“A safe space, filled with people who feel the same, experience the same, want the same.”
The professional home of second-in-commands
It’s not lonely at the top.
It’s not lonely at the top.
It’s lonely in the middle.
And if you’re reading this, you already know exactly what that means.
The Engine Room™ is the UK’s first community built exclusively for second-in-commands in founder-led businesses. The COO, the Ops Director, the Integrator, the Chief of Staff, the Head of Ops. The person who makes the whole thing actually work.
30 minutes. With Emma or Julie. Free, no obligation.
Built for
COO
Operations Manager
General Manager
Head of Ops
Integrator
Senior EA
Every founder seems to have somewhere to go.
They have coaches. Mentors. Peer groups. Events. Retreats. A whole industry built around them.
If you’re the person who makes the business actually work, where do you go?
Who do you ask the questions you can’t ask your founder?
Who understands the pressure of translating vision into action, every single day?
Nobody teaches you how to be a number two.
That’s why The Engine Room™ exists.
The problem
Founders get coaches. Founders get mentors. Second-in-commands are expected to just figure it out.
- The founder has the big ideas. You have the big to-do list.
- You’re the one they call when things go wrong. And when things go right, nobody quite notices.
- You manage up. You manage down. You protect everyone’s time except your own.
- You’re stuck between the founder and the team, every single day.
- You’re making it up as you go, because there is no playbook.
- And if you dare say you’re struggling, you worry it makes you look like you can’t handle it.
You are not the problem.
You already have the instinct, the experience and the ability that got you here. You just haven’t had anywhere to go that was actually built for you.
Until now.
Founding member testimonial
“It’s a safe space where you can speak to people in a similar boat to you, who are experiencing the same challenges as you.
“It’s a place where you can actually be vulnerable and lay your heart out and say, this is an area where I’m struggling right now.
“You’re often afraid to say that to your visionary, because you don’t want to wobble them. And you can’t say it to your team, because you don’t want to wobble them either. That’s what being in the middle is. You have to be strong for your visionary. You have to be strong for your team. There’s no opportunity to be vulnerable.
“The Engine Room™ gives you that.”
Now imagine…
Now imagine something different.
- Imagine walking into your founder’s office knowing exactly how to challenge an idea constructively.
- Imagine leading your team without feeling caught in the middle.
- Imagine having other COOs you can message on a Tuesday afternoon, because they’ve dealt with this before.
- Imagine finishing a difficult week without wondering whether you’re the only one finding the role hard.
- Imagine knowing you’re not making it up as you go, because someone finally showed you how.
That is what The Engine Room™ is for.
What you’ll build
Real leverage, not just another task list.
Inside The Engine Room™, you’ll build the skills, confidence and strategic thinking to lead, not just deliver.
01
Translate the founder’s vision into a clear plan the team can actually execute.
02
Lead the team with more confidence, even in the difficult conversations.
03
Hold people accountable without feeling awkward or heavy-handed.
04
Make better decisions without constantly needing the founder’s approval.
05
Spot operational gaps and risks before they become bigger problems.
06
Sharpen the systems, processes and communication that move the business.
07
Step out of reactive mode and into stronger, calmer leadership.
08
Feel less isolated in a role that not everyone in the business understands.
Is this you?
The Engine Room™ is for you if…
- You are the person people come to when things need fixing.
- You are brilliant at execution, but sometimes wonder if anyone notices.
- You are caught between the founder’s vision and the team’s reality every single day.
- You want to step up as a stronger, more commercial leader.
- You want more confidence in the difficult conversations.
- You want more clarity, and people who just get it.
- You are tired of carrying it all alone.
Then The Engine Room™ was built for you.
What’s inside the room
Practical training, honest conversations, tools that actually get used.
-
01
A community of people who speak your language. No founders allowed.
So you can talk openly about the real situation, with people who will help you solve it rather than just agree with you.
-
02
Bi-weekly live calls, hot seat coaching and Get Sh*t Done sessions.
So you can get the help and support you need when you actually need it, not just when it’s convenient for everyone else.
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03
Wins and Failures. A place to be honest without judgement.
So you can stop pretending everything is fine and start being honest about what’s really going on.
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04
12 online masterclasses you can work through at your own pace. Practical, no fluff, built specifically for 2ICs.
So you can develop the skills that nobody ever taught you when you stepped into this role.
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05
Partner workshops: finance, legal, HR and AI tools.
So you can understand every part of the business, not just your corner of it.
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06
Behind the Curtain. Exclusive interviews with influential 2ICs.
So you can learn from people who have already figured out the things you’re figuring out right now.
-
07
Regional events, the March 2027 ICC conference and Ideas Fest.
So you can meet your people in real life and build the kind of relationships that change your career.
-
08
Templates, tools, recommended reading and a vault of everything. Forever.
So you can stop reinventing the wheel and start executing with confidence.
What members say
Real people. Real quotes. Real relief.
“These are my people, speaking my language. They get it, and that’s refreshing. A weight off, to know I’m not alone in the world and there is support out there for me.”
“It’s a place where I feel truly heard and understood by others. They share the same highlights and challenges as me, so it’s super comforting knowing there are lots of people in the same position. And everyone is so lovely and friendly.”
Meet the team behind the Engine Room
Emma & Julie: both sides of the desk.
Between them, Emma and Julie have spent more than 15 years building exactly the relationship The Engine Room™ is designed to help others create. One as CEO. One as COO.
Emma has led the vision. Julie has turned that vision into reality. Together they have lived the conversations, the challenges and the decisions that every second-in-command faces.
Through It Takes Two, the company they co-founded, they coach and train founders and second-in-commands to work better together. The Engine Room™ brings that experience together with a community of people who understand the role because they are living it too.
It is the room Julie didn’t have over ten years ago when she first became COO.
Emma King
Co-Founder Visionary
Julie Phillips
Co-Founder Operator
Founding membership
60 founding members. Then the doors close at this price forever.
The Engine Room™ is opening with 60 founding members. You pay once, not every year, and the price you join at is the price you keep. Once the 60 places are gone, they are gone.
First 20 founding members
£1,500once
- Pay once. Stay forever. Everything we build from here is yours too.
- Ideas Fest ticket included.
- Closes 8 September 2026, or when the 20 places are taken.*
*Only a handful of places left at this price.
Members 21 to 60
£2,500once
- Pay once. Stay forever. Everything we build from here is yours too.
- Applies after 8 September 2026, or once the first 20 places are gone.
The first 20 places are at £1,500 until 8 September 2026. There are only a few of those places left. After that, or once they are gone, founding membership is £2,500.
A note on budget
We know you will probably need your founder to sign this off. We will give you everything you need to make that case, including a business case template built specifically for that conversation. Because investing in your development is not a nice-to-have. It is a business decision. Treat it like one.
The Engine Room™ is the UK’s first community built exclusively for second-in-commands. Not for founders. Not for CEOs. Not for entrepreneurs. For you. The COO, Ops Director, Integrator, Chief of Staff, Head of Ops. The person who makes the whole thing actually work.
Let’s have a conversation
If you’ve read this page and thought, that’s exactly how I feel, let’s talk.
We’ll show you inside The Engine Room™, answer your questions and help you decide whether it’s the right place for you.
30 minutes. With Emma or Julie. Free, no obligation.