OPERATIONS & STRATEGY

Running the business gets chaotic.
We make it clear.

We build, fix, and scale the systems behind your business so you can spend your time growing it, not holding it together.

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When the back end ops are not working

It rarely looks like one big problem.

It looks like a dozen things that keep pulling you away from your goals. You know it needs to change. You just don't have the time or people to fix it.

  • Your numbers exist, but nobody's sure what they mean
  • Nothing's written down, so every question comes back to you
  • Money's coming in, but you don't know where it's going
  • Hiring is slow, onboarding is a scramble, and good people leave
  • You're paying for software nobody uses
  • You keep hearing AI should be saving you time, and nobody can tell you where to start
A dotted trail climbing from the pines, over a bridge, up to the mountains How we help

We meet your business where it is,
and build what it needs next.

Set it up
You're early and building. We put finance, hiring, and day-to-day operations in place for today and ready for what's next.
Sort it out
Things are working, sort of, but it's messy and it's all in your head.  We get to the root cause and fix it.
Scale it
You're growing. We make sure what you've built can handle more people, more customers, and more work without falling apart.

Good operations don't just support growth. They make it possible.

More time for what matters, and more energy for what you do best.

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How we operate

How we show up matters as much as what we build.

We take the time to understand and actually figure out what's going on.

We work with the nuance of your business instead of giving you a one-size-fits-all template.

We keep it simple and clear wherever possible, while having an eye toward the future.

We are direct, respectful, and have the hard conversations when they're needed.

We communicate well and often, letting you know where things stand and what we're working on.

Ways to work with us

Start with what you need. Build from there.

One line branching into a team
Fractional

We join your team part-time as your operations lead.

Think COO or Head of Ops, minus the full-time salary. Ongoing, hands-on, part of how the business runs.
A line repeating in even waves each month
Retainer

A set number of hours each month, ready for whatever comes up.

A process that needs fixing, a hire you're not sure how to structure, a system that's about to break. We figure out the fix and do the work, on your timeline.
A line with a clear beginning and end
Project

A fixed scope of work built around one specific goal.

Launching a system, mapping your processes, or managing a transition. We build the plan, execute it, and hand over the keys, with a clear beginning and end.

Let's find the right starting point.

One conversation is usually enough to know.

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Who we are

Operators who like making hard things
feel manageable.

We're Laura and Ryan Shaw, and we started Pine Lake Ops because we kept seeing the same thing: businesses stuck working in the business instead of on it.

Laura Shaw, co-founder of Pine Lake Ops

Laura builds the operational stuff nobody else wants to own. She's a two-time COO, building a tech startup's operations from scratch and leading a nonprofit through a CEO transition and merger. She's served on multiple boards, and there's usually a business or two she's advising on the side. She's the person people bring in when systems don't exist yet, or don't work anymore.

"Her humble confidence, attention to detail, focus on efficiency, and ability to scale processes are second to none."

Ryan Shaw, co-founder of Pine Lake Ops

Ryan spent a decade in operations, strategy, and analytics at a Fortune 4 company, running large-scale programs as the right hand for executives. He moved to an early-stage startup where he built new products and led customer implementations. Now he serves small businesses: identifying problems, creating tailored solutions, and fixing what's slowing them down.

"Ryan is one of the most gifted strategists I've come across... an exceptional knack for seeing both the big picture and the details."

What would feel lighter
if it finally worked?

No pitch, just a conversation about what's going on.

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Pine Lake Ops · Denver, CO© 2026