GM @ Relay Commerce · Consulting selectively
Operating Systems for Scaling Companies
When growth outruns the founder, the company needs a system.
OPERATOR
17 years running operations for companies in scale-up mode. I helped win a $70M Microsoft contract and onboarded 150 people across 5 countries, was COO of a startup through its acquisition by Clear, and doubled an agency's revenue as Managing Director. Today I'm General Manager at Relay Commerce. The throughline: I build the playbooks and systems that turn founder-led chaos into something repeatable. On the side I angel invest and scout for venture funds in AI, AgTech, and Travel.
Daniel Canton
@dancanton
SYSTEM MODULES
Operational infrastructure for three types of scaling companies.
Supply chain, 3PL, inventory, launches — $3M–$15M
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Post-seed scaling past the founder bottleneck
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Process, delegation, team systems — $3M–$15M
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The operating system a company runs on: SOPs, cadences, KPI packs, launch calendars, and a reporting backbone. Reporting and alerting are automated, so the numbers find you instead of the other way around. Built on 17 years of operating at every stage.
> Post-seed / Series A startups & SMBs scaling past the founder bottleneck
Embedded ops support for the high-stakes phases: product launches, market entry, post-funding scale-up. I run the sprints, keep stakeholders updated, and clear whatever's blocking the team so things ship.
> Companies in product launch, market entry, or post-funding scale-up
Tool selection, CRM and analytics setup, and the data plumbing underneath. n8n workflows and automations that cut the manual work and surface what your operations are trying to tell you.
> Teams drowning in manual work or disconnected tools
Embedded operational leadership on a build-sprint plus governance retainer. Automated dashboards, alerting, and a few AI agents that take the recurring ops grunt work off the team. For companies that need an operator to install the system, train the team, then step back.
> Companies that need an operator, not a hire
Hands-on advisory for early-stage founders heading into a raise. Ops due diligence, the dashboards investors will ask for, and a tighter operation before the money lands.
> Early-stage founders navigating growth & fundraising
ENGAGEMENT PROTOCOL
Map the current state. Identify what's working, what's breaking, and where the quick wins are hiding.
- ▸Operational audit
- ▸Stakeholder interviews
- ▸Current-state mapping
- ▸Quick-win identification
Architect the system. Define the strategy, select the tools, and build the roadmap your team will actually follow.
- ▸Strategy blueprint
- ▸Process architecture
- ▸Tool selection & stack design
- ▸Implementation roadmap
Deploy the operating system. Implement processes, enable the team, ship the infrastructure, and iterate until it sticks.
- ▸System implementation
- ▸Team enablement & training
- ▸Tool deployment & integration
- ▸Iteration cycles
Maintain and optimize. Governance retainer to keep the system running, monitor KPIs, and continuously improve.
- ▸Governance retainer
- ▸KPI monitoring & dashboards
- ▸Quarterly business reviews
- ▸Continuous optimization
THE OS FRAMEWORK
The diagnostic and implementation framework behind every engagement. Three pillars, run in sequence.
Strategy & Decision-Making
How your company makes decisions, tracks performance, and maintains organizational clarity. The blueprint everything else builds on.
Process & Documentation
How resilient your operations are: documentation, onboarding, escalation, and institutional knowledge. The system that survives any single departure.
Technology & AI
How well you use tools, automation, AI, and data to speed operations up. The multiplier on everything you've built.
Architecture → Infrastructure → Acceleration
Each pillar builds on the last. Automate a broken process and you scale the chaos. Get the structure right first.
DEPLOYMENTS
Moravia × Microsoft — $70M Contract Win
Key player in the RFP process that won a 3-year, $70M contract with Microsoft's Cloud & Enterprise division. Onboarded the largest localization account in company history — 150 people across 5 countries in under 5 months.
→ 150 people onboarded across 5 countries in under 5 months
Whyline — COO Through Acquisition
COO from seed stage through acquisition by Clear. Led product ops, solution architecture, and the SeaTac airport RFP that triggered the deal.
→ Built ops infrastructure from zero to acquisition by Clear in 3 years
Olivine Marketing — 2x Revenue Growth
Took a product marketing agency from $1M to $2M/yr as Managing Director. Ran full P&L, professionalized operations, and co-built the client acquisition engine — enabling the founders to focus on their own startups while keeping the agency running.
→ Revenue doubled ($1M → $2M/yr) in 18 months. Founders fully stepped back from day-to-day.
AI Startup — Company OS Build
Designed sprint process, product positioning, and operational stack for a pre-seed AI startup. Integrated CRM, analytics, and automation layer from zero.
→ Full operational stack deployed in 6 weeks
Translation Agency — Turnaround
Interim director for an 11-month restructuring. Redefined pricing, operational processes, and hired the new permanent director.
→ Restructured in 11 months. New pricing, redefined processes, permanent director hired.
Startup Advisory — Active Advisor
1.5-year engagement with weekly strategy sessions. Guided the CEO on product-market fit, operational decisions, and growth.
→ 18-month engagement with weekly sessions guiding PMF and operational decisions.
SYSTEM SIGNALS
“Daniel pushed us to be more ambitious. He designed the operational processes that drove the scale of our client base and gave us the confidence to go after bigger engagements, and more engagements. More than that, he's completely trustworthy and a true friend. Can't imagine growing and selling Olivine without him. I dearly hope we work together again someday. 10/10 would recommend to a friend!”
“Daniel has a rare combination of operational skill and visionary creativity! He's never afraid to think totally outside the box, and leads with an ethos that the right solution is always possible with some ingenuity and dedicated time. Most importantly, Daniel was a warm and encouraging leader who is genuinely invested in each team member's professional growth and happiness in the workplace. It was a pleasure to work for him for many years!”
Teri Madonna
Ops Manager, Olivine
“What truly sets Daniel apart is his ability to transform vision into structured, scalable execution. He doesn't just define strategy — he builds the operating frameworks behind it. From designing high-performing team structures to implementing clear governance models, reporting cadences, and KPI systems, he ensures that ambition is backed by discipline and measurable outcomes. His leadership combines strategic depth with operational rigor, creating organizations that are not only effective, but built to scale.”
“As a strategic advisor working closely with Daniel, I saw how he takes ownership of execution in a way that genuinely frees the founder. He's the kind of partner who absorbs operational complexity so founders can do what they do best: ideate, lead, sell and grow. Reliable, proactive, a true team player, and deeply committed, Daniel is the person you feel both privileged to work with and to learn from his expertise.”
“Through his vision, dedication, and relentless focus on excellence, he not only led us to win the largest business in our industry but also built and flawlessly ran a world-class operational and delivery organization that consistently exceeded expectations. Daniel embodies what true leadership looks like — driving success not just through strategy, but through people and purpose.”
“Daniel led a very ambitious and ground breaking outsourcing project on behalf of Microsoft Cloud & AI international team to the tune of $30 million. He owned establishing & running a geographically dispersed team, responsible for product timelines and quality. He is a super professional and popular colleague, bringing strong leadership, business knowledge and execution muscle to all his roles.”
