Marc van Neerven

Independent Software Business Consultant

Neerventure.com

Helping startups & scale-ups with their technical strategy, in terms of (Native) Cloud Solutions Architecture, Digital Transformation, Agile, Team Growth, Governance, Change Management, etc.

Founder & CTO

Mentoring (aspiring) CTOs on leadership, cultural, strategic, psychological, and systemic aspects of the CTO role.

CTO Mentor

World of WOW

Chief Technology Officer (Fractional)

Advising WOW on B2C SaaS development & scaling.

Strategic Board Advisor

Qogni Technologies

Development (PWA, AI, Cloud) and SaaS Strategy

CTO and Partner

Helping Qogni with the next steps of their Health Platform and Movement

Knights Absorb - Learning

Helping with software strategy and product development

Interim CTO (Fractional)

Pure Web Foundation

Doing extraordinary stuff while keeping close to official web standards....

Founder, Lead Architect & CTO

ISV Canvas

Presenting an assessment tool for Software Tech (ISVs, Startups, Scaleups) to validate their technical maturity in 7 key areas and providing guidance for growth.

Microsoft

For Microsoft, I assess startups' technology status using a Tech Canvas I developed, loosely based on Lean Canvas and Business Model Canvas.

Independent Startup/Scaleup advisor

Mentoring scale-up companies in the Microsoft for Startups' Amsterdam Scale Up program.

Scale Up Mentor

MT/Sprout

Writing blogs about the life of a CTO at Startups and Scaleups.

Startup Expert

Get-e

Providing strategic advice on Software Architecture, Cloud Fit, Processes and Team Structure.

Senior Advisor to the CTO

Adapta

Helping to realize Adapta's ambitious plans with their healthcare super app

Interim Chief Technology Officer

Fractional CTO 💡 Top Startups Voice⚡ Helping startups make better SaaS

I'm an experienced SaaS CTO, working on a 'Fractional' basis, meaning that companies can hire me part-time as their Interim CTO, or as an advisor to the board. 

I work for startups, scaleups, ISVs and other software companies, or consultancies turning into SaaS companies.

My work is transformational: when I leave, a company should be better off in terms of their (tech) strategy and/or operational excellence.

Before becoming a CTO, I have been a solutions and cloud architect. I still code, as an open source contributor, and sometimes for 'my' startups, doing Proof-of-Concepts.

I'm a Web Standards evangelist, and a Social Impact Lover. 

I've seen it all, with more than 30 years of experience in Software Development, and I'm now focusing on Native Cloud as a natural fit for startups and scaleups.

I write a lot about the life of a CTO, and about the Modern Web.

Writing blogs about the life of a CTO at Startups and Scaleups. 

Mark Batty

Chief Technology Officer (CTO)

Is your product and engineering just about coping?

Your B2B SaaS has proven demand with £1m to £5m in ARR.
As the CEO, you are expected to grow ARR, protect renewals, and keep the board calm.

But your product and engineering feel stretched and unpredictable.
You see this regularly:

✗ Key renewals or expansions at risk due to product gaps or incidents.
✗ Roadmap dates slip and people quietly stop believing the plan.
✗ Sales promise features that the team cannot reliably deliver.
✗ Engineers spend more time firefighting than moving the roadmap.
✗ Escalations from strategic customers still land on your desk.

These are signs that product and engineering are out of step with your commercial plans.
With over 30 years in B2B product and engineering, this is where I can help.

I help you stabilise delivery, protect and grow NRR and get ready for your next stage of growth.
Outcomes you can expect include:

✓ Roadmaps linked to renewals, ARR priorities, and runway.
✓ Planning and prioritisation that make delivery realistic and visible.
✓ Product changes that de risk renewals and unlock planned expansion.
✓ Structure, practices and foundations that let people ship, not burn out.
✓ Stronger leadership so product and engineering become self-sufficient.

The result is fewer surprises, stronger NRR, and a calmer, more predictable roadmap.
If this sounds familiar, send me a message, no obligation, no pitch.

Providing commercially focused technical leadership as a fractional CTO, guiding early-stage organisations to align business goals with product development and customer experience, driving the growth of their software enabled solutions.

Schrodinger’s CTO: You Have a CTO…and You Don’t

In many early-growth B2B companies, the CTO is your best engineer with a new title.

On paper (or org chart) you have a CTO.
But when you peek inside, you find something else.

Common patterns you’ll see:
- Still coding 80%+ of time, not leading the business forward.
- Plans driven by sprints and tickets, not renewals and expansions.
- Roadmap led by best-guess features, not revenue-critical outcomes.
- Architecture and quality treated as firefighting, not a scaling strategy.
- Cost rising to fight incidents and tech debt, not to build leverage.

This is not about blame. They are usually strong engineers doing their best.
But it is a different job: commercial, cross-functional, board-facing, and often lonely.

The real risk is the gap it leaves.
No one truly owns the link between customers, roadmap, risk, and revenue.

Questions worth asking:
- Who turns customer and usage insight into product bets sales can commit to?
- Who connects roadmap, capacity, risk, and revenue in a way the board can trust?
- If a critical renewal or expansion was at risk, who do you want next to you?

The answers tell you whether you have a commercially focused, strategic CTO.
Or a very capable engineer who feels alone, under pressure, and in need of support.

Curious what others are seeing?

P.S. I’ve added info about Schrodinger in the first comment.

I make your delivery predictable, your customers stay & spend more, & your board excited | UK Fractional CTO/CPTO for B2B SaaS at £1m–£5m ARR

Text image with title "Schrodinger's CTO" and footer "Senior engineer or strategic leader?"

The image is a transparent box with two people inside, one is a developer using a laptop, one is a CTO giving a talk/presentation.

The PRIMARY job of a CTO is…
… to ensure technology drives commercial success.

Technology is not the product.
The product is not the end goal.

The goal is commercial outcomes.
Technology enables the product to deliver them.

How does a growing B2B SaaS do that?
By aligning product and engineering with demand.

Here’s a simple framework I use:

↳ Ship on time: limit WIP, simplify process with light guardrails, build predictable release rhythm.

↳ Protect ARR: improve onboarding flow, reduce time to first value, make support effortless.

↳ Grow NRR: prioritise renewals and expansion, close product gaps, improve product reliability.

↳ Scale efficiently: clarify ownership, fix critical tech debt, invest in stability and performance.

I regularly see teams wording harder than ever.
But customers are still leaving or spending less.

This issue is never effort.
It’s misalignment and it’s killing your growth.

If you could fix one thing, what would it be?
Let me know and I’ll share some targeted tips 👇

A text image saying:

"A CTO must lead with strategic intent to ensure technology drives commercial success"

Ship on time. Protect ARR. Grow NRR. Scale efficiently.

5 levers to protect and grow ARR in B2B SaaS
In early-growth B2B SaaS, roadmap slips and missed renewals compound.

Every quarter, these quietly erode revenue and confidence.
They are clear signs commercial and delivery are out of sync:

❌ Roadmap slips undermine sales and damage trust with the board.
❌ Renewals depend on future promises, not current value.
❌ Engineering spend rises faster than visible revenue impact.
❌ One or two senior people become constant bottlenecks.
❌ Expansion stalls after rollout as usage drops away.

Left alone, they compound, month after month after month…
Here are 5 levers to help protect and grow ARR:

1️⃣ Make commitments credible:
↳ Limit work in progress so teams focus and finish what they start.
↳ Define clear commitment levels so sales know what is locked.

2️⃣ Protect renewals first:
↳ Fix reliability and product gaps blocking value for at-risk accounts.
↳ Instrument usage so renewals show current value, not promises.

3️⃣ Link engineering to revenue outcomes:
↳ Tie roadmap initiatives to NRR, margins, and key account retention.
↳ Create a shared view commercial and delivery review together.

4️⃣ Reduce founder and hero bottlenecks:
↳ Distribute ownership and build capability so decisions move faster.
↳ Establish patterns and defaults to reduce what needs deciding.

5️⃣ Design onboarding and product for retention:
↳ Get target users to first value within one session.
↳ Track which behaviours predict renewal and expansion, then optimise.

A strong pull on just one lever can shift NRR in the next quarter.
I would love to hear which lever you would pull first, and why?

Text image with headline "5 Levers to protect and grow ARR".

The image has 5 mechanical looking levers.

taplio

The Battle

Marc van Neerven

Mark Batty

Followers

Posts

Engagements

Likes

Performance ScoreMark Batty's LinkedIn Performance

Ready to grow your LinkedIn presence?

taplio

The Battle

Marc van Neerven

Mark Batty

Followers

Posts

Engagements

Likes

Performance Score.css-goub6s{font-size:var(--chakra-fontSizes-md);font-weight:500;color:var(--chakra-colors-gray-600);display:block;margin-top:var(--chakra-space-1);}Mark Batty's LinkedIn Performance

Ready to grow your LinkedIn presence?

Performance ScoreMark Batty's LinkedIn Performance