A warm welcome, straight from my desk — №1
This is the first edition of my rebranded newsletter, straight from my desk. Every other week, I'll write something about what we're seeing across the software companies we work with at
The blog · since 2015
Insights for founders,
CTOs & investors.
Essays, playbooks and field notes from our CTOs, architects and leads. Written for people shipping real product.
Featured articles
What will the state of AI be like by this time next year?
Pricing strategies in the era of AI: why hourly billing no longer works
5 red flags for VCs when planning to invest in Seed or Series A companies
SaaS due diligence report: 12 learnings for founders that want to secure their next funding round
Things we do in our first weeks as Fractional CTO
Latest posts
Busting the Rebuild Bias
Caught in a vendor's web, a client believed a total rebuild was their only option. Discover how we unravelled this myth and saved them time, money, and risk while exposing the industry's flawed advice on web application development.
Why you don't need estimates
How should you estimate your work? Are estimations needed when developing software? What is the value of estimations? What is an alternative to estimating work?
How to run a good all-hands meeting
Our only company-wide meeting happens on Mondays, and this is how it looks. We're happy to share some tips on how to run an all-hands meeting properly.
Why code quality matters
In today's digital landscape, software development is a crucial aspect of most businesses. However, many organizations overlook the importance of code quality. Ensuring code quality is critical for various reasons, from financial stability to customer satisfaction.
How a CTO builds a team
There are many factors involved in building a thriving team. This is what a CTO must consider when hiring expert teams to build software.
Why you should invest in good engineers from the start
Investing in senior engineers is crucial for startups. They bring speed, efficiency, and quality to development, boost team morale, and ensure long-term profitability. Hire senior professionals from the start for success, here is why.
Why defining a product vision is crucial in ensuring you are building the right things.
A company should have a vision, but a product should also have one. A product vision may sound like something large corporates work on. It may sound like a waste of time. However, a good product vision helps your team make the right choices while building your product.
The Importance of Small Details for Diversity and Inclusion
Sometimes, the most minor details can make the most significant impact. As an established company based in Belgium, we have always embraced our madewithlove.be domain name, despite our global reach. But a revelation during an annual retreat discussion on diversity changed everything.
How to use Steve's Test during job interviews
When applying for a new job, it is tough to understand the culture of the team you are about to join. Use The Steve Test to evaluate the team culture.
Why you should code your infrastructure
Have trouble documenting your infrastructure? Infrastructure as code might be the solution you are looking for.
Inconsistent MongoDB regex behavior in document nested Objects
MongoDB supports full-text search. The word stemming, which it uses under the hood, may be quite useful in some cases. However, MongoDB FTS has a non-obvious limitation, which can leave you confused while producing empty search results instead of errors.
Why you should invest in consolidating your documentation
Where is your documentation kept? Is it one tool that everyone has access to? Here's why you should consolidate your documentation.
Taking PHP Seriously
Once considered a dying programming language, PHP has undergone a massive transformation in recent years, evolving into a powerful and modern web development tool.
Why is operational documentation more important than you think
Do you have an employee handbook? Are senior people required to spend hours answering questions of colleagues? Here's how documentation can help.
AI & agentic tooling
AI-first engineering
We use AI and agentic workflows daily. From coding agents to AI strategy, we help teams adopt what actually works.
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CTO Insights
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Due diligence done right
Technical audits, codebase assessments, and risk analysis for portfolio managers making investment decisions.
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How we help
Software engineering
Our staff engineers will get your software (back) on track and lead your engineering team. We prepare our exit from day one: our goal is to bring the software and the team to the right level for us to get out again.
Learn more about software engineeringCTO as a service
Our CTOs in residence (or fractional CTOs) inject technical leadership into your team, ensuring the technical aspect of your business gets exactly the right attention.
Learn more about CTO as a serviceAuditing
We're the market leader for technical due diligence of SaaS companies in Belgium and The Netherlands, servicing clients all over the world. Investors appreciate our smooth process, sharp opinions and top-notch reports.
Learn more about auditingCTO Coaching
Behind-the-scenes support for your CTO or technical lead to enhance their skills, drive effective change, and grow their teams confidently.
Learn more about CTO coachingRecruiting
We can help you find the best talent to join your team. Unlike other recruiters, we are CTOs and software engineers ourselves, and through getting our hands dirty, we know the skills required to make an impact.
Learn more about recruitingProduct management
Sometimes your struggles go beyond the technical. Do you need help evaluating the roadmap or sharpening the vision? What should you build in order to scale? Our product management experts know the way.
Learn more about product management