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Door two · before you can justify the hire
Fractional COO & Chief of Staff
I hold the seat — a fractional COO or Chief of Staff inside your org, accountable for outcomes rather than advice — for when you need the operating leader before you can justify a full-time hire. Based in Raleigh, serving the Research Triangle (Raleigh, Durham, Chapel Hill) and remote.
How it works
Sometimes the company needs an operations leader before the headcount, the runway, or the certainty is there to hire one full-time. An embedded operations leader fills that seat: a senior operator working inside the org, on the team, accountable for outcomes — not an advisor looking in from outside.
I carry the role, not just the advice. That means owning the operating cadence, the priorities, and the follow-through, and being on the hook for what actually lands — the same accountability a full-time leader carries, at the fraction of the week the company needs right now.
Which title fits depends on where the need sits. A fractional COO is right when the operating half of the business needs owning end to end. A fractional Chief of Staff fits when the need sits closer to the founder — priorities, follow-through, and making the leadership team function. Fractional operations support is the call when the scope is narrower. It's the same operator either way; the title follows the job.
Bought as fractional work: a set number of days each week, held over months, often bridging to the eventual full-time hire.
Is this you?
- You need an operations leader, but can't yet justify a full-time hire.
- The founders are doing operations leadership on top of their real jobs.
- There's a seat on the team that no one is actually sitting in.
- You want someone accountable for outcomes, not another advisor with opinions.
What you're left with
- A senior operator in the seat, on your team
- Ownership of the operating cadence and priorities
- Accountability for outcomes, not advice
- A bridge to the full-time hire — and a clearer spec for it
Common questions
What is a fractional COO?
A fractional Chief Operating Officer is a senior operations executive who owns the operating half of the business part-time — a set number of days a week over months — and is accountable for outcomes, not advice. It's how a growing company gets COO-level leadership before it can justify a full-time hire.
What is the difference between a fractional COO and a fractional Chief of Staff?
Same operator, different center of gravity. A fractional COO owns the operating half of the business end to end. A fractional Chief of Staff works closer to the founder — setting priorities, driving follow-through, and making the leadership team function. When the scope is narrower still, it's fractional operations support. The title follows the job.
When should a company hire a fractional operations leader instead of a full-time one?
When you need senior operations leadership before the headcount, runway, or certainty is there to hire full-time. A fractional operations leader holds the role part-time — a set number of days a week over months — accountable for outcomes the way a full-time leader would be, and often bridges to the eventual full-time hire.
How many days a week?
Whatever the role actually needs — agreed in writing up front as a fractional engagement, and adjusted as the company grows into the full-time hire.
How is this different from a consultant?
A consultant advises from outside and hands you recommendations. An embedded leader sits on the team and owns the outcome — the seat is held, not observed.
Does this bridge to a full-time hire?
Often, yes. Holding the seat clarifies exactly what the full-time role needs to be, so the eventual hire is a better spec and a cleaner handoff.
Start with one conversation.
Twenty minutes, no cost. Bring the decision you're stuck on, the role you're chasing, or the thing you want built. We'll find the critical path from there.