You raised. Now your hair is on fire.

Half staff.
Full coverage.

Agents watch every priority, commitment, and deadline. Experienced operators step in when something drifts. You approve only what needs you.

Start with a 30-minute conversation See how it works

For venture-backed companies from Seed to Series B.

Daily BriefTuesdayIllustrative example

3 decisions need you. Everything else is handled.

Done for you

14 items handled
  • Project tracker updated from Monday’s leadership meeting
  • 6 action items logged with owners and dates
  • KPI pull refreshed for the week
  • 2 signed contracts filed in the data room
  • 10 more like these

Done — FYI

  • Follow-up sent to Head of Sales on the two late renewals
  • Board deck draft is ready to read
  • October investor update draft is ready

Needs you

Approve October investor update

Decide: push Q4 pricing launch two weeks or cut the self-serve tier

Approve offer range for senior engineer

Sample data. Nothing is sent.
A founder alone in a dark office late at night, head in hand beside a wall of sticky notes
BEFORE AND AFTER YOU HIRE

A Chief of Staff operating system you rent

Our operators run it for you now. When you hire a full-time Chief of Staff or COO, keep renting it for $5,000 a month. Your hire takes it over and the agents keep running at full speed, with no interruption.

A FRACTION OF THE COST

Save runway

A full-time Chief of Staff or COO costs $250,000 to $350,000 a year with benefits, plus an equity grant and a recruiting fee. Half Staff starts at $5,000 a month.

NO SURPRISE BILLS

Fixed monthly

Scope moves up or down as your needs change. You never get an invoice you didn’t agree to first.

Before

Important work is piling up.

Every unexpected fire drill prevents you from planning ahead, investing your time in the things that will pay dividends next quarter. And then you get smacked in the face by a board meeting that you haven’t had time to prepare for.

A man stands calmly in a room buried in paper, holding a single sticky note
A week in the CEO’s inbox
Handled 9 Waiting 17 Oldest 96d Never got to 3

Tomorrow’s Tasks (Tomorrow Never Comes)

Update the data roomwaiting 96d
Next quarter’s planwaiting 41d
Q3 hiring planwaiting 33d
Fix the KPI definitionwaiting 19d
and 13 more

How it works

We set it up, run it every day, and bring you the decisions.

2 to 3 weeks

Connect

A setup sprint. We map how you operate, connect your tools, and set the approval rules with you.

Every day

Run

Agents watch priorities, meetings, metrics, your inbox, and board prep. Operators act on what they find.

A few minutes

Approve

You get one distilled Brief. You decide the few things that need you. Operators handle the rest.

What we access. Only the tools you agree to in setup. Nothing external goes out without your approval.

The core idea

Agents see drift. People fix it.

Software can tell you a priority has stalled. It can’t find out why, or get a team to agree on what to do about it. That part is people.

AgentWhat the agents catch

  • Work that doesn’t map to this quarter’s priorities
  • Commitments from meetings that haven’t moved
  • Items aging past their deadline, and owners who’ve gone quiet
  • Metrics moving the wrong way against plan
  • Decisions waiting on the CEO longer than they should
  • Calendar time that doesn’t match stated priorities

What our operators do

  • Find out why: capacity, unclear ownership, disagreement, or a priority that quietly changed
  • Have the conversation with the owner, with context, not a bot nudge
  • Reset the plan, cut something, or escalate to you with a recommendation
  • Persuade: frame trade-offs so the team agrees, not just complies
  • Close the loop and confirm it stuck

Agents don’t chase your team. They surface drift to an operator, and a person decides whether to follow up and how. Internal nudges go out from people, in your company’s tone.

How a slipping priority gets fixed

Launch self-serve pricing by Nov 15

Illustrative example

Week 1 On track

Agent

5 tasks open. 2 moved this week. Owner posted an update on Monday. Nothing to flag.

Week 2 Drifting

Agent

3 of 5 tasks unchanged in 9 days. Owner hasn’t posted in the channel.

Agent

Flagged to the operator. No message sent to the team.

Week 3 Being fixed

Operator noteSpoke with owner: blocked on finance model. Reassigned model to CFO contractor; new date Nov 22, approved by CEO.

Agent

Plan updated. New date Nov 22. Watching the finance model task.

Week 4 On track

Agent

Finance model delivered. 4 of 5 tasks done. On track for Nov 22.

Operator noteChecked in with the owner. The new date holds. Closed the loop with the CEO.

Week 1

Your Daily Brief

Your daily digest might actually be fun to review

Most of the day’s operating work is already done by the time you read it. You make the few decisions only you can make and get on with your day.

Done for you

Routine work inside your “Just do it” rules. You see a count, not a list.

Done — FYI

Work an operator finished that you should know about. No action needed.

Needs you

The decisions only you can make, each with what the operator recommends.

Before · the CEO’s inbox

17 waiting

Oldest 96 days

  • Update the data room96d
  • Next quarter’s plan41d
  • Q3 hiring plan33d

After · the Daily Brief

3 decisions waiting

Oldest 1 day

  • Approve October investor updatetoday
  • Decide on Q4 pricing launchtoday
  • Approve offer range1d

Illustrative example, not client results.

Approval rules

You set the approval rules.

You decide what gets done without asking, what you hear about afterward, and what waits for you. You set these rules in the setup sprint and can change them any time.

No approval

Just do it

  • Logging action items
  • Tracker updates
  • Data room upkeep
You’re told after

Do it and tell me

  • Internal follow-ups
  • Meeting prep
  • First drafts
You decide first

Ask me first

  • Anything external
  • Anything about people
  • Anything that spends money

What’s covered

The operating work a Chief of Staff would own.

Priorities and quarterly plan

Agents
Keep one list of this quarter’s priorities and check new work against it.
Operators
Run quarterly planning with you and push back when something new doesn’t fit.

Meeting follow-through

Agents
Log every commitment with an owner and a date. Flag the ones that stop moving.
Operators
Talk to the owner when one stalls, and keep the leadership meeting on decisions.

CEO inbox and requests

Agents
Sort what’s waiting on you by age and importance. Draft replies.
Operators
Decide what really needs you and handle the rest inside your approval rules.

Board meetings and investor updates

Agents
Pull the numbers and draft the update and the pre-read on schedule.
Operators
Shape the story, list the decisions the board has to make, and bring it to you to approve.

Data room and diligence

Agents
Keep the data room current. Flag missing and out-of-date documents.
Operators
Work diligence requests with your counsel so they don’t land on you.

Hiring coordination

Agents
Track every open role, candidate stage, and scorecard.
Operators
Keep interviewers aligned and bring you offers to approve.

KPI definitions and reporting

Agents
Refresh the numbers and flag metrics moving against plan.
Operators
Settle what each metric means, and question reports that don’t add up.

Not covered: running a function

We don’t run sales, finance, engineering, or people for you. When you need someone to do that full time, we’ll tell you, and help you hire. The system keeps running under them.

Comparison

How Half Staff compares with a full-time hire.

Compared onFull-time Chief of Staff or COOFractional daysHalf Staff
Annual cost$250K–$350K, plus equity and a recruiting feeVariesFrom $5,000 a month, plus a $5,000 setup sprint
Time to startMonths. A search, then a rampVariesA 2 to 3 week setup sprint
CoverageBusiness hoursScheduled daysEvery day, with operators on top
Follow-up memoryOne person’s notesOne person’s notes, between scheduled daysEvery commitment logged and watched
Scales up or downNo. One salaryYes, by adding or cutting daysYes. Scope is set each quarter
Judgment and people workYesYesYes, through operators
In the building every dayYesOn scheduled daysNo. Operators come in when it matters
Can run a function full timeYesNoNo. Hire for that, and keep the system running under them

You don’t have to choose. When you hire a full-time Chief of Staff or COO, they can run on the same operating system for $5,000 a month. The agents keep going and nothing has to be rebuilt.

Put your own numbers into the cost comparison

Pricing

Fixed monthly. No hourly billing. No surprise invoices.

ONE TIME

Setup sprint

$5,000 one time

A fixed fee, two to three weeks.

  • Map your operating rhythm
  • Connect your tools
  • Set your approval rules
  • Deliver your first Daily Brief
EVERY MONTH

Monthly run

From $5,000 a month

Tiers scale with scope and operator time, not days.

Core
$5,000
Agents on every priority, commitment, and deadline. An operator steps in when something drifts. Your Daily Brief.
Plus
$9,000
Core, plus an operator in your leadership meeting and board preparation handled from start to finish.
Full
$14,000
Plus, with the most operator time we offer. Built for a raise or diligence on top of a full set of priorities.
IF A MONTH RUNS LONG

We talk before the next one starts

If a month runs long, we talk about it before the next one starts. You will not get an invoice you didn’t agree to first.

SCOPE

Set together each quarter

We set scope together each quarter and revisit it. When you hire a full-time Chief of Staff or COO, we help with the search and hand them the system. You keep renting it for $5,000 a month.

Which tier

Estimate your tier.

This is a starting point for the conversation, not a quote.

FAQ

Questions founders ask.

Is this just software I could buy?

No. Tools don’t know your plan, your people, or when to push. We design the system around how you operate, run it every day, and are accountable for the outcome. You get the tools, the rules, and operators who act on what they surface.

Will my team feel watched or nagged by bots?

Agents don’t chase your team. They surface drift to an operator, and a person decides whether to follow up and how. Internal nudges go out from people, in your company’s tone.

What do you access, and how is it protected?

We connect only the tools you agree to in setup. Nothing external goes out without your approval.

What if an agent gets something wrong?

Anything external, people-related, or financial sits in “Ask me first.” Operators review agent output weekly and tune the rules. Mistakes get caught in review, not by your investors.

What happens when I hire a full-time Chief of Staff or COO?

You keep the operating system. Rent it for $5,000 a month and your hire runs it. The agents keep watching every priority, commitment, and deadline, with no interruption and nothing to rebuild.

We’ll tell you when we think it’s time to hire, and help you do it.

Who are the humans?

Jason Abromaitis is the operator on every engagement today. He has founded two companies, took one to profitability without outside capital, and spent seven years in strategy consulting before that. More about Jason

How fast does it start working?

You get your first Daily Brief by the end of the setup sprint.

Start with a conversation.

Thirty minutes. If the answer is that you should hire full time, you’ll hear that.

Start with a 30-minute conversation About Jason
A founder holds the doorway with one raised hand, keeping a crowd of interruptions out of the room

About

Jason Abromaitis

I’ve founded two companies, taken one to profitability without outside capital, and spent seven years in strategy consulting before that.

I haven’t been a Chief of Staff. I needed one and I get how you feel about turning over important work to someone else. I know how overwhelmed you can feel (but you can’t show it). You can complain to me and it won’t kill company morale. But I’ll also kick you in the ass to stop complaining and do something about it, because that’s the voice you need.

I will use too many basketball analogies (I can do baseball or golf if that’s your language). Basketball was my first passion. I was the Gatorade Player of the Year in Connecticut, a McDonald’s All-American nominee, and played at Yale … where I also ran a refrigerator rental business. I’ve spent countless hours in empty gyms because that’s what it took. I know you’re putting in those hours that your team doesn’t see, and you need them to get shots up after practice too.

Jason Abromaitis
Denver, Colorado

Track record

Where I’ve done this work.

01

Corus — co-founder and CEO

Denver · 2013–2021

A software platform for agencies and enterprises to collaborate on collecting customer data and generating insight reports. We rapidly informed key executive decisions.

I recruited the team across engineering, design, marketing, sales, account management and statistics. Corus hit positive free cash flow in 18 months. We grew to $1M in annual revenue within 3 years with no outside capital.

02

Launchpad — co-founder and CEO

Denver · 2019–2022

Connected fitness hardware for young athletes, built on open-source computer vision. We raised a Pre-Seed and shipped a prototype on a fraction of the budget that comparable products required. We ran a successful pre-order campaign, but…

When the market moved away from at-home connected fitness we pivoted to an iOS product. I use that experience more than any other in this work. Changing direction and maintaining the support of investors and your team requires transparency and integrity. I don’t hide from failure and there are many lessons from Launchpad that can help your business.

03

Techstars — Senior Product Manager

Denver · 2022–2023

I supported dozens of founders at the same time. I learned what each one actually needed, took the highest-impact work off their plates, and turned it into a repeatable offering inside Techstars Universe, the platform serving companies during and after the accelerator. Techstars staff picked up the delegated work.

It is the closest thing to Half Staff I have done, and it is where I learned how fast you have to move to be useful to a founder.

04

Investing and advising

2021–present

I serve as a venture partner running diligence on deals in areas I know, a scout sourcing early-stage sports technology, and an advisor to a number of startups.

How I work

What you’re getting.

An empty gym at night, a figure at the free-throw line with a towel, bottle, notebook and laptop laid out in a row on the floor

No excuses

If something I own doesn’t happen, you hear it from me first, along with what I am doing about it. I don’t bring you reasons.

I’ll tell you what I think

In private, and usually before you ask. You are not paying me to agree with you.

Your team can talk to me

The 1:1s I hold with your leads are confidential. I bring you what matters without saying who said it, unless they want it said.

Where the agents fit

Agents see drift. I fix it.

I can’t watch every commitment in your company every day. Agents can. They tell me when a priority stalls, a deadline slips, or a decision has sat with you too long. Then I do the part software can’t: find out why, talk to the owner, and bring you a recommendation.

See an example

Denver is close to everywhere

We come to you as needed because problems shrink face to face. Agents do the watching. The conversations, the judgment calls, and the hard follow-ups come from the operator you met, not from junior people who don’t understand your business.

Start with a 30-minute conversation Estimate your tier

Before you post the job

A full-time hire doesn’t just cost the salary and benefits.

You run the search yourself for months. You may pay a recruiting fee. Then it’s another quarter before they’re useful. Our setup sprint takes two to three weeks. When you do hire, they walk into a company that already runs, and they can keep the operating system for $5,000 a month. Put your own numbers in below.

Your numbers

$
%
%
mo
mo
%
$
$
$

The other side

When you should make the hire.

Cost is not the only question. If any of these describe you, we’ll encourage you to hire someone on the first call and can connect you with our partner headhunters. Hiring doesn’t mean starting over. Your hire can run on the same operating system.

You need a functional lead

If more than half the job is running sales operations, finance, or engineering delivery, you need a functional executive. We don’t run functions.

You need someone there every day

A physical operation, a turnaround, or a company that works in person all week needs a leader in the building. Agents and visiting operators are not that.

You’re past about 100 people

At that scale you need someone with internal authority you can delegate to. We can keep the operating layer running underneath them.

Nothing’s broken

If you have a process that works for you, we will only support you if you are about to grow or change something about the business.

An empty office chair alone under a spotlight, facing one person at the far end of a boardroom table

Worth a conversation either way.

Start with a 30-minute conversation Estimate your tier

For investors and outside counsel

Help your companies run better without adding headcount.

Half Staff works with Seed to Series B companies where everything goes through the CEO. Agents watch every priority, commitment, and deadline. Experienced operators step in when something drifts. There is nothing for you to sell and no fee to you either way.

Start a conversation

Where we help

What you’re seeing in your portfolio.

Four investors seated in a row, fingers steepled, expressions unreadable

If you’re an investor

These companies are usually doing fine, especially if they just raised. We help them manage the challenges that come from the new funding, growth, and the stress of hitting their next milestones. If you see the CEO spending too much time on tasks they could delegate, we can help.

  • Your advice lands like “clean your room” from a parent
  • The board meetings are a mess
  • You aren’t getting clear and frequent updates
  • The data room was a mess and won’t cut it for the next round

If you’re a lawyer or outside counsel

Clients don’t pay you to do operations, but you see the mess and you know the risks are piling up.

  • Gathering documents takes too long
  • You don’t get board consents and minutes (on time)
  • The cap table isn’t clear
  • You’re too involved in diligence requests
  • You are billing hours for what could have taken minutes if the company planned ahead

What changes in the company

The operating work happens every day, not when the CEO gets to it.

UPDATES

Investor updates on schedule

Agents pull the numbers and draft the update. An operator shapes it. The CEO approves it before anything goes out.

BOARD

Board meetings prepared

The pre-read is drafted ahead of time, with the decisions the board needs to make listed up front.

DILIGENCE

A data room that stays current

Documents are filed as they are signed. Gaps are flagged before the next round, not during it.

One condition

We won’t be forced on a founder, including by you.

If you introduce us and the CEO doesn’t want the help, we decline, whatever the fee. Someone the founder didn’t choose ends up reporting to the board instead of helping the company.

We need a trusted relationship with the founder, and we want them to build more trust with you.

What that means for you

  • Your founders can take our calls without wondering whether you sent us to check up on them.
  • Your advice has a chance of being considered.

No referral fees

Nothing changes hands between us.

No finder’s fee, no revenue share, no rebate. We are there for the founders, and that comes back to you when they succeed.

Start a conversation See how it works

Start with a 30-minute conversation

Tell us a little about the company.