Fractional COO & Integrator  ·  For founders doing $1M–$3M

You built something real. Now build the part that runs it without you.

In 90 days: a team that makes the call without you, a plan that survives past week three, and your Sunday evenings back. I build the engine that gets you there, three to five founders at a time.

Book a free call 30 minutes. No pitch. A straight read on where execution's breaking.

$2M → $24M at ASK Method  ·  7× Inc 5000  ·  Built & sold Bucket.io, 2024  ·  40 years getting things done

The problem

You know exactly what needs to happen. It isn't happening.

The business has a plan. The plan has goals. The goals are the same ones from last quarter, and the quarter before. Meanwhile: eleven Slacks before 9am, all decisions your head of sales should be making. A 90-day roadmap that stopped being followed by week three. A team that performs well individually and stalls the moment you step back.

This is not a strategy problem. You have the strategy. It is an execution problem, the gap between what you decided and what actually gets done.

"Every decision goes through me. Every quarter looks the same."
"I hired a head of ops and it didn't fix it."
"I know what needs to happen but I can't get to the strategic work."
"I can't step away for a week without the business needing me back."

I have watched this exact pattern repeat across seven Inc 5000 runs and two companies. It has a name. And a fix.

What changes

What it looks like when you're not the bottleneck.

You stop waking up to eleven Slack messages someone else should have answered.

The quarter actually moves, instead of looking like the last three.

You take a week off and the business doesn't need you back by Wednesday.

Who you'd be working with
Richard Cussons

Not a retired expert teaching from memory.

I spent eighteen years as the COO who turns visionaries into scaled businesses, most recently taking The ASK Method Company from $2M to $24M and co-founding Bucket.io, which I sold to ScoreApp in 2024. Before that: Deutsche Bank, Lloyds, Société Générale, American Express. I still run operations at scale today. This is not coaching from the sidelines.

18 yrs
As COO / Integrator
7×
Inc 5000 rankings
3–5
Founders at a time
How it works

The Integrator Mentoring Partnership

Two deep sessions a month. Direct access between them. A written 90-day execution plan delivered in month one, the same kind of sequenced plan I used to scale ASK Method from $2M to $24M. I build the operating engine: the planning rhythm, the accountability structure, the cadence that means decisions get made and things get done without you at the centre of all of it.

Three to five founders at a time. Not a programme. A partnership.

01
Two 90-minute sessions a month
Strategy, accountability, operating rhythm: each session structured to move the most important thing forward, not to fill the hour.
02
Direct async access
WhatsApp or email, answered the same day. The decisions that can't wait for the next session don't have to.
03
A written 90-day plan in month one
Not a goals list. A sequenced execution plan: what needs to happen, in what order, owned by whom, with a measurable bar for each item.
The track record

A record built in operations, not slide decks.

I scaled The ASK Method Company from $2M to $24M. Four consecutive Inc 5000 rankings. I co-founded Bucket.io, which hit the list three more times before I sold it to ScoreApp in 2024. Before all of that: Deutsche Bank, Lloyds, Société Générale, American Express. Eighteen years learning that execution is the only thing that matters when the strategy already exists.

"I am not creative. But I will get it done."

$2M → $24M
Revenue scaled, ASK Method
7×
Inc 5000 across two firms
40 yrs
Getting things done
What it costs

A fraction of the commitment of a fractional COO.

A stalled quarter on a $2M business costs far more than a month of mentoring. The real comparison isn't mentor versus no mentor. It's the cost of another quarter that looks like the last one, or another $80K ops hire that doesn't fix it.

$250K+/yr
A full-time COO, salaried
$5–15K/mo
An embedded fractional COO, a day+/week
A few hrs/mo
The mentoring partnership, billed monthly

It's a monthly partnership, not a one-off. Three-month minimum, then it rolls monthly with 30 days' notice. No long contract, no lock-in. I'll give you the exact figure on the call, once I understand the business and whether it's even a fit. The call costs nothing, so you'll know the number before you decide anything.

Need someone embedded in the business a day or more a week, not just light-touch mentoring? I also work hands-on as a fractional COO, and we'll sort which fits on the call.

Book a free call No pitch. If I can't help, I'll tell you that too.
Common questions

Before we talk.

How is this different from hiring a consultant or coach?

Consultants hand you a report and leave. Coaches help you think. I'm in the work, running operating rhythms, making decisions alongside you, accountable for outcomes. If something doesn't get done, that's on both of us. I'm an active operator, not an observer giving feedback on your game from the stands.

What does working together actually look like week to week?

Two deep sessions a month, one planning, one accountability. Direct access between them via WhatsApp or email, answered same day. A written 90-day execution plan in the first four weeks. I build the operating engine: the planning rhythm, the accountability structure, the cadence that means decisions get made and things get done without you at the centre of all of it.

What does it cost?

I'll give you exact numbers on the call, once I understand the business and whether I can actually help. To set expectations: it's a monthly partnership built around a few focused hours a month, not an embedded fractional COO (those run $5–15K/mo for a day or more a week), with a three-month minimum. If a stalled quarter on a $2M business is the real cost, this is a fraction of it. The call's free, so you'll know the figure before you decide anything.

What if it doesn't work out?

Start with the free call. No pitch, no obligation. If we both think it's a fit, the partnership runs on a three-month minimum, then rolls monthly with 30 days' notice. No long contract, no lock-in. You decide it's working before you commit to anything beyond the first quarter.

What kind of business is this for?

Bootstrapped businesses doing $1M–$3M, usually 5–25 people, where the founder is still the de facto COO. You've got a real product and real customers. The constraint isn't demand, it's operating capacity. If you're building something real and want it to run without you, we should talk.

Not ready to talk yet? Take the 2-minute bottleneck scorecard → and see exactly where you stand.

No lock-in. No wasted money.

The first call costs nothing and comes with no obligation. If we work together, it's a three-month minimum, then 30 days' notice. No long contract, no retention mechanic, no lock-in. You decide it's working before you commit to anything long-term.

Let's talk

If every quarter looks like the last, let's change that.

A 30-minute call. No pitch. No deck. I'll ask about the business, the team, and where execution is breaking down. If I can help, I'll tell you how. If I can't, I'll tell you that too.

Book a free call Or email richard.cussons@gmail.com