how i work

I help early-stage founders install the minimum viable company: the smallest set of direction, structure, operational foundations, and leadership practices needed to scale with pace and confidence — without overbuilding or slowing down.

I’ve worked with enough founders to know that you don’t want to import an entire system off-the-shelf and hope it sticks. What actually works is having the right things in the right moment, tailored to your company, your stage, your context and your scaling ambitions.

I work with you as a senior operator, embedded alongside your team. Together, we surface what you actually need, make explicit the common thread in your business — how strategy, people, and execution really connect — and turn that into clear decisions and practical systems that help the company move forward.

Engagements are focused and time-bound. Over a few months, I help you work out what needs to scale now, build the foundations to support it, and make sure they function in the real world. I bring COO-level rigour, systems thinking, broad experience, and a hands-on mindset — without the commitment of an expensive, permanent executive hire.

We’ll agree an initial plan, and iterate as our relationship evolves and your company grows. I know better than most how fast things change in growing companies: I’m here to support you in navigating successfully through that change, not to lock you into a plan that only made sense in last month’s context.

Engagements typically run over 3–6 months, combining full days, half days, and async support, no more than one day a week.

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what we work on

My work reduces friction, improves decision quality, and frees up founder attention so you can focus on building a great business. The areas below outline the territory and the kinds of outcomes we can drive. They aren’t standalone services; together, they form a system that evolves as your company grows.

We’ll strengthen the parts that need to carry weight, stay light everywhere else, and avoid building anything that adds drag, theatre, or unnecessary complexity.

  • Clarity on where you’re going, why, what’s important, and how to move fast with focus.

    Creating shared direction early is one of the highest-leverage things you can do as a founder. When values, strategy, and planning are unclear, you burn energy pulling in different directions. When they’re clear, execution accelerates.

    Investing time and energy in articulating (and road-testing) each of these is a massive friction-reducer that enables you as a founder to execute faster towards your vision.

    Planning in particular can be daunting in an early-stage business, with so many unknowns. Developing a “low-resolution” plan – with inflection points rather than dates, and all interdependencies surfaced – gets you out of perpetual planning mode and into action, while assuring that you’re always running full-speed in the best direction.

    Focus areas:

    • Values you’ll actually use

    • Culture definition (diagnostics → behaviours → rituals)

    • Mission + narrative clarity

    • Business model clarity

    • Strategy development

    • Low-resolution, flexible Year One planning with inflection points + scenarios

    Example outputs:

    • Documented company values + behaviours + rituals

    • Mission + vision statement (internal + external versions)

    • Year One flexible planning framework (goals, priorities, sequencing)

    • Strategic roadmap draft highlighting key milestones

    • Clear business model hypotheses to test

  • Lightweight structure that enables pace without noise.

    Execution often flounders not because people aren’t capable, but because the way work flows isn’t intentional.

    I help you put a simple operating rhythm in place so decisions are clear, information flows to the right places, and momentum is sustained.

    Establishing each of these builds a company that just works, so you can spend your time developing your business, rather than having to think about how you work.

    Focus areas:

    • Goal-setting

    • Operating cadence (weekly / monthly / quarterly rhythms)

    • Internal comms rhythm and structure

    • Documentation hierarchy

    • Strategy & planning cadence

    • Scalability thresholds: when to do it manually, when to build something scalable, when to shift from one to the other

    • Investor relations strategy, including investor update design + cadence

    Example outputs:

    • Quarterly/annual goal-setting framework (with example OKRs or priorities)

    • Employee handbook skeleton

    • Leadership + all-hands meeting stack + agenda templates

    • Comms map (what goes where, to whom, when)

    • Investor update template + recommended cadence

  • Simple, compliant foundations that reduce risk and free up founder attention.

    These areas rarely feel urgent — until they suddenly are. Getting them right early is about reducing risk, improving decision quality, and reclaiming time from low-value admin.

    I focus on clear principles, lightweight processes, and the right tooling or partners — enough structure to support growth, without over-engineering.

    Focus areas:

    • Financial discipline (budget, forecast, burn visibility)

    • Core legal principles & non-negotiables

    • HR compliance & people ops foundations

    • Compensation strategy

    • Tool selection for core processes

    • Risk governance & oversight

    • Fundraising preparedness

    • Partially automated, flexible early processes

    Example outputs:

    • Basic financials forecast + reporting template

    • HR checklist + compliance calendar

    • Compensation framework document

    • Recommended tools stack: payroll, FP&A, HRIS, comms, workflows

    • (Semi-)automated workflow templates (e.g., investor updates, accounts payable, hiring process)

    • Risk register + oversight reporting template

  • Building the team in the right shape to scale.

    Hiring is one of the most highly leveraged — and costly — decisions you’ll make. I help you design the organisation you need next, rather than hiring reactively and fixing it later.

    This leads to faster decisions, clearer roles, and fewer uncomfortable conversations as the company grows.

    Focus areas:

    • Org design (options, sequencing, role clarity)

    • Hiring priorities

    • Early levelling & career frameworks

    • Performance philosophy + review cycles

    • Executive team dynamics

    • Management principles

    Example outputs:

    • Org chart & 12–18 month growth plan

    • Role mandates

    • Hiring roadmap + interview scorecards

    • Career framework / levelling draft

    • Performance feedback training + lightweight templates

    • Employee exits cheatsheet

    • Management handbook

    • Leadership team alignment plan

  • Building and scaling yourself alongside the company.

    Your investors are backing your expertise, vision, and drive. Without self-focus, you risk burnout, or your company outgrowing you.

    I work with founders as a thinking partner, kind challenger, and decision supporter, helping you to stay effective as complexity increases.

    Focus areas:

    • 1:1 regular confidentials & decision support

    • Leadership rituals & personal operating system

    • Managing overwhelm & priorities

    • Becoming the leader the company scales around

    Example outputs:

    • Personal leadership operating rhythm

    • Decision-making framework template

    • Delegation toolkit

    • Founder reflection + prioritisation dashboard

  • High-impact support where things are messy, cross-functional, outside your core expertise, or simply stuck.

    Alongside the core work, I support focused deep dives in areas that need extra force or senior attention.

    Examples:

    • Customer success / service experience setup

    • Office move planning

    • User personas

    • Customer journey mapping

    • Copywriting & brand voice clarity

    • Sales strategy foundations

    • Marketing strategy foundations

    • Shaping initial technology requirements

    • Onboarding design

    • Fundraise support

    • Other strategic projects inc regulatory

If you think this could be what you need, let’s have a conversation. I work with a small number of founders at a time, usually for focused, time-bound engagements. The first chat is just a chance to compare notes, get a clear sense of what’s happening in your company, and see if working together makes sense for us both — if not, I’ll tell you!

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