Q: 3. What is the Integrator's role in a startup?

The Integrator (a term popularized by Gino Wickman and Mark C. Winters in Rocket Fuel) is the operational counterpart to the Visionary founder — responsible for executing the vision, leading the team, and resolving organizational friction. The Anchor in our framework is our version of this concept: someone who holds the ground crew together and makes the balloon's flight possible and intentional. If you're in this role in your startup, whether your title is COO, Integrator, or Operations Manager, the fundamental job is the same.

Question 1

1. What does a COO do in a startup?

Accepted Answer

The startup COO is responsible for turning the founder's vision into operational reality. That includes building and managing execution systems, overseeing team capacity, setting and protecting quarterly priorities, and maintaining the strategic partnership with the CEO or founder. In the early stages, the COO often wears many hats — but the core job is always the same: make the operation run, so the Visionary can keep building the future.

Question 2

2. What is the difference between a COO and an Operations Manager in a startup?

Accepted Answer

An Operations Manager typically owns the execution of defined processes; they make sure the machine runs.

A COO owns the machine itself. They design the processes, set the operational strategy, manage cross-functional priorities, and serve as a true strategic partner to the CEO.

In a startup context, the line can blur early on, but as the company scales, the distinction becomes critical: the COO is accountable for the entire operational system, not just its execution.

Question 3

3. What is the Integrator's role in a startup?

Accepted Answer

The Integrator (a term popularized by Gino Wickman and Mark C. Winters in Rocket Fuel) is the operational counterpart to the Visionary founder — responsible for executing the vision, leading the team, and resolving organizational friction.

The Anchor in our framework is our version of this concept: someone who holds the ground crew together and makes the balloon's flight possible and intentional.

If you're in this role in your startup, whether your title is COO, Integrator, or Operations Manager, the fundamental job is the same.

Question 4

4. How does the COO role evolve as a startup grows?

Accepted Answer

At the seed stage, the COO often does everything: finance, operations, HR, product coordination..and so much more.

As the company moves toward Series A and beyond, the role shifts from doing to designing. The COO starts building teams, installing systems, and delegating execution.

By Series B, a great COO should be spending the majority of their time on strategic architecture and organizational health rather than day-to-day firefighting. If you're still in firefighting mode at Series B, something structural needs to change.

Question 5

5. When should a startup hire a COO versus a Chief of Staff?

Accepted Answer

A Chief of Staff extends the CEO's capacity. They help the founder operate more effectively. While a COO owns operational execution independently.

If your startup needs someone to help the CEO do more, hire a Chief of Staff. If you need someone to own the operational machine entirely and free the CEO to focus on vision, product, and external relationships, hire a COO.

Most startups benefit from a COO when they hit consistent operational failures — missed deadlines, team confusion, systems that don't scale — that the founder can no longer solve alone.

Question 6

6. What makes a startup COO effective when they have ADHD?

Accepted Answer

ADHD-wired COOs often bring extraordinary pattern recognition, creative problem-solving, and the ability to move fast in ambiguous environments.

The challenge is that the COO role also demands sustained execution, system-building, and the kind of linear follow-through that doesn't come naturally to an ADHD brain.

The most effective ADHD COOs invest heavily in external structure: accountability systems, energy management practices, and operational frameworks that do the "remembering" so the brain can do the "thinking." This is exactly the work we do together in COO coaching.

Visionary Integrator

What Does a COO Do in a Startup? The Anchor and Balloon Framework

Company

Transforming Overwhelmed Operators into Anchored Leaders.

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