Tara L.

I help founders and growing teams run their businesses - from managing projects and improving systems to hiring, financial and/or business operations, and keeping company priorities moving. I’m Tara, a People & Business Operations Leader with 15+ years of experience, including 11+ years with venture-backed startups. My work spans HR, business operations, executive partnership, and nonprofit leadership. I enjoy understanding how a business works, finding what needs attention, and taking ownership of getting it done. At Crowdbotics, I built and led the People and Talent function as the company grew from 8 to 130+ employees, served as acting Chief of Staff, and supported Seed through Series C fundraising totaling $50M+. I’ve managed projects across Finance, Sales, Product, Engineering, and People, working with leadership to set priorities and following through with the teams doing the work. I also bring experience leading nonprofit operations, working with a board, developing sponsorships and revenue opportunities, writing grants, and coordinating staff and volunteers. Here’s where I can help: • Business operations & project management: Manage projects from planning through completion, improve workflows, document SOPs, and establish clear ownership and deadlines. • Executive & founder support: Turn ideas into practical plans, prepare leadership and board materials, coordinate company priorities, and track OKRs and commitments. • Financial operations & vendors: Manage invoicing, accounts payable and receivable, collections, payroll coordination, expense processes, vendor relationships, and software spending. • People operations & hiring: Build HR processes, lead full-cycle recruiting, manage onboarding and offboarding, and support benefits, employee relations, compensation, and performance management. • Systems & technology: Select and implement business tools, coordinate rollout and training, troubleshoot HRIS and ATS integrations and SSO, and improve how teams use their systems. • Organizational planning: Help leaders think through team structure, staffing needs, role responsibilities, career paths, and changes as the business grows. • Nonprofit operations: Support board coordination, grant applications, sponsorship packages, fundraising initiatives, events, and volunteer programs. Tools I’ve worked with include Rippling, Ashby, Breezy, Ramp, QuickBooks, HubSpot, Notion, ClickUp, Slack, and Pave. I also use AI as a practical tool for research, analysis, planning, and developing resources. I love work that lets me connect the big picture with the details. Sometimes that means talking through a difficult decision with a founder. Sometimes it means tracking down an invoice issue, setting up a system, or making sure a project gets finished. I’m comfortable doing both, and I care about making things work for the people using them. Whether you need ongoing support or someone to take ownership of a specific project, I’d love to hear about your business and where you could use a hand.