§ 01 · Who This Is For

For the founder who is still the bottleneck.

You run a $1M–$8M service business with somewhere between 5 and 30 people, and you're still the top seller and the top deliverer. You've probably tried an ops manager, an integrator, or a consultant who left a deck behind, and the decisions still land on your desk.

This is for you if

You can't take a real week off without the phone going.
Every decision of any consequence routes back through you.
You want out of the day-to-day, and a bigger company was never the goal.

Probably not a fit if

You're under $1M in revenue. Come back later, and there's a Founder Resource Guide to help in the meantime.
You run a product, e-commerce, or SaaS company. I'm the wrong operator for that model.
You want a coach, a course, or a deck. I embed and do the work with your team.

§ 02 · How to Hire Me

How working together starts.

Take the audit and your score and tier land in your inbox two minutes later, with the next step that fits where your business sits. If you already know you're the bottleneck, skip it and book a call, and we'll talk through which engagement makes sense.

Fixed Project

Diagnostic Sprint

3–4 weeks Fixed scope

A full operational read across team, delivery, tech, and financials, then a documented bottleneck map and a 90-day plan your team can run. Three working sessions with you and your key people, and a written playbook handed off at the end.

For founders who want the map and the plan before a longer commitment.

Talk about a Sprint →

Most Common Embedded

Fractional COO

10–12 hrs Every week, inside the business

I work inside the business every week, building the systems, hiring and training the people, and running the operating cadence directly with your team. Around month five or six we run the real test, a full week with you out and your phone off.

For founders ready to stop being the bottleneck.

Talk about embedding →

§ 03 · The Proof

What it looks like five years in.

Home service · Field operations

200 days a year away, and the business runs fine.

April Prothero runs Going Greenhouse, and when we started working together everything ran through her, every decision, every direction, every client call that mattered. In her words:

"When I started working with Carter I had no concrete processes written down. I was just flying by the seat of my pants and everyone on my team relied on me and my brain for direction on every little decision. I was constantly distracted by putting out fires and directing others. I couldn't take a break, let alone a vacation without having to be on call at all times."

We built documented roles with real KPIs, SOPs her team runs without her in the room, hiring infrastructure so a resignation doesn't mean starting over, and an operating cadence that holds without her holding it.

"Over the past 5 years, I am able to travel and work remotely 200 days per year while my home service business runs smoothly without my physical presence. It was all part of the vision and plan that Carter and I dreamt up and it's pretty epic to be living it in real life."

Five years on

She travels. The business keeps running.

April Prothero, Founder and CEO, Going Greenhouse

April Prothero · Founder & CEO, Going Greenhouse

Carter Natale · Founder

The Operator

When you hire CLN, you get Carter, every week, on every call.

I've worked inside 30+ founder-led companies since 2019, up to a $21M operation, across transportation, professional services, civic and nonprofit, and tech. I came up through the Genius Bar at Apple Retail and a VP of Operations seat at a startup, and the pattern has held everywhere since, the founder is the bottleneck and the business can't get through a week without them.

When a project calls for specialist work outside operations, like a fractional CMO, a website rebuild, or a software rollout, I bring in vetted people and oversee them myself (the thinking and the operator work stay mine).

Based Atlanta, GA

Track record 30+ companies since 2019

Engagements Remote · US-wide

§ 04 · Start Here

Start with the bottleneck.

The audit is ten questions and two minutes, and your score and tier land in your inbox with the next step that fits. If you'd rather talk it through first, my calendar is open (I love a calendar invite).

Take the Audit → Book a call with Carter →