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An operator in your corner, without the full-time hire.

I build the operations layer underneath early companies — the systems, the go-to-market, and the reporting that let you grow without the chaos. Fifteen years across critical care, marketing, and venture, applied to whatever is currently breaking.

Start here — where are you right now?

What I get called for

Usually it starts as one symptom.

Founders rarely call and say "my operating system is broken." They call because something visible stopped working. Underneath, it's almost always the same handful of missing systems.

The symptom

"An investor asked for our CAC by channel and I spent the weekend rebuilding it from Stripe exports."

The symptom

"We're closing deals but I couldn't tell you which channel is actually working."

The symptom

"Every new hire takes three months to become useful, and I'm the bottleneck for all of it."

The symptom

"We rebranded, but the messaging still doesn't match what we actually sell."

Three ways in

Pick the shape that fits the problem.

Every engagement starts with the same call and ends with things you own — documents, dashboards, and processes that keep running after I step out.

Recommended Fixed scope · ~30 days

Systems Intensive

A focused build. We pick the two or three systems that are actually blocking you, and I stand them up with you inside a month.

  • Operations audit across all seven pre-raise systems
  • Two or three systems built, not just recommended
  • Dashboards, trackers, and SOPs handed over
  • Written diligence-readiness summary at the end
Best when there's a deadline — a raise, a board meeting, a launch Scope an intensive
Recommended Ongoing · Monthly

Fractional COO / CMO

I sit inside the company as your operating or marketing lead — running the cadence, owning the numbers, and building the team's habits.

  • Weekly leadership rhythm, agenda, and decision log
  • Go-to-market planning through to campaign execution
  • Hiring loops, scorecards, and 30/60/90 onboarding
  • Investor updates and board materials that hold up
Best when you need an executive's judgment on a startup's budget Talk it through
Recommended Retained · Light touch

Advisory

Standing time for founders who have a team and mostly need a second read — on strategy, on a deck, on the decision you keep circling.

  • Regular working sessions on live decisions
  • Feedback on positioning, pricing, and narrative
  • Warm introductions where they're genuinely useful
  • An investor's read on how your round will land
Best when the team is capable and the questions are strategic Ask about advisory
Capabilities

What actually gets built.

These are the working parts. Which ones we use depends on what's broken — most engagements touch three or four, not all six.

01

Go-to-market strategy

Market analysis, target audience definition, value proposition, and the tactics to launch a product or revive one that stalled.

02

Rebranding & recognition

A distinctive brand identity that matches what you actually sell, carried consistently through messaging and visual system.

03

Storytelling & campaigns

Narratives that connect, and end-to-end campaign management from concept through execution and analysis.

04

Funnels & conversion

Sales funnels mapped to the real buying journey, with conversion tightened at each stage instead of guessed at.

05

Process & SOPs

Standardized processes and written SOPs so the sales and marketing motion runs the same way without you in the room.

06

Value engine

Automated systems for customer acquisition — the technology and mechanisms that keep attracting buyers while you sleep.

How it works

Four steps, no long discovery phase.

Step 01

Call

Thirty minutes. You describe what's breaking; I tell you whether I'm the right person for it. Sometimes the answer is no.

Step 02

Audit

I look at what you actually have running — tools, numbers, cadence — and name the gaps in priority order.

Step 03

Build

We stand up the systems together, so your team knows how they work rather than inheriting a document they never open.

Step 04

Hand over

You keep everything: dashboards, SOPs, templates, decision logs. The goal is that you don't need me indefinitely.

Tess Robinson
Who you're working with

Tess Robinson

I spent my early career as a bedside intensive care provider, where the job was to read a system quickly, find what was failing, and fix it before it cascaded. That instinct never left. It's the same work now — the patients are just companies.

Since then: over a decade in operations, integration, and business strategy, including full company rebrands and go-to-market builds. Today I'm also Managing Partner at FTB Capital Group, backing founders at the intersection of health, longevity, and AI.

I've sat on both sides of the table. I know what makes a partner lean in, and I know what it costs the founder to get there.

Read the longer version →

Start free

Not ready to talk? Audit yourself first.

The Pre-Raise Systems Checklist walks you through the same seven systems I audit in a paid engagement. Score yourself in ten minutes and see which gap to close first. No cost, no call required.

Get the checklist
Questions

The ones I get asked first.

What does an engagement cost?

It depends on shape and scope, and I'd rather quote honestly than post a number that fits nobody. Intensives are a fixed fee against a fixed scope. Fractional is monthly. Advisory is a smaller retainer. You'll have a number and a written scope before you commit to anything.

Do you work with companies outside health and AI?

Yes. My investing thesis is focused on health, longevity, and AI, but operating work is less picky — the systems that make a company legible are largely the same across sectors. What matters more is stage: early enough that the founder is still close to the work.

Is this you personally, or a team?

Me, personally, on every engagement. I bring in specialists when a build genuinely needs one, and I'll tell you when that's happening. You're not being handed to a junior after the sales call.

You're an investor. Is this a backdoor to a pitch?

No, and I keep the two separate on purpose. Operating clients aren't evaluated as deals, and I'll say so plainly if something ever moves in that direction. If you want to pitch FTB Capital Group, that's a different conversation and a different door.

How quickly can we start?

Intensives usually begin within two weeks of the scoping call. Fractional depends on current capacity — I hold a small number of these at once, deliberately.

Next step

Tell me what's breaking.

Thirty minutes, no deck required. If I'm not the right fit I'll say so on the call, and usually point you at who is.

Book a consultation tess@herconnections.ai