Notes
Writing.
On right-sizing, cost, turnarounds, and the difference between a team that isn't shipping and a team that can't. One piece every 2 weeks, in English and Dutch.
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After the cut: the first 30 days of a smaller team
The cut is the easy part. The first 30 days with a smaller team decide whether the right-sizing worked.
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The burn plan the board actually wants from engineering
The board wants to know which engineering spend buys delivery and which buys optionality you no longer need.
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One lead developer, two agencies, no CTO
One lead developer, two agencies, no CTO, and nobody owns the roadmap. The fix is an owner, not fewer suppliers.
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Fractional CTO, agency, or full-time hire: which one an SME actually needs
An agency sells capacity, a fractional CTO ownership, a full-time CTO presence. Most SMEs need ownership first.
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What an interim CTO costs in Belgium and the Netherlands: market day rates, and what drives them
Interim CTOs in Belgium and the Netherlands cost EUR 1 100 to EUR 1 600 a day in published data. What moves the rate.
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Hiring a CTO versus bringing in a fractional one: the decision for a 40 to 400 person company
A CTO hire in Belgium or the Netherlands takes 6 to 9 months and costs over EUR 130 000 a year. When fractional fits.
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Technical due diligence in the Benelux: what sets the price
What a buyer's CTO checks in two weeks, and the three findings that should move the deal price.
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The SME that became a software company by accident
A profitable SME turns into a software company the day one tool nobody owns becomes load-bearing.
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Your cloud bill doubled and nobody can say why
A doubled cloud bill is a decision nobody costed. Find which one, with three questions and no tool.
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Right-sizing in the Netherlands: WMCO, UWV, and why the timeline is longer than the board thinks
The sequence is not what slows you down. It is that the law decides who leaves, and you do not.
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What the Renault procedure changes about a Belgian right-sizing
The law will not stop you cutting. It decides the order, and the order is not the one on your slide.
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Case study: The portal an SME waited 18 months for, shipped in 11 weeks
EUR 180 000 a year off the agency contract, the lead developer promoted into the job he was already doing.
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Case study: A founding CTO replaced without losing an engineer
An 8-month bridge, the search run alongside, zero regretted attrition, and the founder still in the building.
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Case study: The cloud bill from EUR 74 000 to EUR 43 000 a month
Minus 42 percent in 5 months, no layoffs, no re-platforming. Most of it was paying for things nobody owned.
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Case study: 45 engineers to 22, delivery cadence back in 4 months
A Series B with 45 engineers and quarterly releases. Four months later: 22 engineers and a weekly cadence.
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Your IT team is too big: slimming engineering in Belgium
Notice periods, collective-dismissal thresholds, the Renault act, and the sequence that works.
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Hiring an interim CTO: what to check before you sign
What it costs, where to find one, the five questions before signing, and the red flags that cost a quarter.
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Reduce AWS costs: an ownership problem, not a pricing one
Where the waste sits, what works, what doesn't, and the order to do it in.
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Technical debt: what it costs you per month
Debt you cannot price, you cannot manage. How to turn technical debt into a monthly number the board can read.
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Fractional, interim, or part-time CTO: which one do you need?
Same title on LinkedIn, three different jobs. The difference is days per week, duration, and the trigger.
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What a fractional CTO costs in Europe: day rates and engagement models
Most fractional CTOs in Western Europe charge EUR 1 000 to EUR 1 600 a day. The bands, and the math against a hire.
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When to right-size your engineering team (and when not to)
Most 'we hired too fast' conversations start 6 months late. The signals are earlier and quieter.
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Signs your CTO isn't the right CTO for the next stage
None of the signs are about technical ability.