Community member profile
Fractional COO/CTO · Exited Founder
Paul Cobley
I’ve spent over 25 years architecting high-availability, real-time platforms in regulated gambling and sports environments, where reliability isn’t optional.
Systems I’ve designed have processed 15,000+ bets per minute and settled 10M+ bets per day, operating 24/7 with zero downtime during live events.
I’ve been the founder, the architect, and the person everything routes through when it matters.
I raised £3.5M, scaled a platform used across major sporting events including. The Open and The Players Championship, and exited the business in 2024.
Today, I work with founders to build systems that carry the load properly Sometimes that means hands-on technical architecture.
Sometimes it means untangling product, tech and operations so the business doesn’t depend on the founder to function
- Less heroics
- Clear ownership
- Architecture that scales
- Automation that reduces load
Areas of expertise
Company stages
Meet Paul
About
I help founders build systems that carry the load properly — less heroics, clear ownership, and architecture that scales.
A Fractional COO/CTO and exited founder with 25+ years architecting high-availability, real-time platforms in regulated gambling and sports environments.
Has built systems processing 15,000+ bets per minute and settling 10M+ bets per day, operating 24/7 with zero downtime during live events including The Open and The Players Championship.
Today, works with founders to build systems that carry the load properly — sometimes hands-on technical architecture, sometimes untangling product, tech and operations so the business doesn't depend on the founder to function.
How I partner
Founder De-Risking — Stepping in as a founder-level operator to remove dependency and stabilise the system — so progress doesn't rely on the founder being in the middle.
Technical Architecture — Hands-on design of high-availability, real-time platforms built to carry real load, in regulated and high-stakes environments.
Operational Structure — Installing the SOPs, delivery systems and playbooks that turn early-stage chaos into repeatable, scalable operations.
Diagnostic-Led Engagement — Starting with a short diagnostic to find where responsibility collapses back to the founder, and fixing one real problem at a time.
What I deliver
Executive-level COO/CTO leadership, without the full-time overhead — from technical architecture to operational de-risking.
Having founded and exited PickGuru after raising £3.5M and scaling a platform used across major sporting events, and built compliant, licensed platforms at Shiggle and Matulo, I bring the full arc of founder experience to every engagement.
Less heroics. Clear ownership. Architecture that scales. Automation that reduces load.