What is a startup operator? - by Julia Chou - dreamer//doer

I’ve been a startup operator for over 8 years now, and if I had a penny dollar1 for every time I’ve been asked “So you’re in operations… what do you actually do?,” I wouldn’t be hustling to make my equity worth something. 😉 While my answer has changed over the years, I’ve never felt fully satisfied with the generalist descriptors, including: “I wear many hats… from strategy to customer support” “I’m the Swiss Army knife of the company who figures things out” “I connect the dots in our team and make things run more smoothly” The truth is, despite being a prior startup co-founder and now COO at Abridge, I’ve always felt some insecurity in not having a crisp definition of what my role entails, especially when the responsibilities and the challenges constantly change. Unlike a subject matter expert who continues to hone and master their skills over time, I find myself continuing to reinvent myself and my role, depending on the current needs of the business and its people. At the same time

I’ve been a startup operator for over 8 years now, and if I had a penny dollar1 for every time I’ve been asked “So you’re in operations… what do you actually do?,” I wouldn’t be hustling to make my equity worth something. 😉 While my answer has changed over the years, I’ve never felt fully satisfied with the generalist descriptors, including: “I wear many hats… from strategy to customer support” “I’m the Swiss Army knife of the company who figures things out” “I connect the dots in our team and make things run more smoothly” The truth is, despite being a prior startup co-founder and now COO at