I joined as chief strategy officer, so i was focused on defining new growth options. The company at the time was stand alone radio service and they were beginning to think about how they grew beyond that. There were no other leaders in the business that had done this before. I ended up building out both our music makers business, which were all the tools for labels for artists. And then also integrated life event recommendations and commerce into the platform.
Our guest is Sara Clemens, most recently COO of Twitch and former COO of Pandora.
In this interview, we explore the nuances of the COO role, which can vary drastically across different companies. We cover:
- The three main COO archetypes and which sorts of folks are best suited for those roles.
- The tactical elements of being a COO, including Sara’s advice for what good strategy actually looks like, and how to truly create a no-blame culture.
- Sara’s lessons on keeping pace as a company doubles in size, including her tips on sketching out “decision rights.”
- Guidance for CEOs considering bringing on a COO to the executive suite.
You can follow Sara on Twitter at @ClemensSara
You can email us questions directly at review@firstround.com or follow us on Twitter @ twitter.com/firstround and twitter.com/brettberson
Learn more about our sponsor, Cocoon, at meetcocooon.com