--- title: "Fractional Chief Operating Officer (COO) for growth businesses" url: https://www.simonwakeman.com/how-i-work/fractional-coo/ description: "When you need a COO but can't justify a full-time hire. Ongoing fractional COO support for founders of £2m-£20m scaling businesses in the UK and US." modified: 2026-04-11T09:12:52Z author: Simon Wakeman --- # Fractional Chief Operating Officer (COO) for growth businesses ## Struggling with scaling? Battling with bandwidth? A fractional Chief Operating Officer is an experienced independent operator working in your business for an agreed amount of time, taking on the same roles and responsibilities as a permanent COO hire. They help founders overcome the challenges of scaling a business, building capacity and accountability among leaders for the future. Working with a fractional COO rapidly frees up founders to focus on growth, maximising leverage from your vision and passion for the business you are building. [How a fractional COO helps you scale better](#scalebetter) [Work with me as a fractional COO](#howiwork) ![Image of Simon](https://www.simonwakeman.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/SW3.jpeg) As a founder you’ll be used to the chaos of the scrappy start-up phase. But as you scale you can’t shake the feeling of being in constant firefighting mode. You might be approaching burn-out. You feel like you’re losing grip in your own business. Or you might be finding that how you used to run the business just doesn’t work anymore. Keeping people aligned is harder and harder. You know you need experienced operational leadership but aren’t ready to or can’t afford to hire full-time yet. It feels like your investors are paying more attention to what you’re doing and are being more demanding. You know you need to reduce risks in your business but don’t really know where to start. You want to mature parts of your business to reduce problems and get things moving faster again. You know you’re lacking specific teams to execute properly and need to get that sorted. You’re so busy delivering now that you can’t think about strategic plans for the future. ## A fractional COO will help you scale your business better. A fractional chief operating officer (COO) helps you get through the challenges of scaling without the cost and commitment of a full-time hire. You get an experienced operator who has done this before, with the strategic view and the hands-on operational experience to act on it. A good fractional COO finds the bottlenecks in your business quickly, works out what’s causing them and puts the systems in place to fix them. They focus on how the business actually works, from internal processes and decision-making to the way your customers experience you. That means you’re not just patching holes. You’re building the foundations for growth that lasts. As a founder you also get a collaborator and confidante. Someone from outside can challenge habits that have set in, bring fresh ideas and help you feel less overwhelmed. And because it’s part-time, you get senior experience exactly where and when you need it, with far less risk than a full-time hire. ## Fractional COO isn’t always the right answer. As an experienced fractional COO I’ve seen six common scenarios when founders shouldn’t hire fractionally: 1\. Don’t hire a fractional COO if you really need a full-time chief operating officer in your business every day. 2\. If your COO role is a succession hire into the CEO seat, a fractional COO isn’t the best approach to take. Treat it as a permanent hiring process for a new CEO. 3\. Don’t bring in a fractional COO if existing leaders are highly resistant to change. Start to address those issues internally first to enable success. 4\. If you’re expanding into multiple new markets simultaneously, a fractional COO may not have the time to dedicate enough attention to managing the complexity of multiple geographies. 5\. High-quality fractional COOs can be expensive, although more cost effective than a full-time hire. If budget is extremely tight, this might not be the most best use of your funding at this stage. 6\. Don’t expect a fractional COO to succeed if founders aren’t willing to transfer genuine responsibility to the incoming chief operating officer. ## Working with me as your fractional COO. ### How I work as a fractional COO. I work part-time in your leadership team as Chief Operating Officer. As a fractional COO I lead teams, represent your business and am fully embedded within your company. I only work with one business as fractional COO at the same time. That means you, your leadership team and investors get: Hands-on, high leverage experienced senior leadership Equivalent of one, two or three days per week working hands-on within your team as your COO Unlimited 1:1 access to me via Slack, email & phone Access to my personal network of specialists [Book a call with Simon](https://www.simonwakeman.com/contact/book-a-call/) ### Best fit for my fractional COO service. My fractional COO service is optimised to deliver most value to businesses have achieved enough product-market fit and are funded to scale. In my experience good-fit companies will typically: Have a team of at least 10 people Be aiming for substantial annual revenue growth Have an open, results-oriented mindset Value progressive and agile principles Have a remote or hybrid workstyle Be ready to hire a full-time COO within 12 months I work remotely, primarily with UK and USA-based businesses. Not a good fit? I can [help you find the right fractional COO](#fractionalnetwork). > _“I’d known Simon at a distance for over a decade, _but only started working directly with him in 2023_ – and wished I’d brought him in before! He came into the senior team at my ecommerce SaaS platform with a consummate skill at collaborative improvement. He has made a big difference in team re-directing and re-energizing – and really got things done. He combines both a high emotional EQ and systemising skills, which is not so common. 100% recommended.”_ Deri Jones, founder & CEO at ThinkTribe ![Deri Jones](https://www.simonwakeman.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/deri.jpeg) > _“Simon is a serious company builder. He knows how to take a founder’s vision for their business and make it real step by step. He’s got a collaborative and thoughtful approach to leading teams and getting things done. If you want a trusted partner in scaling your business, work with Simon.”_ Tim Deeson, serial exited founder & advisor to early stage start-ups ![Tim Deeson](https://www.simonwakeman.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/tim-deeson.jpg) > _“As a fractional executive in our leadership team, Simon designed and implemented several new processes that have significantly improved our operational efficiency. Notably, he introduced our new 1:1s to enhance team engagement and helped create a new ‘lead to sale’ process for our agency. Simon is a collaborative and supportive executive in whom we had trust and confidence from the start. He listens and advises, leveraging his extensive agency and consultancy experience to build trust with the team and deliver results quickly._“ Peter O’Brien, Co-founder & Creative Director, Hidden Creative ![Peter O’Brien](https://www.simonwakeman.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/peter-obrien.jpeg) > _“Simon has an outstanding skill set and extensive experience in technology, business operations and management. He is easy to work with and can effectively draw on his skills and experience to help solve problems with calm authority and creativity. I highly recommend Simon to anyone looking for efficient, energetic and effective support.”_ Neil Benson, serial biotech founder at Xenologiq, Quantlmed & Sevenless Therapeutics ![Neil Benson](https://www.simonwakeman.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/neil-benson.jpeg) ## Frequently asked questions ### How many days a week would you work in my business? One, two or three days a week, embedded in your leadership team. Between those days you get unlimited access to me via Slack, email and phone, because the best fractional work happens when a decision needs making. ### Do you work with other businesses at the same time? I only work with one business as fractional COO at a time. I might run one or two advisory or coaching relationships alongside, but the fractional COO seat is a single seat. ### How does an engagement start? The first 30 days are diagnostic. I get properly under the skin of the business before suggesting anything, and the prioritised plan comes at the end of week four. The next 60 days install the operating rhythm and ship the first wave of changes. ### How much does a fractional COO cost? A fractional COO at one to three days a week usually costs £5k–£15k a month, depending on the days and the scope. There’s no recruitment fee, no equity and no extended onboarding. ### Is my business a good fit? Usually yes if you have at least 10 people, you’re aiming for substantial revenue growth and you could see yourself hiring a full-time COO within 12 months. I work remotely, mainly with UK and US businesses. ### What if you’re not the right fractional COO for us? I’ll help you work out what kind of fractional COO you need and introduce you to people from my trusted network who might fit. ## Read more about fractional COOs - [The fractional COO guide: when to hire one, what they actually do, and how it works](https://www.simonwakeman.com/guides/fractional-coo/) - [What is a fractional COO? (And when does a founder actually need one?)](https://www.simonwakeman.com/guides/fractional-coo/what-is-a-fractional-coo/) - [Why every scaling business needs a business operating system (BOS)](https://www.simonwakeman.com/guides/fractional-coo/business-operating-system/) - [How to escape firefighting mode as a founder (without dropping the balls)](https://www.simonwakeman.com/guides/fractional-coo/escape-firefighting-mode/) [**Book a call with Simon**](https://www.simonwakeman.com/contact/book-a-call/) ## Work with a fractional COO from my trusted network. As an experienced fractional Chief Operating Officer, I have built an extensive network of fractional COOs with a broad range of experience and skillsets. If my fractional COO service isn’t right for you, I might be able to help you find a fractional COO. I help you understand what type of fractional COO you really need and introduce you to fractional operators that I trust that might be the right fit. [Contact me to discuss my fractional COO network](https://www.simonwakeman.com/contact/) ![](https://www.simonwakeman.com/b3/assets/b3-logo-520.png) ## Leading a growth business? My free B3 framework® sets out the fifteen things every scaling business needs to get right. I developed it from more than 60 interviews with scale-up founders and investors. [Explore the framework](https://www.simonwakeman.com/b3/)