[ Definition ]
What is a fractional COO.
A part-time chief operating officer, embedded inside the company. One to three days a week. Owns operations. Builds the engine. Hands it back when it runs without them.
[ 01 ]
The model
Embedded, not advisory.
A fractional COO is on the team. In the standup. On the leadership call. In the tools. Builds operations from inside the company, not from the outside.
- [ + ] Part-time. 1 to 3 days a week.
- [ + ] Embedded. Inside the org, on the leadership team.
- [ + ] Operator. Builds process, KPIs and execution.
- [ + ] Time-boxed. Engagement ends when the operation runs without them.
- [ - ] Not a consultant. Owns outcomes, not slides.
- [ - ] Not an interim COO. Lower cost, ongoing cadence, exit by design.
[ 02 ]
The seat
Operations leadership, on demand.
The COO seat handles the things a founder cannot scale alone. Process, people, suppliers, systems, reporting, execution.
A fractional model gives a founder-led or PE-backed company that seat at a fraction of the cost of a full-time hire, and without a 12 month search.
[ 03 ]
When it fits
Right call when:
- The founder is the bottleneck.
- Headcount is up. Process is duct tape.
- Capital is in. The operating model has to grow up.
- PE wants execution between CEO and the line.
- An interim COO is too much. A consultant is too little.
- The next milestone needs structure, not slides.
[ Next step ]
Need this seat for 3 to 9 months?
One call. We map the bottleneck and the engagement. No deck.