INSIGHTS

Do I Need a CoS or a COO?

When structured support beats another full-time exec — and how to tell.

You don’t always need a full-time exec.

Sometimes you just need structured support that doesn’t add hierarchy. The two roles get conflated constantly — here’s the honest line between them.

Chief of Staff

Bring one in when…

You’re scaling fast and need help behind the scenes

The founder is overloaded but not ready to hire execs

You need execution support, not more hierarchy

COO

Bring one in when…

The org is 50+ and needs a strong ops leader

You’re ready to scale org-wide systems and finance

The founder is ready to step back from day-to-day entirely

Not sure which you are? That’s usually the tell — start with a conversation.