What Does a Chief of Staff Do at a Startup?
Every hire at a new tech startup is a major strategic decision that can make or break the young company’s trajectory. Many startup founders prioritize hiring engineers, product managers, and marketers, but I’m here to tell you that you should consider a Chief of Staff (CoS) as your very first hire!
The Chief of Staff is the right-hand person to the Founder or Chief Executive Officer (CEO). They oversee operational efficiency, manage special projects, and optimize the founder’s time to enable rapid growth. A successful CoS is the glue holding a startup together, helping the founder navigate the nonstop chaos of daily operations.
[For more on the relationship between a founder and their Chief of Staff, check out my podcast episode with Nikki Barua (the founder of Beyond Barriers) and her CoS Cheryl Couch!]
While the exact role of a startup’s Chief of Staff can vary, some common truths apply across various industries and company stages. Let’s explore why the CoS role should be a startup’s first key hire, along with their key responsibilities and how they can evolve as the business scales.
The Chief of Staff: A Founder’s Strategic Partner
“I have an idea. I have no money. Whaddya say? Want to be my Chief of Staff?” While I’m obviously exaggerating a little bit, you might be surprised by how many founders’ first conversations with their CoS actually sound like this!
Many startup founders in the early stages begin their journeys with bold ideas but little time or resources to pull them off. Founders are pulled in a million directions at once — strategic planning, fundraising, product development, hiring, daily tasks, the list goes on and on. At this early stage, a strategic partner who complements the founder’s skill set is invaluable.
How the Chief of Staff Provides Support in the Startup’s Early Days
A great Chief of Staff does much more than just take tasks off the founder’s plate (although they certainly do this, too!). They’re an operational efficiency expert, a sounding board for strategic decisions, and a bridge connecting the company’s different teams.
They should have tightly aligned values with the founder — they should be simpatico on their shared vision of the company’s future. That said, the CoS should have different skills and perspectives to help cover the founder’s blind spots.
In the startup stage, both the founder and Chief of Staff are essentially doing everything, including…
Market research and validation: Understanding customer needs, gathering insights, validating proof of concept, and refining the company strategy.
Building the MVP: Every startup needs an MVP (meaning a “minimally viable product,” although a “most valuable player” certainly couldn’t hurt either). If the founder lacks technical expertise, the CoS might work with engineers or oversee product development.
Pre-selling and business development: Securing early adopters, handling sales teams, etc. In some cases, the CoS might even act as an executive sponsor for early clients.
Fundraising support: Working with potential investors, refining pitch decks, and running financial meetings.
Administrative tasks: Handling company formation, legal filings, basic branding, and building out the rest of the team. In other words, anything to keep the company moving forward!
Some of these early responsibilities slant more toward basic operational tasks than a Chief of Staff’s typical role at a more established company. For instance, they could help come up with the company name, pick which state to register in, develop the startup’s web presence, set up accounting systems, and more.
These might not be the most exciting responsibilities — unless you’re super-passionate about stuff like setting up business email accounts (in which case, you do you!) — but they help the founder stay focused on the big picture. After all, a huge part of being a great Chief of Staff is optimizing the founder’s time. The CoS must keep short-term goals in view while also keeping the startup’s intermediate and long-term vision in perspective.
Differences Between a CoS and an Executive Assistant
“Whoa, hold on a second Emily,” you might be saying. “Aren’t basic operational tasks the responsibility of an executive assistant?” Well, I’m glad you asked!
At early-stage tech startups, the Chief of Staff role can overlap quite a bit with an executive assistant (EA). That said, there are plenty of differences, and the trajectory for each role is massively different. While both are critical roles that support the founder, the CoS job title has a much broader scope.
An executive assistant typically oversees time management, scheduling, and logistics, while a Chief of Staff serves as a thought partner. The CoS drives special strategic projects, oversees day-to-day operations, and works closely with the executive team on specific business needs. But, in the early days, it’s all hands on deck, and the company might not even have a full-time executive assistant at this point anyway!
The best way to describe the CoS role at a startup is a Swiss Army knife that handles whatever the company needs. While the role of a Chief of Staff might include some admin items in the early days, they usually evolve out of these responsibilities entirely over time to focus on strategic initiatives.
The Evolution of a Startup Chief of Staff
For some quick context, the Chief of Staff role constantly evolves at every company stage, and usually at a faster pace than the chief executives. In the early days, they might be deeply involved in just about everything, from overarching business strategy to hiring new team members.
Once the company gets past the point of concept, it’s still very nascent but growing consistently. At this point, the Chief of Staff must step up to manage department heads, streamline communication channels, and keep project management processes moving across different teams. For instance, the CoS will likely be involved in sales operations and marketing, providing ideas and support to these departments.
Mergers, Acquisitions, and Fundraising
If a growing startup pursues investments, the Chief of Staff often plays a crucial role in securing capital. There are a couple of different ways this can go…
Running the business while the CEO fundraises: Some founders dedicate 85%+ of their time in this phase to fundraising, leaving the CoS in charge of day-to-day operations. In this scenario, the Chief of Staff gets the keys to the kingdom and floats up items that need the founder’s approval.
Actively participating in fundraising: Some Chiefs of Staff offer direct assistance with networking, negotiating deals, and managing investor relationships. I’ve even seen Chiefs of Staff coaching their principals and executive teams on how to refine and position investor pitches!
Developing Company Culture
One of the most important roles of a Chief of Staff is defining company culture. The CoS role is deeply embedded in the leadership team, making them a sort of culture whisperer who drives the company’s values.
They play a key role in the make-or-break mission of hiring the right people. After all, if your first few new hires are bad fits, your startup probably isn’t going very far. The CoS also sets an example for company culture — how you show up, the key skills you demonstrate, and the way you treat your colleagues are all a huge part of shaping a startup’s culture.
CoS Responsibilities in the Growth Phase
As the company expands (for example, once it reaches 30-50 employees), a major shift occurs. The startup CEO’s time is limited — they can no longer be part of every decision, and the company faces a tricky step in its evolution. It might still be operating with a startup spirit — which can still be a net positive — but growing and maturing as a company requires new perspectives and responsibilities.
The founder can no longer know everyone or everything (and the really smart ones knew this from the start). They have less control, which means they have to trust the people around them to make smart decisions. A big part of the CoS job at this stage is coaching the executive team (and themselves!) through this major transition. Founders can easily become bottlenecks in their own businesses in the growth phase, and it’s up to the Chief of Staff to help them succeed.
Succession Planning and Executive Team Expansion
The company may need to hire or replace key execs in the growth phase, and the CoS will play a major role in the process.
Sometimes, the Chief of Staff has been an acting executive in the startup phase (for example, they might be pulling double duty as the Chief Operating Officer) but no longer has time to juggle the responsibilities. Or, the company might need a new role that didn’t exist previously, like a Chief Marketing Officer (CMO) or Chief Product Officer (CPO).
In these scenarios, the CoS can take point on the executive recruiting, hiring, and interview processes. The big hires at this point are often in finance, human resources, and accounting. It’s important to invest in these areas as they provide a tremendous amount of risk mitigation. Personally, my very favorite thing to do with risks is mitigate them.
In my experience, it’s always helpful to have a reputable referral for these vital roles. Feel free to ping me, and I’ll do my best to help you find the right fit!
Determining and Communicating Strategies
The Chief of Staff is the founder’s strategic thinking partner, so they’re often called upon to make key decisions and communicate them throughout the company. With this in mind, here are some questions the CoS might need to answer.
Do we hire before or after generating revenue?
When and why do we ask for a cash infusion from our capital partners?
How should we run leadership meetings?
How do we resolve internal conflicts?
What is our marketing spend strategy? Long-term sustainable growth, short-term hits, or a mix?
How should we structure the sales team? (Enterprise sales, transactional sales, channel partnerships, direct-to-consumer, etc.)
Some of these are tough questions, but someone needs to answer them with effective communication skills. As the Chief of Staff, that someone might need to be you!
Ongoing Chief of Staff Duties
Some aspects of the Chief of Staff role remain relatively consistent throughout a company’s life cycle. Whether you’re working with startups or larger companies, you can expect a CoS to handle the following operational aspects.
Efficiency Is Everything
The Chief of Staff makes sure that efficiency flows throughout the organization by streamlining processes and adapting them as needed. A basic rule of thumb: If three people are doing something more than three times per month, add it to your standard operating procedures so it’s properly documented and communicated.
The CoS also identifies and proposes fixes for points of failure in the company. Every startup has plenty of points of failure in its early days (hopefully, you’re not one of them!), but you’ll want to close them off as the company grows.
Clear Communication Skills
Without a good Chief of Staff, internal comms can get lost in the shuffle. Regarding vertical communications, the CoS is responsible for sharing the founder’s vision with everyone working under them. If the CEO has a great message with a muddled delivery, it can cause an unnecessary firestorm. Similarly, if support reps notice a pattern with customers and communicate it, the Chief of Staff must ensure that message gets up the ladder.
Comms between and across growing departments is also vital. Don’t let various departments build up silos! Make sure your org’s senior leaders all understand that they’re on two teams — the leadership team and their functional team.
Talent Optimization
“Does Alan have the capacity to make a greater contribution to the organization?” “Does Sherise have untapped leadership potential?” “Is Alex better suited for an internal analytics role than a customer success position?” Asking and answering questions like these is a big part of the ongoing role of a CoS.
Additionally, there will always be important projects and initiatives that don’t fit neatly into a functional department. The Chief of Staff should be all over this by assigning key tasks to the right people who can knock them out of the park!
The Indispensable Role of Chief of Staff
The Chief of Staff job isn’t for the faint of heart, but it’s also never ever boring. It requires strategic thinking, agility, and the ability to tackle unique challenges across a growing business. For startup leaders, hiring the right CoS is a game-changer.
Trust is everything in the business world, and the founder needs someone who makes them feel less alone. Founders take big risks with all their chips on the table, and having someone by their side with a “you jump, I jump” mentality can be incredibly empowering. Trust me, I’ve been in those rooms and taken those scary jumps many times!
The word that comes to mind for me is “scrappy.” You need someone who will roll up their sleeves, get their hands dirty, and prioritize getting things done over getting things perfect — the pursuit of perfection has killed countless startups. A successful Chief of Staff takes deliberate, focused action and doesn’t confuse motion for progress. In short, think “samurai assassin needle to the heart,” not “crazy soldier spraying a machine gun at an armored wall.”
Whether they’re streamlining daily tasks, providing strategic guidance, or helping shape the company’s vision, the Chief of Staff is essential in any startup. If you’re a startup CEO looking for the right person to help build your company, investing in a Chief of Staff might be the best decision you ever make.
And, if you ever need any help deciding whether or not to hire a Chief of Staff, finding a Chief of Staff, or ramping one up, feel free to reach out to me. I’m happy to chat.
About The Author
Emily Sander is a C-suite executive turned leadership coach. Her corporate career spanned Fortune 500 companies and scrappy start-ups. She is an ICF-certified leadership coach and the author of two books, An Insider’s Perspective on the Chief of Staff and Hacking Executive Leadership.
Emily works with early to senior executives to step into effective leadership with one-on-one coaching. Go here to read her story from seasoned executive to knowledgeable coach.