Stella Yu

I run finance, people and compliance for startups.

I was COO of a YC-backed geospatial startup through growth from 20 to 41 people and its 2024 acquisition, then ran the finances of the Insurance business unit at EarthDaily Analytics. Most recently I was VP of Operations at a stealth startup, and currently I am looking for my next senior operations or Chief of Staff role in Los Angeles, Bay Area or New York.

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Companies I've worked with

Over the past five years, I've run finance, people, and compliance through almost every stage of a startup including doubling headcount for a remotely distributed team, setting up a data room for both a series raise and an acquisition, and navigating startup-specific crises like keeping payroll intact through a potential bank failure.

Operations is the invisible glue for a startup, and a successful operator can make it look seamless. But done poorly, it means endless spreadsheets and documents to upload, not knowing where the source of truth is, or loopholes that people find to shortcut an overly procedural task.

Today, the best operators design intelligent systems by pairing tight controls with modern AI workflows. Please reach out if you're looking for a Chief of Staff or operations-minded early hire for your startup, or if you're looking for some guidance on beginning your AI-assisted job search. Bonus points if you're a startup founder who wouldn't mind giving feedback on my data room/due diligence tool!

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Operating principles

  1. Steady hands in the storm

    Operational resilience is tested in crisis.

    Whether it is navigating emergency liquidity during a banking collapse or realigning 50+ team members across 15 states after a merger with near-zero turnover, calm leadership and clear communication protect the company’s most vital assets.

  2. Every dollar and contract has an owner

    Financial discipline should be continuous, not a quarterly audit.

    Giving every software license, vendor agreement, and P&L line item a clear owner and renewal checkpoint routinely recaptures 15–25% in runway without sacrificing team velocity.

  3. High leverage through intelligent tooling

    Modern operations scales with systems, not headcount.

    From building Claude-powered operating dashboards for instant executive visibility to cutting recruiting cycles by three weeks with structured ATS pipelines, we automate the repetitive so teams focus on high-impact work.

  4. Deal-readiness is an everyday habit

    A clean data room is not an afterthought before a raise or an M&A event.

    Keeping governance, SOC 2 controls, cap tables, and board reporting perpetually audit-ready turns due diligence into a proof point of organizational excellence.

  5. People systems built on clarity and trust

    Culture lives in how fairly and transparently people are supported.

    Upgrading compensation frameworks, healthcare, 401(k) benefits, and role definitions should always make employees feel valued, secure, and equipped to do their best work.

Experience

2025 – 2026

VP of Operations

Stealth startup. Worked with the COO and the founders across finance, people and compliance.

Built an AI operating dashboard with Claude that gave the CEO regular visibility into finance, HR and compliance KPIs.

Led communications and role realignment after a merger that added 50+ employees in 15+ states; only 1 or 2 left in the following two months.

Took over the data room from outside counsel and coordinated investor diligence with legal for a $20M seed raise.

Partnered with the Director of Finance to manage an $8M+ operating budget through 3.5x headcount growth.

2024 – 2025

VP of Operations, Insurance

EarthDaily Analytics. The Insurance business unit, formed from Geosite after the Descartes Labs acquisition.

Owned the financial rhythm for the business unit: P&L, annual budget and re-forecasts with the General Manager and Sales.

Cut annual costs 15% by negotiating with data vendors and consolidating software subscriptions.

Acted as liaison between the engineering team and Corporate Finance on contractor spend, data purchases and R&D tax credit calculations.

2021 – 2024

Chief Operating Officer

Geosite, a YC-backed geospatial startup acquired by Descartes Labs in 2024. I joined as Director of Operations and became COO in Feb 2022.

Grew the remote team from 20 to 41 employees, with 20 offers made, and cut the recruiting cycle by 3 weeks with an ATS (Pinpoint) and repeatable interview workflows.

Partnered with the CEO on the 2024 acquisition, building the financial models, forecasts and decks.

Kept payroll on schedule for 20+ employees through the March 2023 SVB collapse by running parallel banking applications and coordinating funding timing with the PEO.

Cut month-end close from 4 weeks to 2 by writing new finance procedures and onboarding accounting partners.

Cut recurring software spend about 25% by giving every charge an owner, a usage check and a renewal date.

Led SOC 2 readiness in Vanta with the CTO and Director of Tech Ops, assigning every control an owner to meet a client's contract requirement.

Moved every employee from Gusto to the Sequoia One PEO, transferring benefits and 401(k) and adding One Medical and Spring Health.

Owned financial controls and Board reporting for a $2M+ annual revenue business, including materials for bimonthly Board meetings and the cap table.

2013 – 2017

Assistant Manager, Settlements

Christie's, Client Accounting. Auction house with offices in New York, London and Hong Kong.

Hired and trained 3 reports to settle $1B+ a year to consignors worldwide, including multi-million-dollar advances and guarantees.

Supervised a team of 4 that reconciled 5 years of New York sales data for the California Resale Royalty, which returned $4.5M to clients.

Found a $50K+ currency conversion error, left by a system migration 6 months earlier, by hand-checking every sale.

Redesigned settlement workflows with the London and Hong Kong teams for a global ERP migration.

stellarchive

I built stellarchive in Lovable for SheBuilds, a 3-day virtual build event for women. It sorts and renames the files in a startup data room so founders can prepare for due diligence during a raise or an acquisition.

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stellarchive data room screen showing items that need review and key dates