From EA to Operations Manager: How KURK's CEO Freed Up 15-20 Hours a Week and Got Out of Every Room

The Challenge: Too much time spent inside the business

As a founder operating at speed, Trent wanted more time for human health research and KURK’s next solutions. Calls kept him involved in daily operations. KURK had Asana and OKR frameworks, with each team moving fast in its own lane.

The Solution: Jazel, KURK’s Operations Manager

Jazel started as Trent’s Athena executive assistant and is now KURK’s Operations Manager. With his backing, she built a system for manager meetings and one-to-ones that connected work across functions, taking on decisions he had previously handled.

Athena’s matching assessment appealed to Trent because he wanted someone who understood how he worked as a founder. Its group delegation training challenged his approach and gave him more confidence in the partnership.

Partnership Highlights: From EA to Operations Manager

• Learning the business: Jazel joined annual planning and sat in on one-to-ones during her first month, learning how the team worked before proposing changes.
• A calendar system by week two: Jazel arrived trained and introduced a calendar system in her second week. She also coached Trent through parts he had previously found difficult.
• The month-one flag: At the end of her first month, Jazel spotted an opportunity Trent hadn't seen: KURK had Asana and OKR frameworks in place, but the managers' work wasn't yet being joined up across functions — each team was moving fast in its own lane. Nobody asked her to look for it; she raised it unprompted and proposed a way to connect the threads. Trent frames it with the Revolut founder's three-type hiring philosophy: Jazel is a 'target setter' — she found a target without being asked.
• Running manager meetings: After two to three months, Jazel held one-to-ones independently. She now leads structured management meetings. Trent’s share of speaking time fell from 60% to 20%, helping him step back from being the dominant voice in the monthly managers meeting.
• Making more decisions: Trent gave Jazel authority to make decisions with managers. When their judgment differed, he explained his reasoning, helping her handle more questions before they reached him.
• Decision triage: Jazel filters incoming calls and decisions before they reach Trent — in his words, like a triage nurse deciding what genuinely needs the specialist. Only the urgent gets through.
• Cultural intermediary: Managers now have a second route to Trent through Jazel, which keeps issues moving faster and gives him a clearer, consolidated view across the team.
• Keeping a regular check-in: Trent and Jazel check in for 20 to 30 minutes, four times a week, as she takes on more of the team’s coordination.
• Helping beyond the calendar: Trent also credits Jazel with helping him recruit and supporting website work.

Beyond Time Savings: More room to build and listen

• Time to build: The hours Jazel freed go into the work only the founder can do — Trent's research and development into human health and the science behind KURK's next solutions, alongside building the company's intelligence layer (voice, ecommerce and KPI systems, primarily in Claude).
• Fewer recurring calls: Trent reports stepping out of calls with managers and external agencies as the partnership has grown.
• A fuller view of the team: Jazel gives Trent a clearer, consolidated view across the team while managers retain a direct route to him.
• Space to explore: Some days bring four or five meeting-free hours for health research, KURK’s next solutions, and its intelligence systems.