For scale-ups, Series A to C
The round funded a bigger org than the roadmap needed.
A fractional or interim CTO for a scale-up takes over engineering leadership at 2 to 3 days a week for 3 to 9 months, after a fixed-price 3-week diagnosis, fixes the size and shape of the team, and hands over to a permanent CTO before leaving.
15 to 120 engineers, investors behind you, and delivery you no longer trust. That is the job, in Belgium, the Netherlands and the rest of the Benelux. It has a start, a plan and an end, and the end is someone who isn't me.
Who this is for
Founders and CEOs of Series A to C companies with 15 to 120 engineers, and the board members or lead investors who are the ones saying "get someone in". B2B SaaS, marketplaces and software-heavy companies in Belgium, the Netherlands and Luxembourg, plus remote-first teams elsewhere in Europe.
- Engineering grew faster than revenue, and delivery got slower anyway.
- The board asked for a burn plan and engineering is the biggest line.
- Your CTO is leaving, or needs to.
- 2 quarters of missed roadmap with a growing team.
Who it is not for
- Pre-seed or unfunded, paying in equity. I work for a day rate only.
- Above about 120 engineers. You need a full-time operator, not a fractional one.
- You need someone to write production code or build the first version of the product.
- You have already picked who goes and want someone to deliver the news without talking it through with you.
- You want me as the permanent CTO. I am not a candidate. I run the search for one.
When the call comes
- A down round or a bridge closed, or a raise fell short.
- The plan was missed twice and the board asked for a different one.
- Runway dropped under 12 months.
- The CTO or VP Engineering resigned, or was asked to leave.
- Layoffs were announced without a change in engineering leadership, and the team is waiting for the second wave.
- An acquisition left you with 2 engineering organisations and 1 roadmap.
The situations
- Right-sizing. You hired for a growth story that didn't land. A structured cut that keeps the people who ship and leaves the org working. Engineering team restructuring covers the method and when to right-size covers the signals.
- Turnaround. Releases slip, senior people leave, the roadmap is fiction. The cause is usually leadership, not the team, and the fix is an operating rhythm the team can trust again.
- CTO transition. The founding CTO is not the CTO for this stage, and everyone knows it, including them. CTO replacement covers the bridge and the search, and signs your CTO isn't the right CTO covers the signals.
- The platform bill. Cloud spend growing faster than revenue is an ownership problem, not a pricing one. Reducing cloud costs starts with a 1 to 2 week review.
How an interim CTO engagement runs
| When | Work |
|---|---|
| Week 0 | A 15-minute fit call. My name and references are shared on that call, before anything is signed. |
| Weeks 1 to 3 | The diagnosis, EUR 9 500, fixed. Every engineer interviewed, 6 months of pull requests and incidents read, standups attended. A written report that names what is wrong, what is not, and what fixing it costs, written to be forwarded to the board unedited. |
| Months 1 to 2 | Decisions. The structure the roadmap needs, a named lead per team, and if a cut is needed, the cut, run once under the Belgian collective-dismissal rules or the Dutch WMCO and UWV route. |
| Months 3 to 6 | The operating rhythm: planning, releases, incident reviews, hiring calls. The search for the permanent leader runs alongside, or an internal candidate is prepared for the seat. |
| Handover | The successor starts. I stay 6 weeks at 1 day a week, then leave. |
Usually 2 to 3 days a week, embedded. I run the engineering leadership meetings, own the hiring and exit calls with you, and report to the board in its own language. Right-sizing work is shorter and outcome-defined. Turnaround runs longer than founders expect. Around a third of diagnoses end at the report, because the plan can be executed in-house.
What it costs
Day rates in the normal Western European band of EUR 1 000 to EUR 1 600, invoiced monthly. The diagnosis is EUR 9 500, fixed. The 6-week handover is included. No equity, no success fee, and no bonus tied to the size of a cut. That last one matters: a cut should be the size the roadmap needs, and nobody involved should earn more by making it bigger.
What it has produced
- 45 engineers to 22. Series B SaaS, releases slipping. Read the delivery data, cut to the shape the roadmap needed. Weekly releases again after 4 months, payroll from EUR 4 000 000 to EUR 2 000 000, one regretted departure in the six months after.
- A founding CTO replaced, nobody lost. Series A, 28 engineers, a founder in the wrong seat. An 8-month bridge, the search run alongside. Zero regretted attrition, and the founder still in the building as chief architect.
- Cloud bill down 42 percent. Scale-up on AWS, the bill rising faster than revenue. From EUR 74 000 to EUR 43 000 a month in 5 months, no layoffs, no re-platforming.
Fractional CTO, interim CTO, or a full-time hire
| Option | Fits when | Where it breaks |
|---|---|---|
| Fractional CTO, 2 to 3 days a week | There is a CTO-sized problem with an end: right-size, restart delivery, prepare a successor. | Not enough presence when the seat is empty and the team needs a decision every day. |
| Interim CTO, full-time for a period | The seat is empty, delivery has stopped, or a restructuring needs someone without history in the building. | It costs more per month and it has to end. If it doesn't, the interim is covering for a decision nobody took. |
| Full-time CTO hire | The stage is stable and you know the profile you need. | A search takes months; the bridge above took 5 to a signed CTO. Hiring into a mess makes the new CTO pay for the old decisions. |
The order that often works: fractional or interim first to fix the shape, then hire into a structure rather than a queue. Fractional, interim, or part-time CTO covers the choice, interim CTO covers the full-time form, and hiring an interim CTO covers what to check before you sign.
A CTO for scale-ups across the Benelux
The employment rules shape a restructuring timeline more than any plan does. In Belgium the Renault procedure sets the sequence of a collective dismissal. In the Netherlands the WMCO and UWV route takes longer than most boards expect. What the Renault procedure changes and right-sizing in the Netherlands walk through both. Most engagements run in English, because engineering teams do. Dutch when the room is Dutch.
Related: the four problems I take on, right-sizing and CTO replacement on the homepage, the 3-week diagnosis, and technical due diligence if you are the investor rather than the company.
Put a number on it first: the engineering cost calculator
Frequently asked
Who should a scale-up in Belgium talk to for interim CTO support?
Series A to C scale-ups with 15 to 120 engineers and investors behind them, who no longer trust delivery, take on an interim CTO for a defined period to fix the shape and hand over. It starts with a fixed-price diagnosis: 3 weeks, EUR 9 500, every engineer interviewed, 6 months of delivery data read, written to be forwarded to the board unedited.
What situations does an interim CTO for scale-ups cover?
Right-sizing, when a growth story funded a bigger org than the roadmap needed and a structured cut is needed that keeps the people who ship. Turnaround, when releases slip, senior people leave, and the roadmap is fiction, usually a leadership problem rather than a team problem. CTO transition, when the founding CTO is not the CTO for the next stage. The platform bill, when cloud spend growing faster than revenue is an ownership problem, not a pricing one.
What does a fractional CTO do at a Series A company?
Holds the CTO responsibilities for 2 to 3 days a week over a defined period: the structure of the team, the delivery rhythm, the senior hiring and exit decisions, and the board's view of engineering. At Series A the most common jobs are completing or replacing a founding CTO and building the first real team structure.
How long does an interim CTO engagement last?
3 to 9 months at 2 to 3 days a week, after the 3-week diagnosis, plus 6 weeks of handover at 1 day a week once the successor starts. Right-sizing is usually shorter and outcome-defined. Turnaround usually runs longer than founders expect.
What does an interim CTO cost?
Day rates in the normal Western European band of EUR 1 000 to EUR 1 600, invoiced monthly. The diagnosis is EUR 9 500, fixed, and the handover is included in the engagement. No equity, no success fee, no bonus tied to the size of a cut.
Do you stay on as the permanent CTO?
No. Every engagement ends with a permanent leader in seat, promoted internally or recruited during the engagement, and I leave 6 weeks after they start. Not being a candidate is what lets me run the search honestly.
Do you work with scale-ups outside Belgium?
Yes. Belgium and the Netherlands first, Luxembourg and remote-first teams elsewhere in Europe too. Based in Flanders, remote-first, with on-site time when the situation calls for it.