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PODCAST

The Operations Room: A Podcast for COO’s

Bethany Ayers & Brandon Mensinga

We are the COO coaches to help you successfully scale in this new world where efficiency is as important as growth. Remember when valuations were 3-10x ARR and money wasn’t free? We do. Each week we share our experiences and bring in scale up experts and operational leaders to help you navigate both the burning operational issues and the larger existential challenges. Beth Ayers is the former COO of Peak AI, NewVoiceMedia and Codilty and has helped raise over $200m from top funds - Softbank,

business management

All Episodes

46:36

27. How do you tame a visionary CEO?

The Operations Room: A Podcast for COO’s ·

2024/01/25

In this episode we unpack the topic of: How do you tame a visionary CEO? with Rob Liddiard, B2B SaaS Founder (acquired 2022); Reformed Lawyer.Bethany and I discuss the following:Forecasting in 2024Simplifying performance managementSurfacing issues in leadershipDocumenting the processes of the companyWe then discuss the following with Rob:Is the Entrepreneurial Operating System (EOS) just another OKR styled book?How do you tame a visionary founder?What are the components of EOS?What are the two

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47:04

26. The COO Role: Why Would You Ever Want the Job?

The Operations Room: A Podcast for COO’s ·

2024/01/18

In this episode we unpack the topic of: The COO Role: Why Would You Ever Want the Job? with Chuck Orzechowski, CEO of the COO Forum.Bethany and I discuss the following:How do you avoid being the dumping ground for things that others don’t want to do?Why would you want the COO job?We then discuss the following with Chuck:What are the most common issues you see across your COO membership?What is the best approach to clarifying decision-making authority with the CEO?Why is “pace of change” a common

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38:20

25. Do COO's have a two year shelf life?

The Operations Room: A Podcast for COO’s ·

2024/01/11

In this episode we ask the unpack the question of: Do COO's have a two year shelf life? We discussed this topic with Casey Woo, CEO @Operators Guild.We discuss the following with Casey:What is the role of the COO?Why does the COO have a two year shelf life?If that is the reality, how should one think about their career?What does this mean for 4 year option grants?What are the key terms every COO should negotiate?Referenceswww.operators-guild.comhttps://summit.operators-guild.com/2024Biography:Casey

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46:28

24. Leadership Transitions: Uncompromising Strategies...

The Operations Room: A Podcast for COO’s ·

2024/01/04

In this episode we unpack the topic of: Leadership Transitions: Uncompromising Strategies for Success with Andrew Duncan, Talent @ Atomico (ex-UpGroup) and Maddy Cross Partner @ Erevena (ex-Notion Capital)We discuss the following with Maddy and Andrew:Given the average tenure of senior execs in scaleups, what advice would you give execs and what should companies that are hiring consider?How uncompromising do you need to be to get the right leaders in place?What is the difference in leadership skills

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50:00

23. Cracking the Code: Exploring Emotional Literacy...

The Operations Room: A Podcast for COO’s ·

2023/12/28

In this episode we unpack the topic of: "Cracking the Code: Exploring Emotional Literacy and Embodiment” This is Part 2 in our emotional literacy and embodiment series. Our special guests are returning alumni with Divinia Knowles, Founder of the COO Roundtable and Maddie Fox, a leadership development coach across venture-backed organisations. We are also joined by Pippa Richardson, Somatic Therapist, Educator, Speaker and Clinician.We discuss the following with Pippa, Maddie and Divinia:Our personal

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49:56

22. Cracking the Code: Exploring Emotional Literacy...

The Operations Room: A Podcast for COO’s ·

2023/12/21

In this episode we unpack the topic of: "Cracking the Code: Exploring Emotional Literacy and Embodiment” This is Part 1 in our emotional literacy and embodiment series. Our special guests are returning alumni with Divinia Knowles, Founder of the COO Roundtable and Maddie Fox, a leadership development coach across venture-backed organisations.Bethany and I discuss the concept of “reading the room” and “the pause”.We discuss the following with Maddie and Divinia:How far can you push as a challenger

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42:30

21. Transitioning Roles: From COO to CEO

The Operations Room: A Podcast for COO’s ·

2023/12/14

In this episode we unpack the topic of: "Transitioning Roles: From COO to CEO". This is Part 2 in our transitioning roles series. Our special guest is John Saroff, CEO of Chartbeat.Bethany and I discuss what a CEO does, and how a COO can build competence in these areas:VisionFundraisingBoard relationshipsSetting the tone for the cultureWe then discuss the following with John:What is the role of a CEO and how does it differ to the COO role?Do you have a COO now? Why not?How does the stress of the CEO

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45:38

20. Transitioning Roles: From COO to Venture Capitalist

The Operations Room: A Podcast for COO’s ·

2023/12/07

In this episode we unpack the topic of: "Transitioning Roles: From COO to Venture Capitalist". This is Part 1 of a two-part series. Our special guest is Cleo Sham, Venture Partner at StrideVC. We discuss the following:Why did you decide to move from operator to investor?How did being an operator inform your role as a VC?Where did you find joy in the COO role? As a VC?Which role is more stressful: COO or VC?When you received critical feedback as a leader, how did you deal with it?How do you carve out

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38:20

19. The Wartime COO

The Operations Room: A Podcast for COO’s ·

2023/11/30

In this episode we discuss: "The Wartime COO”. Our special guest is Huw Slater, COO of Oliva Health, formerly COO of TravelPerk and Bella Riemer, Head of Operations at Joblift. We discuss the following with Huw and Bella:What is a Wartime COO? How does this impact how you operate the business?How do you surface existential threats to the organisation and inject a sense of focus, without scaring folks?What have been some of the worst storms you’ve weathered? Lessons learned?More broadly, what are

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29:15

18. Efficiency Unleashed: NoCode Revolutionising...

The Operations Room: A Podcast for COO’s ·

2023/11/23

In this episode we discuss: "Efficiency Unleashed: NoCode Revolutionising Operations”. Our special guest is Philip Lakin, Co-Founder & CEO of NoCodeOps. He is the ultimate MacGyver and an ambassador for reimagining the future of internal innovation. We discuss the following with Philip:What is NoCode? Why does it matter?What is a tangible example of business impact?Should ops professionals report into the COO or the functional lead?How do you get buy-in to internal operations initiatives?How do

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42:13

17. Surfacing the COO's Crucial Role in Revenue...

The Operations Room: A Podcast for COO’s ·

2023/11/16

In this episode we discuss: "Surfacing the COO's Crucial Role in Revenue Generation". Our special guest is Pete Crosby a coach, lecturer & advisor, focussing on the successful design & execution of SaaS revenue & growth strategies. He is a 4x successful scale up revenue leader, most recently as CRO at Ometria. We discuss the following with Pete:What kind of focus helps enable revenue generation?How should the COO’s “system thinking” be leveraged?Where should revenue operations live?What

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46:41

16. The COO's Endless Battle: Navigating Legal and...

The Operations Room: A Podcast for COO’s ·

2023/11/09

In this episode we discuss: "The COO's Endless Battle: Navigating Legal and Enterprise Contracts". Our special guest is Ahmed Badr, COO of GoCardless. Ahmed also worked for Microsoft, where he supported multi-billion pound licensing deals.Bethany and I discuss the following:The importance of a generic contract templateEmpowering sales to get contracts doneDefault and deal-breaker positions on indemnity and limitation of liabilityWe discuss the following with Ahmed:What did Microsoft do well and what

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51:57

15. Revolutionising Workplace Honesty: The Radical...

The Operations Room: A Podcast for COO’s ·

2023/11/02

In this episode we discuss: "Revolutionising Workplace Honesty: The Radical Candor Experiment". Our special guest is Ben Gateley, CEO at CharlieHR. Ben is an outspoken champion of positive workplace culture and is a passionate advocate for all things “people”.Bethany and I discuss the following:Praising publicly and criticising privatelyGiving criticism within 24 hoursKilling the “shit” sandwichWhat to do with moaningThe synergy between asking for feedback and giving feedbackCoaching vs. Evaluation

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40:51

14. Nurturing High-Performance Leadership Teams

The Operations Room: A Podcast for COO’s ·

2023/10/26

In this episode we unpack the topic of: Nurturing High-Performance Leadership Teams. Our special guest is Becca Sweetman, a leadership team coach who has worked across leading VC backed organisations like Kano, MOO and Babylon Health. We discuss the following:What is a high performing team? How do you achieve it?What is the PERILL framework and why is that a good one to use?How do you do an audit of leadership team performance?How do you work through areas of tension between two leadership team

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40:49

13. Navigating Leadership Team Success and Transitions

The Operations Room: A Podcast for COO’s ·

2023/10/19

In this episode we unpack the topic of: Navigating Leadership Team Success and Transitions. Our special guest is Maddies Fox, a guru in leadership development across venture-backed organisations including Blippar, Lantum and Mixcloud. We discuss the following:How do you set-up a COO for success when they join the organisation?Do job titles matter and how important is transparency around levels in early stage companies?What does good look like in exiting a leadership team member? How should you

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47:06

12. Decoding the CEO-COO Relationship: Strategies to...

The Operations Room: A Podcast for COO’s ·

2023/10/12

In this episode we discuss the topic of: Decoding the CEO-COO Relationship: Strategies to Thrive Our special guest is Scott Gellman, COO of Nowsta. We discuss the following:How do you think the role of a COO differs from that of a CFO in terms of responsibilities and dynamics with the CEOHow do you think the power dynamic between CEO and COO can affect decision-making and the overall functioning of an organization?How can effective communication positively impact the working relationship between a

en

47:22

11. Why licensing 170 SaaS tools is a great idea!

The Operations Room: A Podcast for COO’s ·

2023/10/05

In this episode we discuss the topic of: Why licensing 170 SaaS tools is a great idea! Our special guest is Joe Aurilia, Jr., Senior VP Operations at Cyware. As a former CIO, Joe comes at the COO role from a really interesting angle. We discuss the following:Why 170 SaaS applications in an organisation with 270 employees?What does best practice look like in the procurement process? What should it look like in a smaller organisation?How do you ensure ownership ensuring the organisation is receiving

en

39:57

10. What are the five traits of successful COO’s?

The Operations Room: A Podcast for COO’s ·

2023/09/28

In this episode we unpack the topic of: What are the five traits of successful COO’s? Our special guest is Charlene Chen, a key figure in the startup operations community and former COO of Lantum and AZA Finance. We discuss the following:How do different personalities and styles of Ops leaders contribute to the overall success of a company?In what ways do Ops leaders act as the connective tissue of a company?How can communication breakdown be addressed as a company scales and teams become

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29:04

9. Generative AI & the Impact on the COO role

The Operations Room: A Podcast for COO’s ·

2023/09/21

In this episode we discuss the topic of: Generative AI & the Impact on the COO role. Our special guest is Aarti Samani, an experienced executive leader with a fascinating career in AI, spanning investment banking and high growth technology businesses. We discuss the following:How does a smaller, tech-enabled company get started?Who should own the quality of data ingested into a generative AI model?Is it good enough to throw a bit of policy around the use of chatGPT and how SaaS tools with

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31:45

8. How does a co-founder COO survive and thrive?

The Operations Room: A Podcast for COO’s ·

2023/09/14

In this episode we discuss the topic of: How does a co-founder COO survive and thrive? Our special guest is Tom Mundy, is the COO of Goodlord which has scaled to over 350 employees, raising more than £50m in capital and turning over tens of millions of pounds.How did you end up being COO? Why was that the right title?What were the inflection points for your growth? How did you manage to survive for the last 8 years given the ups and downs?What is your view on mentorship?What is a good investor and

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