Coleman Oates

Coleman Oates is the Co-Founder and Chief Operating Officer (COO) of Onward, a startup based in San Francisco that focuses on automating meeting-related tasks to enhance productivity. Originally from Atlanta, he has a background in business operations and leadership, which he applies in his current role at Onward, where he aims to streamline workflows for teams by automating follow-ups, CRM updates, and other repetitive tasks after meetings.1

Oates has been involved in building AI automation tools since middle school alongside his co-founder Nikolas Huebecker. Their shared experience led them to establish Onward shortly after Huebecker's tenure at Midjourney, with the goal of helping teams spend more time on customer interactions rather than administrative tasks.13

His professional presence is also notable on LinkedIn, where he has over 500 connections and engages with a network of professionals in the tech and startup communities.2