Kieran Browning
I help founders get out of the middle of everything.
I work with founder-led service businesses, mostly agencies, that already have clients, a team and real revenue, but where too much still runs through the founder.
60+ founder-led businesses since 2019 · Australian, based in Manila · Clients in Australia, the US and Canada
What I do
I find the one thing holding the business back, and get the right person owning it.
Usually that means making clear who owns what, moving decisions off the founder, helping managers actually manage, and setting up a simple weekly rhythm so things keep moving. Then I stay until it sticks. The founder stays the founder. I'm the operator alongside them.
I work as a fractional COO or advisor to a small number of founders at a time.
It's for founders of service businesses with real revenue and a team. It's not for early-stage startups still finding product-market fit, or for anyone who wants a coach to motivate them.
Working with me
I do this work through Founder Bottlenecks, which is just the name of my site and podcast. Clients work with me directly. It starts with two free calls: a Structural Diagnosis call (about 30–45 minutes) to find the main thing holding back growth, profit or delivery, then a Structural Plan call (about 45 minutes) where I walk you through a plan for fixing it. In founder-led businesses the constraint is often the founder, but we check.
Advisory: AUD 1,500–3,000 a month (approx. USD 1,100–2,100 · CAD 1,500–3,000)
Fractional COO: from AUD 6,000 a month (approx. USD 4,200 · CAD 5,900)
No minimum term. Full details, examples and FAQ are on founderbottlenecks.com.
Client results
What past clients have said.
"After three months of work, Kieran has saved me over $100,000 in HR budget, helped me minimize my work week to 28 hours, and given me the peace of mind to continue running my business as simply and profitably as possible."
"In the 8 months since we met Kieran we’ve tripled our team size and are in the midst of our most prosperous financial year to date."
"I’m so proud to say that I’ve finally built a ‘real business’ and what I mean by that is a company that can operate and grow without me being involved."
"We've stayed the same team size, but the output … is significantly higher since putting in some systems. But we haven't had to go and recruit to be able to deliver."
There are three more worked examples, with the clients telling the story themselves, on founderbottlenecks.com.
Podcast
I host Founder Bottlenecks.
Conversations with founders and operators about the problems that follow growth: delegation, hiring, client onboarding, AI adoption, selling a business and founder dependency. Several guests are past clients. Running since January 2026.
Writing
Things I've written.
- What is founder dependency? Signs, causes and how to reduce it.
- Operations Manager, Director of Operations or fractional COO? Which role you actually need, and what they should own.
- Straight answers about working with me Fit, the first call, prices and results.
Contact
Get in touch.
If too much in your business still runs through you, book the first free call. If you'd rather write first, or you want to talk about the podcast or something else, email me.
kieran@kieranbrowning.com · LinkedIn