About
About Kieran Browning.
I help founders get out of the middle of everything. Since 2019 I've worked with 60+ founder-led businesses, mostly agencies and service firms in Australia, the US and Canada.
I'm Australian. I studied at the University of Western Australia, and I now live in Manila.
Background
How I got here.
- 2019 to now (full-time since 2020)
Fractional COO and operations advisor, independent
60+ founder-led businesses, mostly agencies and service firms. I work as a fractional COO or advisor to a small number of founders at a time, under the name Founder Bottlenecks. Clients work with me directly.
- 2026 to now
Host, Founder Bottlenecks podcast
Running since January 2026, with several past clients talking about what changed.
- Late 2017 to Feb 2020
Marketing manager, later part-time acting operations manager, GrowthScout
A US agency. I started as a marketing assistant, improved our SOPs, followed up with the team each week to keep deliverables on time, and helped turn the founder's knowledge into written project plans and processes.
- 2013 to 2015
Illuminance Solutions
CRM consulting, as an employee.
Bachelor of Commerce (Marketing and International Business Economics), University of Western Australia · Toastmasters International, Competent Communicator
Some of the work
A few examples, without names.
- Fractional COO for a 20-person US performance marketing agency (Aug to Oct 2025): led the selection of a new Director of Operations and built the 30-day transition plan.
- A 17-person Australian salon: management ownership moved to the salon manager and coordinator. The founder reports about 75% fewer operational questions reaching her.
- A North American general contractor: discovery calls, qualification and site visits moved off the founder to existing staff, with clear ownership at each stage.
- Weekly advisory for an international AV/IT integrator since 2022, contributing to more standardised quoting, project activation and service processes.
- A founder-led e-commerce brand: the CEO stepped away for three months while the business kept running, and came back working a lot less.
Named examples, told by the clients themselves, are on founderbottlenecks.com and the podcast.
How I work
Plainly, one constraint at a time.
I don't start with a long audit or a new framework. I look for the one thing holding the business back right now, make sure the right person owns it, and stay with it until the change holds without me. Then we move to the next one, or stop.
I'm not a coach and I don't do motivation. The goal is a business that needs its founder less, and needs me less too.
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.
Contact
Get in touch.
Book the first free call, or email me if you'd rather write first.