Cameron HeroldFounder of the COO Alliance & Invest In Your Leaders Training

Stop Wasting Money on COOs! Here’s What You Really Need

19 Oct 2025 · 1 min

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A short talk advising founders/executives not to hire a COO reflexively; instead consider hiring an executive assistant (EA) to handle tasks and free up time. The speaker argues that a COO is transformative only in the right situation but otherwise is an expensive, disruptive commitment; an EA is often a cheaper, more practical first step.

Chapters

Don't hire a COO if you don't need one. The right COO in the right situation is transformative, but if they're not necessary, then they represent needless expense disruption and commitment. You'd be better to keep your money. Try an EA first. First up, if all you're really trying to do is get done and free up time, try hiring an executive assistant. It sometimes drives me crazy when people say I need a coo. No, what they need is someone who actually has time to do stuff. In which case they should try an EA who comes a lot cheaper than a coo. They need someone to get a lot of their tasks off their plate.