figworks
Embedded operations

The bridge between founder-run ops and your first COO.

I diagnose what is slowing your team down, build the systems that fix it, and hand it off clean. So you can keep building.

Book a 30-min intro How I work
System Design· Goal Setting + Reporting· Playbook Development· Hiring + Onboarding· Process Improvement·

Built for Seed to Series A teams who can't stop sprinting long enough to fix what's holding them back.

How I work

Execution over advice.

I work like a teammate, not a contractor. The output is a more efficient business, not a slide deck.

01

Diagnose

I map what's working, what's breaking, and where your team is losing time and momentum. No assumptions. No borrowed playbooks.

02

Design

I build operating systems that fit how your team actually works. Clearer workflows. Automations that take the busywork out. Rhythms that keep people aligned.

03

Deliver

I don't just hand you recommendations. I implement, train your team, and hand off clean. The systems run after I'm gone.

Services

Three ways to work together.

Each begins with honest observation. Each ends with systems your team owns. One standard throughout: execution over advice.

A fast, high-focus engagement that gives you clarity and action. In 3 to 4 weeks I audit, identify the highest-leverage gaps, and build the first fixes before I close.

Best for
Founders who can feel the drag but can't yet name it.
What's included
  • Operational audit across systems, team, and workflows
  • Gap analysis with prioritized recommendations
  • Implementation of 2 to 3 high-impact improvements
  • SOP documentation for every system we build
  • Handoff session so your team runs it forward independently

A scoped, end-to-end engagement to build a new function or piece of operational infrastructure. Handed off clean to whoever runs it next.

Best for
Early-stage companies standing up a new function for the first time. I build the seat. You hire into it.
What's included
  • Functional scoping. What this team does. How it operates. What success looks like.
  • Systems and tooling buildout: CRM, workflows, automation, reporting
  • Process design and SOP documentation across every core workflow
  • Hiring support: role scoping, interview design, onboarding framework
  • Training and handoff so the function runs cleanly the day I step out

I show up as part of the team, take on whatever operational problem is most pressing, and stay long enough to actually move the business forward.

Best for
Founders whose operational complexity is outpacing their bandwidth, and who are still three to six months out from a full-time COO or Head of Ops hire.
What's included
  • Embedded presence across leadership meetings, planning cycles, operational rhythm
  • Ownership of specific operational work streams, rotated as priorities shift
  • Systems buildout and optimization across functions as needed
  • Cross-functional coordination and internal communication infrastructure
  • Thought partnership with the founder on org design, hiring, and operational strategy

Not sure which fits? Every engagement starts with a 30-minute conversation. I'll help you size what makes sense for where you are.

Book a 30-min intro
Results

A business ready to grow.

The deliverables you can point to. And the day-to-day differences you feel a month after I'm gone.

01

An operating system, documented.

Goals, owners, and cadences captured in the tools your team already uses. Notion, Slack, calendar, whatever lives.

02

Reporting you'll actually open.

Dashboards and weekly rhythms that surface what matters. Not vanity metrics. Not data dumps.

03

Workflows that survive at scale.

Process maps, written SOPs, and the automations that mean nothing breaks if one person is out.

04

Projects that finally ship.

Strategic work crosses the finish line on a predictable cadence. Not whenever someone finds the time.

05

A team that owns it forward.

Hands-on training and shadowing so the systems run after I leave. No consultant lock-in.

06

A founder with their time back.

The work that needed you stays with you. The work that didn't, doesn't anymore.

Fit

Built for founders with momentum to protect.

Right fit
  • You're early-stage and starting to scale.
  • You've got PMF. The team is growing faster than the systems.
  • You want a partner in the room, not a deck in your inbox.
Probably not the fit
  • You want a strategy deck, not a working system.
  • You're pre-product, or still figuring out what you sell.
  • You want to outsource ops forever. I'm here to leave.
Philosophy

Great teams deserve great operations.

Most operational problems in early-stage companies aren't obvious. They're buried in the workarounds your best people quietly built to get their jobs done: the spreadsheet, the slack thread that replaced a process, a manual step that could have been automated six months ago.

Your team stopped noticing. The silent struggle became the baseline.

Eliminate the drag and the business gets its capacity back. The next stage of growth becomes something you can actually step into.

Mackenzie Bressie, founder of figworks
Rooted in Venice, California
About

Hi, I'm Mackenzie.

I'm the connective tissue between teams in early-stage startups. I jump into complexity, name what's actually broken, and build the systems to make it run.

I've built new functions from the ground up, overhauled org-wide tools, and coached leaders on how to get the most out of their teams.

The teams I love working with are heads-down executing. That's what makes them great. It's also what makes it hard to step back and ask how things could work significantly better. That's where I come in.

Find me on LinkedIn
What I bring

Three things you can count on.

01

A fresh set of eyes.

I come in without the bias of "this is how we've always done it." What looks normal from inside often looks like a fixable problem from outside.

02

Operator instincts, not consultant ones.

I've sat in the seat. I know what it feels like to run a function with too little time and too many priorities. I know what actually moves the needle.

03

Implementation, not just identification.

I don't hand off problems. I roll up my sleeves, build the systems, train your team, and leave behind something that runs.

Connect

Let's grow together.

A 30-minute intro call. We'll talk about what's slowing your team down and whether figworks is the right fit.

Book a 30-min intro