Hosts: Caitlin Ferguson (COOPilots.io) and Rob Ripp (Fintelligent, Author of Finance for Founders)
are a COO-CFO duo discussing supporting founders through growth challenges.

This episode covers:

Spotting Bandwidth Bottlenecks

• Obvious signs: Missed deadlines, quality issues, constant firefighting
• Subtle "energy leaks": Team disengagement, people stepping back, energy drops
• Catch energy issues before they impact client deliverables

Hiring Economics: Fractional vs. Full-Time

• Before hiring, check: Cash flow positive? Stable pipeline? Profit margin and runway?
• The math: If fractionals billing halftime at 3x hourly rate, full-time likely costs less
• Utilization targets: 75-80% for junior staff, max 85% (accounting for PTO)
• Bring in-house when: Core client-facing roles, IP development, culture representation needed
• Keep 1099 when: Behind-scenes work, specific deliverables, works independently

Cash Management Essentials

• Burn rate formula: (Cost of Revenue + Operating Expenses) ÷ 6 months = monthly burn
• Get line of credit at founding (best time to borrow: when you don't need it)
• Set your "squeal point" - how many months before making changes
• Without accountability, easy to think you're "one month away" indefinitely

Letting Go of Wrong People

• Case study: Employee with good delivery but high resistance, taking 10 hours/week of founder time
• Key question: "If those 10 hours could generate $1M in sales, is keeping them worth it?"
• Why founders struggle: Loyalty to early supporters, family/friends, falling in love with potential vs. outcomes
• The cost: Resentment builds, relationships damaged irreparably
• Solution: Present trade-offs clearly, let them opt in/out of new direction

Metrics & Accountability

• Define success upfront with clear measures
• Microsoft Education Competencies: Framework defining beginner to advanced performance by skill
• Pick 5 organizational + 3-5 role-specific competencies
• Professional services: 60% how people experience work, 40% outcomes

Building the Right Number Two

• Founder roles: Develop business, develop talent. That's it.
• COO role: Trains run on time, ensures delivery, has tough conversations with founder
• Must be truly empowered - no undermining their decisions
• Find complement to your strengths, not clone
• Long-term: COO often becomes CEO for premium exit

The Emotional Journey

• Founders operate in vacuums, need advisors who understand risk-taking
• Mastermind communities and experienced fractionals provide benchmarks
• No founder with great exit did it alone

Assessment Tools

• FinSight (Fintelligent): Financial data + recommendations, ~2 weeks
• VIP Audit (COO Pilots): Values/vision + team interviews + 30-60-90 plan, ~2 weeks, podcast listener rate

Notable Quotes

• Caitlin: "Energy leaks - you can see it as much in the output as in your people."
• Caitlin: "Founders confuse 'I'm busy' with 'I can afford someone.'"
• Caitlin: "If those 10 hours could generate a million dollar sale, would keeping this person be worth it?"
• Rob: "Founders have two roles: develop new business, develop talent. COO: trains run on time."

Resources Mentioned:

• FinSight Tool (Fintelligent) - Financial assessment
• Altitude 90™ Audit (COO Pilots) - Org health check and 30/60/90 roadmap to relieve pressure - Mention the podcast for $1,000 off
• Microsoft Education Competencies - Performance framework, example of Dealing with Ambiguity