The General Podcast On the COO Job with Claire Hughes Johnson & Gretchen Howard
26 snips
Aug 26, 2025 
Claire Hughes Johnson, former COO at Stripe and author of 'Scaling People', joins Gretchen Howard, former COO at Robinhood, for an insightful conversation on navigating the complexities of the COO role. They discuss taking calculated risks in joining high-growth startups and the vital importance of building trust with founders. The duo delves into the 'unglamorous' challenges of operations, cultural integration, and the strategic function of people in scaling businesses, proving that real leadership is about both hard decisions and fostering strong cultures.
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Joining Stripe Was A Calculated Leap
- Claire joined Stripe after a six-month courtship driven by belief in the founders and the mission beyond payments.
- She realized joining then was a one-time chance to apply her Google experience to build something from 80 people onward.
From Investor To Operator At Robinhood
- Gretchen joined Robinhood after helping them via CapitalG and building trust with Vlad through security work.
- She accepted the COO path despite family objections because she would regret not being part of building the company.
COO Is A Context-Dependent Role
- The COO role has no standard job description and must be tailored to company context and founder needs.
- Search firms often miss this because they can't fully grasp company specifics quickly.
