If you’re an aspiring or first-time COO, we’re here to support you on this hard, but rewarding, journey. 💜

After 10 years of running operations communities, we’ve seen far too many people who:

• Want to become COOs, but lack the confidence to pursue these roles
• Are stuck questioning themselves and what they don’t even know they should know
• Fall into COO roles without being fully prepared for the challenges they will face - managing upwards, laterally, downwards, and diagonally

We want to equip the next generation of startup COOs with the tools you need to thrive in your roles. 🚀

Join the COO Course! 📚

This course will help you build up your skills and confidence, so you can:

• land the difficult-to-define role of a startup COO
• succeed and thrive as you face the challenges of the role

✨ Why should I take this Course?

Increase your confidence 💪

At the start and end of the Course, you will fill out our Operations Leadership Competency Scorecard. Our latest results showed that most participants’ confidence increased by 20-30%. Confidence will help you identify and solve problems more quickly and effectively.

Help your company thrive 🚀

In a down-market, it’s never been more critical for companies to do more with less human and financial capital. As an operations leader, it’s your job to put the right people, systems and processes in place to optimise your company’s success - increasing profit and reducing costs in your business.

Build your own operations hive mind 🧠

Through the Course, you will gain access to a highly engaged community of fellow operations leaders. These operational experts can give you real-time advice that will help you through all the various trials of scaling.

💡 What is included in the Course?

This is a 14-week online course covering Operation Nation’s Core Competencies for a Strong COO*:

• Pre-recorded videos focusing on the principles & guidelines of the related competency 🎞️
• 2-hour Guest Speaker sessions featuring experienced COOs from the ON Community and beyond, sharing their wisdom and war stories 🎤
• See the FAQs for previous Guest Speakers.
• Weekly accountability sessions 💬
• A catch-up call and an integration call - at “half-term” (week 6) and at the “end-of-term” (week 14) ⚒️

*see “What skills will I learn?” below for the full list

You will also get:

• Optional 1:1 office hours with the Course Facilitators at any time during the Course 💡
• Digital course workbook for deeper learning 📝
• Access to a private group to keep in touch with the cohort 🤫
• Access to an accountability group 👏
• An Operations Nation COO Course certificate (80% attendance required) 🏆

👋 Who is this Course for?

• We believe you will get the most out of this program if…
• You’re currently a Head of Operations or first-time COO at a startup or scaleup.
• The company you work for is beyond the seed-stage, but not late-stage (loosely 20-100 employees, pre-Series A up to B).

Note: In our past cohorts, most of the participants worked in Seed to Series B companies. However, ops leaders from non-profit organisations also found the Course very helpful.

• You are committed to being fully present during the sessions, offering your own experiences, and applying what you’re learning in between sessions.
• We will limit the cohort to a maximum of 20-24 participants.
• Operations Nation Members get priority access, followed by first-come, first-serve.
• If we can’t accommodate you, your application will be prioritised for the next preferred cohort of your choice.

🧠 What skills will I learn?

Based on 30 years of collective operational leadership experience, Operations Nation has designed a framework encompassing the following majority of the Core COO Competencies:

Strong Head 🧠

• Strategic and Operational Planning: Ability to translate your organisation’s strategy into a realistic operational plan
• Organisational Design: Ability to help shape your org chart/accountabilities as the organisation grows and scales
• Fundraising and Financial Planning: Ability to help your CEO and CFO raise and manage financial resources

Strong Core 🎯

• Organisational Performance and Analytics: Ability to aggregate, report upon, and influence the cross-functional metrics that matter most
• Risk Management: Ability to anticipate risks to ensure your organisation’s strategy is achieved

Strong Voice 📢

• Internal Communication: Ability to communicate - from all-hands meetings to cross-functional projects
• External Communication: Ability to communicate with/to VIP customers, Board Members and Investors

Strong Heart 🫀

• Self-Awareness: How to identify, understand and communicate your personal and professional strengths and weaknesses
• Stress Management: How to juggle multiple tasks and projects in a high-pressure environment
• Self-Care: how to set boundaries, say no to others, and carve out time to care for/invest in yourself

Strong Arms & Legs 💪

• Your Role with respect to the CEO: Ability to manage upwards
• Your Role on the Exec Team: Ability to manage laterally

🤞 What is expected of participants?

Commit to your own learning journey ✅

• Show up to each call and being present (e.g. turning your notifications off)
• Make time for pre-work and post-work. (e.g. blocking out time in your calendar)
• Integrate your learnings. (e.g. try to use what you learned when you’re at work)
• Get support from your manager (where relevant) to prioritise YOU and your learning journey. You’re here for a reason. 🙏

Engage with others 💬

• Chat with other members of your cohort during and after sessions, so you can learn from each other’s perspectives and experiences

Be open to new ideas and experiences 👋

• Every week, there will be new concepts, frameworks, learnings, and connection. This can feel like a lot in a short time (just like working in a start-up 😉).
• You will benefit a lot from the learnings and connections you gain here - not just now, but far beyond the 14 weeks we share together. However, this can only happen if you make the choice to step outside your comfort zone and embrace the unfamiliar.

Embrace a different style of learning 👥

• If this is the first cohort-based learning experience you’ve participated in, it may look and feel a bit different to other learning experiences. This can feel strange at first, but there is so much power in it: you get to create and build your own journey, unique to you and your cohort!

⌛ What is the time commitment?

All times are in BST from September 2 to 26 October; and then GMT from October 28 to December 9.

Please note: these dates may be subject to change depending on Guest Speaker availability.

You’ll get access to our platforms & start meeting the cohort from August 18.

Main calls on Tuesdays 📌

1. Connection/Checking in: September 2 (75 mins, to be scheduled)
2. Weeks 1 - 5: September 9 - October 7, every Tuesday at 9:30 AM - 11:30 AM
3. Catch-up call: October 14, Tuesday at 9:30 AM - 11:30 AM
4. Week off: the ON Team is hosting our annual cONference in London on October 20-21
5. Weeks 6 - 10: October 28 - November 25, every Tuesday at 9:30 AM - 11:30 AM
6. Integration call: December 2, Tuesday at 9:30 AM - 11:30 AM
7. Final call/Checking out: December 9, Tuesday at 9:30 AM - 11:30 AM

⌛ Total time commitment: 6-8 hours per week (including pre-session and post-session work)

💸 How much does the Course cost?

For context: the only other COO Courses that exist are taught at universities like MIT or INSEAD, and they are priced at $25,000.

Need help convincing your manager/CEO to send you to the Course? Share this page with them! ✅

⭐ Testimonials

The proof is in the pudding: we've received an average rating of 9/10 from the six cohorts we’ve led over the past 2 years, with 100+ participants in total.

Here are some more detailed reviews straight from our aspiring/first-time COOs:

I started this course halfway through a growth path to COO where I was mostly terrified and felt like a fraud for even being offered the position. I leave this course a confident operator, excited to complete my growth objectives this month and get that C title because I DESERVE IT!

I am excited about my future and I feel like I have the tools to COO the current company I'm working for, as well as how to approach my roles in the future in different companies. Imposter syndrome - begone! The ON team manages this journey with incredible thoughtfulness and creates a vibrant safe space to share and learn. Wednesdays became my favourite days and it felt so empowering to be able to bring back something into my work every single week!

~ Ilaria Barbon, COO @ FLOX

Participating in the COO course has been a game-changer for me both personally and professionally. It helped me reframe how I approach operations not just as a series of tasks, but as a strategic, mission-critical function that shapes the future of the organization. I learned how to better manage upward, how to create clarity around capacity and structure, and how to align operations with our long-term goals.

The live sessions were engaging, the frameworks practical, and the community incredibly supportive. This course isn’t just for those new to operations it’s for anyone who wants to grow as a strategic leader, build systems that last, and connect with brilliant minds across the sector. I’m walking away more confident, more equipped, and more inspired to lead. I highly recommend it.

~ Dr. Dameon Lutz, Head of Operations @ BASIS Ed Texas

Attending this course over the past 11 weeks has provided me with a solid foundation of what to expect as an Ops leader. Not only has it taught me so much more about running operations in a company but it has validated the work I've already been doing.

We covered a variety of important topics, like leading with a clear strategic vision, planning for the future, managing upwards, and improving how our team performs. We also learnt how to budget and forecast finances accurately as well as communicate effectively both inside and outside the company. This course has really broadened my knowledge and given me practical skills to be a great Ops leader.”

~ Leah McCarthy, Operations Manager @ Lavanda

“It's an excellent survey curriculum addressing a different aspect of a COO's role each week. Additional topics on self-awareness and resilience round out a course with guest speakers, solo & group activities, and many helpful resources.

Shout-out to Charlene Chen and Bre McQuade (course facilitators) and the rest of the cohort for a great experience. It's not a surprise that a course developed and run by COOs is well-organized and professionally delivered! ON is based in London, so the sessions were quite early in the morning for me, but definitely worth it.”

~ Scott Caltagirone, COO @ Element 84

I recommend the COO Course to any ops leader out there looking to confirm their knowledge, expand it or simply fill the gaps. With such a wide range of topics it really makes you understand what it takes to be a COO/run a company. It made me think in a different way about things and has given me lots of ideas to implement. Very valuable and at the same time fun - the course format with lots of people interactions really allowed for this.

~ Wendy Elzinga, Head of Operations @ Karma Kitchen

“This course has been instrumental in deepening my understanding of the various aspects of the COO role. It was truly worth it, and I'm pumped for what's to come! 🔥”

~ David Talbert, Education Director @ Valantis Group

“It's been an excellent and jam-packed learning journey alongside a cohort of fantastic fellow aspiring COOs, covering all bases from strategic planning and organisational design to managing teams laterally and self-awareness/resilience. So much knowledge gained, which has already helped to grow my confidence as a future ops leader.”

~ Gracie Jones, Head of Programmes & Operations @ OneTech

ℹ️ FAQs