Vetted Chief Operating Officers in the Bay Area

“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.”

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.”

“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).”

“Repeat founder/operator with hands-on experience taking startups from zero to MVP, traction, and fundraising. Built a venture-backed company to roughly a $5M valuation and later served as Interim COO for a prop-tech startup, helping launch operations and support a 4-5M SAR raise. Also brings direct exposure to top startup ecosystems through Techstars, Antler, and close work with founders and investors in SF.”

Marty Schneider

Screened

Executive Operations & GTM Leader specializing in startups across logistics, esports, and civic tech

Redwood City, CA15y exp

“Founder/CEO who built Hometown Heart from the ground up—creating SOPs and standing up hiring, GTM, finance, and investor/government relations—scaling from 6 employees and $100K debt to 350 employees and $40M in annual revenue in 3 years. Led expansion into San Francisco County, proactively managing compliance/licensing and municipal stakeholders to secure early approvals and drive major revenue growth.”

“Silicon Valley operator with ~30 years of experience as a board member, advisor, VC, founder, and turnaround executive, claiming 50+ venture-backed turnarounds. Has driven outsized outcomes including a $1B Nokia spinout and a 9-figure Jaspersoft exit to TIBCO, and is known for pragmatic, people-and-financials-first operational diagnosis (including CRM forensics) and rapid team scaling via structured hiring pipelines.”

“Hospitality operator who has opened and started multiple restaurant and bar concepts, with a structured approach from concept/brand story and mission creation through to operational execution. Emphasizes repeatable standards, margin discipline (inventory, portioning, labor), and coaching founders/executives to build scalable, replicable operations.”