Kamyar Shah

Jan 21, 2026

Signs You’re Ready for a Fractional COO Nov 10, 2025

Your company is growing. Revenue is up, you’re hiring, and by most metrics, you are successful. So why do you feel permanently stuck?You are likely trapped in the “Founder’s Dilemma”: the business has outgrown your ability to manage it through sheer force of will. You are no longer the visionary architect; you are the primary firefighter, pulled into operational minutiae every hour of the day. Your time is spent in the business, not on it. This is a common and dangerous plateau. The systems that got you to $10 million in revenue will not get you to $50 million. They will, however, lead to your burnout.Source: Signs You’re Ready for a Fractional COO

Jan 21, 2026

The Scaling Trap: A Founder’s Guide to Recognizing the Signs You’re Ready for a Fractional COO Nov 7, 2025

Part 1: The Success Penalty: When Growth Becomes the Bottleneck As a business consultant and Fractional Chief Operating Officer (COO) with over 25 years of experience, I have had the privilege of advising on over 650 engagements. This work has allowed me to observe a near-universal pattern among successful, driven entrepreneurs. I call it the “Founder’s Paradox”: the reward for building a successful company is a new, crushing level of complexity that threatens to destroy it.Source: The Scaling Trap: A Founder’s Guide to Recognizing the Signs You’re Ready for a Fractional COO

Jan 21, 2026

What a COO Actually Does in a $1M–$10M Business Nov 7, 2025

Let’s be honest. You’re a first-time founder, your company is scaling fast, and you are the bottleneck.

You’ve successfully navigated the 0-to-1 journey. You’ve found a product-market fit, and revenue is climbing past $1M, $5M, or even $10M. But in hindsight, you’ll remember this as the most painful stage of growth. Why? Because the very hustle and “founder-led-everything” mentality that got you here is now the single biggest thing holding you back.Source: What a COO Actually Does in a $1M–$10M Business

Jan 21, 2026

Executive Coaching vs. Fractional Leadership: What Moves the Needle Faster? Nov 5, 2025

At some point, every founder faces this decision: do I improve my leadership or change how the company operates? I’ve worked with hundreds of founders at inflection points like this, and the two options that come up most often are executive coaching and fractional leadership.

They’re not the same. One changes people. The other changes systems. If you pick the wrong tool, you risk spinning your wheels for another quarter. If you choose right, the business moves forward with less friction and more confidence.Source: Executive Coaching vs. Fractional Leadership: What Moves the Needle Faster?

Jan 21, 2026

There’s a moment in almost every growing company when the founder realizes the real problem isn’t “more leads” or “better ads.” It’s that the business can’t run any faster without someone owning operations. Hiring a full-time COO feels heavy, but doing nothing means the bottlenecks keep stacking. That’s when the fractional COO option shows up — and right after that comes the question no one seems to answer clearly:Source: How Much Does a Fractional COO Cost? Benchmarks by Revenue Tier