Vetted Chief Operating Officers

“COO/CFO and startup co-founder (Gratia, Inc.) who has built operational infrastructure end-to-end across finance, contracts, resourcing, and talent management. Has scaled multiple early-stage businesses (<$20M revenue) and supported outcomes including a sale to a private equity-backed strategic buyer, with a pragmatic approach centered on clear processes, stakeholder alignment, and leveraging tools like QuickBooks, Bill.com, HubSpot, and Salesforce.”

Paul Boehms

Screened ReferencesStrong rec.

Executive COO/CFO specializing in operational excellence, finance transformation, and M&A integration

Grand Rapids and Detroit, MI25y exp

“COO/operator with 12 years in law firm environments who founded an HR consulting startup under Clark Hill PLC, building the full go-to-market, pricing, and standardized service delivery playbooks (including a payroll-percentage fractional HR retainer model). Lean Six Sigma Black Belt with proven results in both manufacturing (raising rooftop AC output from 20 to 50 units/week) and professional services (cut ~1 week from invoicing to improve cash flow). Also runs financial operations for a fast-growing nonprofit sports club (600+ participants).”

Bill Eichen

Screened

Executive product and business leader specializing in AI, semiconductors, and growth strategy

Palo Alto, CA23y exp

“Candidate indicated they have a business plan or startup and referenced Gimmelfund.com, a VC fund in Palo Alto. They also stated they are very familiar with the venture capital, studio, and accelerator landscape, but provided limited detail during the screen.”

Jon Cross

Screened

Executive Operations & Product Leader specializing in Ads, customer experience, and go-to-market

Saratoga, CA21y exp

“COO of Greenopia (pre-seed, pre-revenue) who has built the company’s operational foundation over the past 18 months—supporting fundraising, SEC/crowdfunding setup, and coordinating app and self-serve business onboarding/assessment systems. Brings a metrics-driven operating approach (OKRs, balancing metrics/unit economics) and has advised other startups (e.g., sports betting) to refocus effort on the highest-value customer segments.”

“Startup and corporate venture builder with board/advisor/consulting experience across media-tech and automotive ventures, including helping launch NASCAR’s production and content creation arm as a standalone subsidiary. Has worked with 360° camera/content companies and AI-driven robotic camera/workflow products, and also built an entrepreneurship major track for a business school; seeks CEO role within a venture studio while taking a disciplined approach to personal financial risk.”

“Operations leader/advisor experienced in bringing structure to early-stage/growing companies by connecting Vision-Mission-Strategy to execution via roadmaps, accountability, and KPI scorecards with defined operating cadences. Demonstrated measurable impact by redesigning sales compensation around margin by product/retailer, improving profitability by 4 points within six months, and has reported directly to founders/CEOs with sales and finance backgrounds.”

Jon Silvon

Screened ReferencesStrong rec.

Executive COO and brand/operations leader specializing in HealthTech and consumer growth

Wilmington, DE26y exp

“Operator/consultant with ~25 years of experience who co-founded and scaled a startup from “two people and a PowerPoint” to a $10M raise and eventual merger exit, building the full operational stack (HR, support, FP&A, investor relations) and scaling to 30+ employees plus 25–30 contractors. Has led rigorous compliance programs (HITRUST, SOC 1/2, PCI, HIPAA) and applies structured methodologies (Miller Heiman, Lean, Agile) while advising founders across sectors including defense tech, blockchain/Bitcoin, and food safety.”

“Former COO of Hamilton Lane’s direct investment unit (appointed in 2007) who helped professionalize operations in an early-stage environment—implementing DealCloud, revamping investment committee materials, and creating valuation governance. Known for pairing process/technology upgrades with culture repair through high-touch communication and transparent leadership.”

“Entrepreneur and senior executive who has raised capital and built a sophisticated, integrated agency platform spanning PR, design, exhibitions/live environments, and media placement; the business is currently in a sale process due to a major shareholder exiting the U.S. Strong premium-market positioning experience, leveraging C-suite access to validate opportunities and building human-centric, data-driven, AI-enabled service offerings across luxury/hospitality/culture/real estate/wellness.”

Andrew Chang

Screened

Executive operator and startup investor specializing in FinTech, crypto, and regulated blockchain

New York, NY22y exp

“Former COO of Paxos who joined near inception and helped scale the company to a $2.4B valuation, owning operations across nearly all functions and implementing core operating systems like OKRs and decision frameworks. Now advises and coaches early-stage founders through Lynx Collective (NYC startup community he founded), teaches a Startup Executive Bootcamp, serves as an NYU Stern adjunct professor, and sits on a public company board.”

“Operations/Continuous Improvement leader with 25 years of Lean/Kaizen experience, including roles at Danaher and 10x Genomics. Known for building enterprise operating rhythms (True North + daily management) and developing internal CI certification programs, while delivering measurable quality and cycle-time gains (e.g., NCR/MRB lead time cut 47→14 days and FPY improvements via global test-equipment relocation).”

“Operations leader with experience scaling a fast-growing, startup-like government organization (tripled headcount in two years) by implementing OKRs, operating cadences, reporting structures, and decision/escalation frameworks. Has led complex process turnarounds (including a debt-collection overhaul with legal coordination and an appeals board) and advises executives on high-stakes public communications during critical-infrastructure cybersecurity incidents using data-driven decisioning.”