Vetted Chief Operating Officers

“Manufacturing and operations leader (industrial engineer turned plant manager) who has driven major operational and business-model change in legacy manufacturing, including demand-driven Kanban replenishment and lead-time reduction. More recently built KPI systems and capacity-scaling improvements at Laboratory Testing Incorporated while integrating an acquisition, and now supports Laminators Incorporated at the board level while hands-on building a formal product development process from ideation through launch.”

“2x co-founder with 2+ years in venture, where they led deal sourcing and built systems to surface roughly 3,500 deals annually using relationship networks, scout programs, and AI tools. Brings a rare mix of founder experience and investor-side pattern recognition, with strong conviction around solving real, monetizable problems.”

“Veteran hockey coach and player-development consultant (UConn NCAA ’92; minor pro) with 30+ years spanning AAA, prep, junior, and NCAA, plus experience as Player Personnel Director in the USHL. Key architect of South Kent’s Selects Academy, credited with 23 NHL draft picks and hundreds of NCAA placements, and runs an education-focused consulting practice helping families navigate pathways with honest, level-appropriate guidance.”

Alastair Pavrey

Screened

Senior startup operator specializing in strategy, operations, product, and venture capital

Mumbai, India11y exp

“Healthtech operator and former co-founder who helped pivot a startup from VR software for neurological patients to an accessible home-based physiotherapy model, scaling it from zero to 2 Crore ARR. Also brings venture ecosystem exposure through work with Array Ventures, Pentathlon Ventures, and V3 Ventures, combining founder-side execution with investor-side pattern recognition.”

“Operator/consultant who built and ran an executive coaching and business consulting practice working directly with founders and operators on decision-making, operational structure, and performance. Has tested multiple business concepts (consulting/productized services and a consumer product) without raising external capital, and is now intentionally transitioning from advising to full end-to-end ownership of a venture with a strong bias toward rapid validation and execution.”

David Selsberg

Screened

Executive Operations Leader (COO/CFO) specializing in scaling SaaS startups

10y exp

“Startup/scale-up operations leader who repeatedly builds lightweight but rigorous operating systems (OKRs/KPIs, agile/Lean cadences, PMO, financial controls, People Ops) from scratch and through change resistance. Cites measurable outcomes including 38% faster execution, 12x user growth, major cost reductions, and valuation increases (e.g., $6M to $56M in <12 months) across companies including DocuGuardian, Washify, NxtWash/NextWash, and Parkidy.”

“Backend engineer who built and evolved a startup data-processing backend (Express.js/MySQL) handling millions of user data points, with a microservices pipeline integrating multiple social media APIs. Emphasizes reliability and security through comprehensive testing, robust error/retry handling for sequential pagination constraints, and tight IAM/JWT/OAuth-based access controls.”

“Fractional ops/HR leader with 15 years of experience supporting ~40 startups, building internal operations and people infrastructure from scratch (HRIS, recruiting funnels, career pathing, benefits). Recently helped a Series A company ($11M raise) implement headcount budgeting and runway modeling to align young founders on sustainable hiring plans, and uses survey/exit-interview feedback loops to fix leadership communication and retention issues.”

Dewayne DeRozzo

Screened ReferencesStrong rec.

Executive Strategy & Operations Leader specializing in SaaS, AI, and GTM transformation

New York, NY13y exp

“Ops/tech program leader who supported the national rollout of the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline by building an enterprise OKR system and implementing Asana + real-time dashboards across technology, operations, clinical support, and communications. Has led a 15-person team and repeatedly improves executive productivity through pragmatic tool rollouts (HubSpot, SharePoint/Confluence, Slack/Zoom) and lightweight integrations.”

“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.”

“Has prior experience working closely with venture capitalists and was instrumental in running a company started by a venture fund. Also has experience with an entertainment company and with companies going through acceleration/growth, and evaluates new ideas using flexible budgeting, financial projections, and operational due diligence.”

“Operator with 10 years of experience helping other businesses grow, now launching their own startup focused on healthy screen time for children ages 2-6. They have completed an initial pitch deck for a brain-friendly kids app and emphasize post-funding execution, scaling, and sustainable systems over capital alone.”

“Talent/Recruiting Operations leader who has run regional and national high-volume recruiting organizations (~40–50 people) and owned the full recruiting operating system end-to-end (ATS/CRM, analytics, workflows, training, and cross-functional governance). Known for rebuilding chaotic multi-state hiring engines into standardized, SLA-driven processes with real-time dashboards—cutting time-to-fill ~30% and boosting recruiter productivity >25%—and for leading major tooling implementations like GoodTime and advanced Lever reporting.”

Mark Eagle

Screened

Executive Technology & Operations Leader (CTO/COO) specializing in scaling SaaS and enterprise software

Denver, Colorado29y exp

“Operations leader and advisor (former COO at College Partnership; also worked with Founders Advisors) who rebuilds and scales early-stage operations using Lean Startup experimentation and KPI-driven execution. Notably centralized a call-center function, implemented scripts/SLAs/metrics, and iterated staffing based on conversion and response-time data while mentoring non-ops founders on MVPs, SMART goals, and tactical operating plans.”