Seattle · Operator & Builder

I build the systems that let businesses scale — or sell.

I'm Chris Nichols. I turn the messy operational backbone of a business into something that runs without me in the room — and ship the software to run it. I use AI to do what a traditional ops consultant does, faster and for less.

ExitBuilt the ops backbone behind Verve Bowls' profitable sale (2023)
$10K→$40KGrew Quake RFC sponsorship in my first month as chair
5 platformsProduction systems I built, shipped, and keep running
RetentionClients who follow me between gyms — the credibility signal

MilesOS

The operator system I run my own businesses on. One plain-text source of truth, a private dashboard over it, and scheduled agents that write the morning brief, triage mail, prep me for meetings, and flag what's slipping.

Built · runs my week

RuckHQ

An operating system for rugby clubs — membership, waivers, dues, schedule and RSVPs, comms. Running a Seattle club of roughly 280 members; built to go multi-club.

Founder · live

griffin.realtor

A real-estate site and the automation stack behind it: public site, admin CRM, an AI concierge that captures and routes leads, speed-to-lead instrumentation, and a weekly report on response time and follow-through. Anything client-facing gets a human read before it goes out.

Built for a broker

ApartonHomes

A property-management platform for a small rental portfolio: properties and units, leases and tenancy history, transaction sorting with receipts attached, and per-property totals where every number traces back to a source document.

Built · in use

AFManager

A coach-and-client platform running inside an Anytime Fitness location: consultation pipeline, payroll, scheduling, calendar — plus a standing arithmetic check that catches pay errors before payroll runs.

Built · in daily use

Work is scoped as a finite engagement: I build the system, walk you through it, and hand over the files. You own what I build.

Operations setup

I come into a small professional operation, find where the work actually lives, and build the smallest system that makes it hold — the file structure, the playbooks, the weekly review, the handoffs. You own it when I'm done.

Internal software that ships

CRMs, member and client systems, scheduling, payroll, records and document handling, admin dashboards. Built on Next.js and Supabase, deployed, and in daily use — not prototypes.

AI wired into real work

Assistants and agents that read your actual data: drafting, triage, lead response, research. Anything that reaches a client passes a human first — that gate is part of the design, not an afterthought.

Records and reconciliation

Imports, migrations, and the unglamorous work of making the numbers tie back to source documents when they don't agree.

Board and governance

Nonprofit board operations — sponsorship, membership, meeting discipline. I've served on four boards and currently chair sponsorship for a rugby club.

  • Next.js
  • React
  • TypeScript
  • Supabase / Postgres
  • Vercel
  • Stripe
  • Resend
  • Claude
  • Otter.ai

Before the software, I ran the operations — a restaurant I founded, a regional food business through its sale, and a run of boards.

Operating

2023 — now

Anytime FitnessPersonal trainer · Seattle

The floor I still work, and where AFManager runs. Clients who moved gyms with me are still on my books.

2022 — 2023

Pacific Northwest FitnessTrainer · Seattle

An independent gym. I still train some of those original clients today, independently.

2016 — 2023

Verve BowlsRegional Manager & Consultant · Seattle

Built the operational backbone that made the açaí-bowl business sellable — the systems, the playbooks, the numbers. It sold profitably in 2023.

2010 — 2015

Chairs CoffeeFounder & operator · Spokane

A coffee bar and restaurant I started and ran. Hiring, payroll, inventory, licensing, the lease, the schedule — my first whole operation, and where I learned it the hard way.

Boards

2023 — now

Seattle Quake RFCSponsorship Chair · Membership Chair, 2023–24

Grew a club sponsorship from $10K to $40K in my first month in the chair.

2018 — 2022

Cascade Flag Football AssociationBoard member · travel-team captain

Captained Seattle Boom to the 2021 Gay Bowl title.

2016 — 2019

Seattle PrideBoard member

Third-largest Pride parade in the country.

2014 — 2020

Sigma Pi Iota Nu Housing AssociationFounding President

Education

2009

Washington State UniversityBA Communication — journalism and broadcast news, theatre minor

Don't take my word for it

Ask an AI about me.

Open your assistant of choice with a question about my work already loaded. Hit enter and see what it says.

Building something that needs an operator?

If you're founder-led and the operations are the thing slowing you down, that's the work I do best. Let's talk.

Email me