Management Craft

Andy Sparks

Founder of Management Craft and executive coach to 15+ founders and CEOs, previously co-founder and CEO of Holloway and co-founder and COO of Mattermark.

Fact sheet

Known for
Sparks has spent his career turning operator knowledge into usable references: Mattermark's data on private companies, Holloway's long-form practical guides, and Management Craft's cited management wiki and tools. His coaching practice with 15+ founders and CEOs is where Management Craft's original tools come from.
Class
operator

Competency LayersArticle · 2026The original Management Craft card behind The Competency Stack, defining the layered competency model the tool expands.Startup States: Jungle, Dirt Road, HighwayArticle · 2022Sparks's explanation of Bussgang's Jungle, Dirt Road, Highway metaphor, including the hiring and operating mistakes founders make when they confuse company stages.

Keep learning

The Competency StackToolA five-layer standard for what a hire must clear: the role, the level, the company's values, its stage, and the team they're joining.The Terrain TestToolA hiring screen for stage fit: has the candidate recently succeeded under the same ambiguity, structure, and support this role will demand?