Building Your Operational Startup Playbook

Our recent episode of the DIAL IN Podcast with Cole Mucci, Founder of KingsOne Farms.

Before KingsOne Farms produces a single head of lettuce, it’s already producing results. Not in revenue yet, but in leadership, planning, and momentum. That’s because Cole Mucci didn’t wait for launch to get serious about operations.

And that approach holds serious weight for construction founders and developers. Whether you’re starting up a new company, launching a new division, or planning a new site, what happens before the first pour sets the tone for everything that follows.

At SCELTA, we’ve seen it time and again: the leaders who win long-term are the ones who start smart. Cole’s approach to his greenhouse startup is a great example in how to think ahead, hire the highest-impact people early, and build clarity into the core of your business.

It’s an operational startup playbook.

Operational Startup Playbook: Hire Like It Matters

The SCELTA team at our most recent team day.

“I hired my first employee two weeks ago,” Cole shared. “We’re doing all the dirty work together right now.”

That sounds simple. But it’s not. Cole’s not building a corporate org chart; he’s building trust. In construction, early hires become culture carriers. They shape how the site runs, how details are handled, and how your future team thinks.

Your first hire shouldn’t just be a warm body. It should be someone who:

• Aligns with your values, even if they’re not from your exact industry

• Has the grit to get in the mud with you

• Can grow with the company, not just clock in

  
  

We've seen this even within our own company: hire like it matters, because it does.

Plan as if You’re Already Live

An early render of KingsOne farms facility.

KingsOne will be a fully automated greenhouse, set to launch in Fall 2025. That didn’t stop Cole from acting like operations were already underway.

“We haven’t even started, and I’ve already learned so much,” he said. “Construction’s taught me things I couldn’t have picked up otherwise.”

Cole is pressure-testing his systems, building routines, and identifying gaps. This is a critical part of any operational startup playbook—treat setup like go-time.

For construction founders, this might mean:

• Walking the site daily, even if no trades have arrived

• Running mock schedules to surface coordination issues

• Creating workflows before tools hit the ground

Design for the Work You Want to Attract

The Young Electrical Services Team at their SCELTA RealTime app onboarding.

SCELTA’s work is grounded in a simple belief: your systems should reflect your values. KingsOne is built around automation, quality, and wellness. It’s pesticide-free, non-GMO, and designed for clean, efficient output.

“You can’t grow clean lettuce in a messy system,” Cole said.

Likewise, you can’t build a clean business on duct-taped processes. Whether it’s real estate development or modular construction, clients notice quality long before handover. See how SCELTA empowers construction leaders to build operational systems that reflect their values.

The right operational design attracts the right clients and talent.

Takeaway: The Best Systems Start Before You Scale

Cole Mucci isn’t winging it. He’s wiring it—system by system, value by value. And you can too.

Whether you’re pouring concrete or prepping permits, your early decisions echo. They define the culture, set the rhythm, and create the infrastructure for scale. Kings One Farms may be growing lettuce, but the blueprint applies everywhere.