You will get Operational Diagnostic for Founder-Led Businesses — Find the Bottlenecks
Top Rated
Project details
Most founder-led businesses between £500k and £10m hit the same wall: growth stalls not because the market dried up, but because the operations underneath can't carry the weight. Decisions bottleneck at the top. The team waits. Delivery wobbles.
This diagnostic identifies exactly where your operational structure is breaking — across five dimensions: decision governance, leadership authority, forecast reliability, operational resilience, and accountability. You get a scored assessment, a clear structural picture, and a prioritised action sequence — not a generic strategy deck.
I've done this across SaaS, e-commerce, financial services, and professional services. Ex-military background, 11 years in special ops, followed by managing a £750m portfolio at a global tech corporation and delivering £300m in operational savings. I know what scales and what doesn't.
This diagnostic identifies exactly where your operational structure is breaking — across five dimensions: decision governance, leadership authority, forecast reliability, operational resilience, and accountability. You get a scored assessment, a clear structural picture, and a prioritised action sequence — not a generic strategy deck.
I've done this across SaaS, e-commerce, financial services, and professional services. Ex-military background, 11 years in special ops, followed by managing a £750m portfolio at a global tech corporation and delivering £300m in operational savings. I know what scales and what doesn't.
Industry
Ecommerce, Education, Financial Services, Real Estate, SoftwareWhat's included
| Service Tiers |
Starter
$195
|
Standard
$495
|
Advanced
$995
|
|---|---|---|---|
| Delivery Time | 3 days | 7 days | 14 days |
Live Consultation (Minutes) | 60 | 120 | 180 |
Frequently asked questions
27 reviews
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JD
Jacques D.
May 17, 2026
Communication Coach for Tech Industry
Antony provided useful strategic input around positioning, interview preparation, and venture structuring, and some of the discussions were genuinely valuable. Antony is a committed coach and delivered great insights.
However, the engagement suffered from a lack of upfront clarity around billing scope and off-session work. Additional async review/prep time was billed beyond the live sessions without this being clearly communicated or agreed in advance, and the Upwork timesheet entries themselves lacked sufficient detail.
A significant portion of the written feedback also appeared heavily AI-assisted, which is fine in principle yet further affected my perception of the value relative to the extra billed hours.
Overall, there was definitely value in the engagement, but the transparency and expectation management around the commercial side could have been handled more clearly.
However, the engagement suffered from a lack of upfront clarity around billing scope and off-session work. Additional async review/prep time was billed beyond the live sessions without this being clearly communicated or agreed in advance, and the Upwork timesheet entries themselves lacked sufficient detail.
A significant portion of the written feedback also appeared heavily AI-assisted, which is fine in principle yet further affected my perception of the value relative to the extra billed hours.
Overall, there was definitely value in the engagement, but the transparency and expectation management around the commercial side could have been handled more clearly.
AB
Andy B.
May 11, 2026
HubSpot support
It was a pleasure to work with Antony. He took the time to really understand our needs and delivered exactly what we wanted, adding his own insights and knowledge into our discussions to ensure we got the best possible solution. I would definitley recommend not just for his HubSPot knowledge but his overall business knowledge and acumen.
MA
Mohammed A.
Apr 5, 2026
Operations Leader/Mentor to Help Build a Founder-Independent eCommerce Business ($6-$8M REV)
AA
Abdulrahman A.
Feb 22, 2026
CEO Mentorship Program
JP
Jake P.
Feb 19, 2026
Fractional COO / Integrator (Install SOPs + Scale Ops + Drive Consistent Execution)
About Antony
Fractional COO | Operational Transformation for Scale-Ups
95%
Job Success
Gloucester, United Kingdom - 2:41 pm local time
I've done this across SaaS, e-commerce, financial services, digital agencies, and professional services. The presenting problems are always different. The structural ones rarely are: decisions bottleneck at the top, the team waits, delivery wobbles, and the founder is everywhere and nowhere.
𝗪𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗧𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗟𝗼𝗼𝗸𝘀 𝗟𝗶𝗸𝗲 𝗶𝗻 𝗣𝗿𝗮𝗰𝘁𝗶𝗰𝗲
At a real estate SaaS company, I built a customer success function from scratch, redesigned onboarding, and installed upsell and reactivation workflows. Over 8 months: MRR grew from £42k to £71k, churn dropped from 4.8% to 2.7%, and NRR moved from 101% to 114%.
At a 40-person financial education business, the founder was the operating system — every decision routed through him. I rebuilt decision rights and accountability structures so team leads owned their areas. Within 60 days, escalations dropped by more than half and he got his weekends back.
At a US tax advisory firm, I built the sales operation from scratch, scripts, SDR structure, onboarding, CSM framework. Monthly sales went from $20k to $60k in six months.
These aren't edge cases. This is what happens when operations catch up with ambition.
𝗛𝗼𝘄 𝗜 𝗪𝗼𝗿𝗸
I bring two things most fractional operators don't.
The first is 11 years of ex-military service — including special ops — where the job was to assess fast, identify the real problem, and execute under pressure with limited margin for error. That discipline transfers directly into business operations, change management, and building teams that perform without being managed.
The second is technical implementation capability. I don't just redesign your operations and hand you a plan. I build the systems, accountability dashboards, CRM architecture, AI-assisted workflows, automated reporting. You get a working operational infrastructure, not a strategy deck.
I've managed a £750m programme portfolio at a global technology corporation. Delivered £300m in operational savings at a UK managed services business. Run GTM strategy for companies expanding into Saudi Arabia and the UAE. Stood up operations in environments where there were no systems at all.
I know what scales and what doesn't.
𝗪𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗜 𝗛𝗲𝗹𝗽 𝗪𝗶𝘁𝗵
Fractional COO and Director of Operations engagements for businesses that need senior operational leadership without a full-time hire. Operational diagnostics for founders who know something's wrong but can't see where. Decision governance and accountability framework design. CRM build and sales pipeline architecture. Business process improvement and change management. Business mentoring for founders scaling from operator to leader. Chief of Staff and Head of Operations roles where senior judgment is needed, not just execution.
𝗪𝗵𝗼 𝗜 𝗪𝗼𝗿𝗸 𝗪𝗶𝘁𝗵
Founders of businesses between £500k and £10m revenue, typically 10 to 50 people, where growth has outpaced the structure underneath it. Usually they're working harder than ever and getting less traction. The problem is almost never the market. It's the operating model.
I'll tell you what's actually wrong — including if it's something uncomfortable. That's the job.
𝗛𝗼𝘄 𝘁𝗼 𝗦𝘁𝗮𝗿𝘁
Send me three things: what your business does and how big the team is, where growth has stalled or operations are breaking down, and whether you need ongoing operational leadership, a specific build, or a diagnostic first.
I'll respond within 24 hours and tell you directly whether I can help and how I'd approach it.
Steps for completing your project
After purchasing the project, send requirements so Antony can start the project.
Delivery time starts when Antony receives requirements from you.
Antony works on your project following the steps below.
Revisions may occur after the delivery date.
Intake + Qualification
You complete a short intake covering your team size, revenue, current challenges, and where growth is stalling. I confirm fit before we proceed.
Structural Diagnostic Session
60–90 minute live session assessing decision-making, leadership independence, forecasting, operational resilience, and accountability across your business.