Amber Coster
Book a call
Fractional COO & Transformation Partner

I love the work you hate.

I help technology companies from Series B to C and beyond replace operating friction with clarity, accountability and pace. 

Book a call Connect on LinkedIn
HEAVY LIES THE CROWN

Founder-led businesses hire me when growth has outpaced their operational structure.

When things get messy, I'm your clean up crew. 

  • The founder has become the operating system

    Decisions, escalations and momentum all route back to one person. I help distribute ownership, clarify decision making and give the founder space not just to execute, but to think, reflect and breathe.

  • Strategy exists, execution doesn't

    Vision and OKRs are set, but teams drift into competing priorities and quarterly goals fade by week three. I build goal-setting and review cadences around the metrics that matter so the work actually works.

  • High performance without burnout

    Great businesses need pace, accountability and high standards. But they also need people who want to come back on Monday. I build cultures where people know what's expected, decisions happen quickly and teams deliver consistently. More impact. Less attrition.

  • The company needs to look and act more grown up

    The processes, structures and ways of working that got you to Series A rarely get you beyond Series C. I help leadership teams mature, improving board confidence, customer impact and employee engagement.

Why me

What you're actually getting.

  • Finds the real problem fast

    I walk into “it’s complicated” and name what’s broken, fast.

  • Speaks your numbers

    Fluent in GTM and SaaS metrics; every move ties back to growth, efficiency and accountability.

  • Connective tissue

    I get product, commercial and delivery pulling in one direction.

  • Bias to action

    Impact and momentum, not just a PowerPoint left behind.

  • Runs on AI, doesn’t just talk about it

    I operate my own practice on a custom AI system and bring that same knowledge to your business. 

  • Serious about the work, not myself

    High standards, low ego — the hard truth and a laugh in the same meeting.

Outcomes over output

Work that's worked

AppDynamics

Scaled a region from 6 to 360 — from a $100m valuation through a $3.7bn Cisco exit.

  • 6 → 360 employees
  • 3 → 16 countries
  • $100m → $3.7bn
Explore more

Built and evolved the operating infrastructure behind rapid international expansion — helping leaders scale teams, launch new markets and hold execution together through IPO readiness and the Cisco acquisition and integration.

Unmind

Series B scrappiness to Series C maturity.

  • Cut burn 58%
  • Tripled ARR per head
  • Improved employee engagement
Explore more

Reshaped how the company operated — rebuilding operating rhythms, sharpening commercial discipline and moving the business from facilitating demand to creating it, without losing heart.

ClickUp

Built EMEA Leadership — People, structure, strategy.

  • Founding leadership hire
  • 233% EMEA demand growth
  • PLG → Enterprise transition
Explore more

Established the EMEA operating foundations across Sales, Marketing, Customer Success, Professional Services, HR and Recruiting — bringing structure, alignment and execution to a fast-growing regional organisation.

Amber Coster
About Amber

I've spent my career helping ambitious technology companies navigate the moments where growth creates more complexity than the organisation can handle.

I'm known for bringing calm to chaos, connecting the dots across leadership teams, refocusing employees on the metrics that matter and helping founders get back to what they do best. I believe high performance shouldn't come at the expense of people.

Calm in complexity
I'm drawn to the bits that keep people up at night. Simplifying, clarifying, removing the drama.
Warm but direct
You’ll be challenged, not bulldozed. Performance-led without losing heart.
I see the whole board
A lifelong generalist who's gone deep in GTM, People and Leadership. Understands the customer and the investors. I don't see single plays, I see the whole board. 
GroundedPerceptiveDecisiveHumanCalm

Overflowing ambition. Infinite ideas. Bags of belief. But nothing's getting finished and the KPIs are... wonky. You hate it, I fix it.

Ways to work together

Three ways in, shaped around where you are.

Diagnostic Sprint

£12,000 fixed · 2 weeks

The front door. Most engagements start here.

Two weeks, fixed scope: Leadership 1:1s, an operating-model review and a look at your numbers. You get a written diagnostic and a 90-day plan — clarity on what’s actually holding the business back, and what to do about it.

Book a call

Fractional COO

from £15,000/month

Ongoing operational leadership - your number two.

Around two days a week, three-month minimum. I install the operating rhythm, decision rights and accountability that let the business scale, I stay to make it stick and then leave without things breaking. 

Book a call

Founder Partner

from £2,000/month

A sparring partner between the big moments.

Two 90-minute strategy sessions a month, access between sessions for time-sensitive decisions, review of key documents (board papers, org design, leadership comms), priority email response within one business day, voice notes and messaging for time-critical questions.

Book a call
Selected board appointments

I also work as a Non-Executive Director, Independent Chair and Board Advisor, bringing an operator’s perspective to founder-led and investor-backed boards.

Explore Board & NED work
A quick honesty note

We might not be the perfect match

I take on two, maybe three clients at a time. It’s the only way to be a genuine number two rather than a name on a retainer.

We’ll do good work together if you’re a founder or CEO of a scaling B2B Tech business that’s outgrown its operating model, and you want a sparring partner who’ll be direct. 

I operate with high EQ, a bias for action and occasional wit and charm. I'm driven by impact, so I'm probably not your person if there's no real appetite for change.

Hustle culture doesn't make my heart sing, but high standards and high performance do. If you're after 24/7 working and company tattoos - I'm not your gal.

Let's talk

Book a call

No pitch, no pressure — just a direct discussion about what you're navigating and whether I'm the right person to help. 

Connect on LinkedIn