To COO or Not To COO?
by Kristin Toth, Founder/CEO, Ulu Partners
“Do you know someone I can hire as a COO— someone just like you?”
It’s one of the most common (and flattering) questions I get from founders. But it’s also a signal. When I hear it, my first instinct isn’t to make a referral. It’s to ask a question in return:
“Why do you think you need a COO?”
That’s not me being coy. It’s an important analysis questison. Because what I’ve learned - both from hiring COOs and being one - is that “COO” is one of the most overused, under-defined, most-set-up-for-failure roles in early-stage companies.
And sometimes, it’s the wrong hire entirely.
The Operational Gap ≠ The COO
When founders start thinking about hiring a COO, it’s almost always in response to something that’s breaking. They’re overwhelmed. There’s no clear ownership of operations. They feel like they are in quicksand and cannot get out. They’re tired of seeing the same issues come up again and again. They want someone to magically “take care of it.”
So, they reach for what seems like the silver bullet: “I’ll just hire a COO.”
But here’s the thing: Most founders aren’t actually ready for a COO.
They’re trying to plug an operational gap. What they actually need is clarity, systems, and accountability…not necessarily a second-in-command with a C-suite title.
In fact, calling the role “COO” can muddy the waters, cause you to hire the wrong person for the company at the time, create cultural damage, and generally burn people out faster than you might already be doing so (and cause problems down the line).
What a COO Actually Is (and Isn’t)
When I took my first COO role, I realized that I had never even worked at a company that had a COO…let alone done the role before. So I asked anyone and everyone who had ever been one or worked with one. And it turns out, there are as many variations on what the role is as there are companies and CEOs out there. (If you want to read the article that really helped me learn more about this, see this HBR article. It is even called the Misunderstood Role of the COO!!)
A COO is not just a great operator.
A COO is not a fixer, a catch-all, or a glorified project manager.
And a COO definitely isn’t a shortcut to delegating what you don’t want to deal with.
In high-functioning companies, a COO is a peer-level partner to the CEO—someone who helps turn vision into execution at scale. That’s a big role. It usually requires:
A strong, scalable operating rhythm already in place
Clarity on what the CEO is doing and not doing
Defined company strategy and objectives
Trust and alignment between CEO and COO
Enough complexity and team size to warrant a second leadership layer
Without those foundations, the COO will either struggle or take on a job that looks nothing like what you imagined.
Signs You Might Not Need a COO (Yet)
If any of these sound familiar, pause before posting that job description:
You don’t have a clear operating cadence and prioritization process (e.g. no weekly metrics reviews, unclear accountability, no planning rhythm)
You’re still deeply involved in day-to-day ops—but haven’t defined your future role (and it can’t just be “I’ll raise money when we need to but shift back into “running the company” when I’m done…that is not only a way to miss out on real, sustainable progress and growth but also super frustrating to your team!)
You can’t clearly articulate what success looks like in the role
You’re hoping they’ll “just take things off your plate”
You are thinking of you and your current team as the “visionaries” and you want someone else to come in a fix the scalability - without starting to change the mindset of your founding team to support more structure and repeatability
You aren’t clear on your mission, vision, and/or values (though a great COO may be able to help you define these)
These are solvable problems. But they require groundwork—usually from you—before a COO can be effective.
What to Do Instead
Hiring a COO isn’t the only—or best—way to solve your ops challenges. Here are a few other high-impact moves that founders often overlook:
1. Hire strong functional leaders.
Sometimes what you really need is a killer Head of Ops, Customer Success, or Revenue Ops leader. Someone who owns a lane and builds muscle there.
2. Invest in systems and process.
Most “COO problems” are actually lack-of-system or lack-of-process problems. Get help designing a weekly business review, defining KPIs, creating SOPs.
3. Bring in an advisor or fractional exec.
This gives you leverage without the commitment or confusion of a full-time COO. And it gives you space to clarify what you actually need. (Though I don’t really believe that a fractional COO should be a thing…so try a strong multi-pronged advisor or someone who can come in and start quickly building processes.)
4. Work on scaling your leadership.
The transition from founder to CEO isn’t automatic. Sometimes the best move is making yourself more effective first—so that when you do hire a COO, you’re ready to partner well.
When a COO Is the Right Move
There are times when a COO is exactly what’s needed. You’re there when:
The company has a proven model, consistent revenue, and growing complexity - now you have something to stabilize and scale
You’ve defined your CEO role and need a strong operator to translate your vision into a plan & process, and execute it
Your functional leaders need a unifying layer of strategic execution (in my opinion, a true COO should not just own your core operational team(s) and rather be a unifying and consistency-driving force across all parts of the business)
You’re planning and ready for scale: fundraising, M&A, international expansion, etc.
Even then, the key is hiring for fit—not just résumé. You don’t need the biggest name. You need someone who aligns with your culture, fills your gaps, and thrives in the growth stage you’re in. Many startups hire someone who has be COO at companies with huge names. But many of them either cannot or will not want to roll up their sleeves and build everything from the chaotic phase one stage. You want someone who is excited about the challenges instead of someone who is frustrated by them.
Final Thought: Set the Stage Before You Cast the Role
Bringing on a COO can be transformational…or it can create more confusion than clarity.
Before you make the hire, make sure you’re not outsourcing what only you can define.
And if what you really need is leverage, structure, or a thinking partner—I know a few other ways to help.
