David DiLoreto, a longtime operations leader in the consumer goods industry, has released his first book, The Start-Ops Playbook, aimed at helping startup founders and operators build scalable, disciplined operations without slowing growth.
The book draws on DiLoreto’s experience helping to build the supply chain and operating model at Ritual Zero Proof, a non-alcoholic spirits company that helped define a new beverage category before being acquired by Diageo in 2024. DiLoreto currently serves as Ritual’s chief operating officer.
Part memoir and part practical guide, The Start-Ops Playbook addresses a gap DiLoreto says he encountered early in his startup career: the absence of a clear roadmap for managing operations in fast-growing companies.
“In 2020, our CEO told me, ‘there’s no playbook for running ops at a startup—you’ll have to figure it out,’” DiLoreto said. “Over time, I realized a lot of founders were asking the same question: What comes next?”
The book combines firsthand accounts from early-stage and scaling companies with frameworks designed to be applied immediately. Topics include supply-chain fundamentals, trade-off decision-making, data modeling, and building systems that can scale alongside growth. DiLoreto blends operational theory with practical examples, drawing from more than two decades of experience across Fortune 500 companies and startups.
According to DiLoreto, the goal is not to impose heavy corporate processes on young companies, but to help teams move faster with clarity and confidence. “It’s about operating like the pros while letting go of the processes that don’t serve you,” he said.
In addition to the book, The Start-Ops Playbook includes access to downloadable spreadsheets, templates, and exercises, along with companion video tutorials available on the book’s YouTube channel.
The Start-Ops Playbook is available now on Amazon.
