Challenge
Transforming Startup Chaos into Coordinated Execution
GetSetUp, a mission-driven online education platform for older adults, experienced rapid scaling after raising $10 million in venture funding. Growing from a small team to 50 employees across distributed locations, the company faced the classic startup challenge: fast growth without scalable processes.
To prepare for sustainable expansion, they needed to:
- Recalibrate Strategic Focus: Replace overly detailed and scattered goal plans with focused, measurable OKRs.
- Empower Departments: Ensure OKRs weren’t top-down mandates but clearly owned by teams across functions.
- Foster Communication: Improve transparency and cross-functional visibility as the organization grew.
- Enable Autonomous Execution: Give teams a system to self-organize, align, and deliver without heavy oversight.
“I was impressed by the Wave Nine team’s engagement from the start. They came to serve as an extension of our company.” — Larry Sanford, Vice President of Operations, GetSetUp
The Solution: A Lean, Participatory Rollout Strategy
From Overcomplication to Shared Ownership
GetSetUp partnered with Wave Nine and WorkBoard to implement an OKR framework designed for speed, simplicity, and buy-in. The rollout included:
- Executive Workshops: Wave Nine helped refine an overly detailed plan into focused, high-impact OKRs that defined success clearly.
- Department-Level Enablement: Through 10+ cross-functional workshops, teams created measurable OKRs that didn’t rely on CEO-level oversight.
- Participation over Prescription: The process was intentionally collaborative, breaking away from top-down mandates and creating team-level ownership.
- Lean Systems & Rituals: The company introduced scalable check-ins, KPIs, and workflows that reinforced OKR habits and maintained clarity.
With Wave Nine’s guidance, GetSetUp built an OKR operating system that scaled with their growth—improving efficiency, transparency, and team morale.
