Question 1

What is a fractional COO?

Accepted Answer

A fractional COO is a senior operations executive who provides COO-level leadership to your company on a part-time or contract basis. You get the strategic thinking, systems design, and execution discipline of a chief operating officer without the salary, benefits, equity, and onboarding risk of a full-time hire.

Question 2

How much does a fractional COO cost?

Accepted Answer

A fractional COO typically costs between $3,000 and $15,000 per month, or $150 to $500 per hour. This is a fraction of the $350,000 to $600,000+ annual cost of a full-time COO once you factor in salary, bonuses, equity, and benefits.

Question 3

When should I hire a fractional COO?

Accepted Answer

You should hire a fractional COO when your business has outgrown ad-hoc operations but a full-time COO is premature. Common signs include being the bottleneck in every decision, rapid growth outpacing your systems, manual processes eating your team's time, and lack of operational visibility.