Corcos has 56 tasks that are handled by a virtual assistant. Read this amazing Sam Corcos Starter Pack for inspiration.

But Weren’t You a Startup COO?!?

Is this blasphemy coming from a former startup COO?

Spoiler alert. I was Option #2. I started as the head of Client Success and moved into the COO role after a year. I was motivated, well-prepared, and had deep knowledge of the team and business. The company knew my strengths (and weaknesses - ha!) and moved me into the role with confidence. It was a win-win.

Do you have an awesome story about how you found (or developed) your COO? Other tips for startup founders looking for COOs? Please share!