Hi, i’m jan.
Jan Wiersma
For over 15 years, I've been at the forefront of the B2B SaaS landscape, not just as an executive, but as a co-founder, investor, and hands-on leader who has navigated the entire lifecycle of a tech company—from initial spark to successful exit. My journey has taken me through roles as a CEO, COO, CPO, and CTO, leading companies to achieve up to $80M in revenue and orchestrating their acquisition by private equity or strategic players. This isn't just a career; it's a passion for building resilient, high-growth businesses and empowering talented teams.
My path from an engineer to an architect, and then to a CTO, has given me a foundational, deep technical understanding of technologies like Cloud, BigData, Machine Learning, and Edge computing. But my experience didn't stop in the server room. As a CEO and COO, I've managed global teams of over 1200 FTE, driven business model transformations, and led companies through complex turnaround situations. This blend of deep technical acumen and broad business leadership allows me to connect strategy with execution in a way that truly drives results.
View my full resume on my LinkedIn page.
Guiding Principles
My approach to fractional leadership and advisory work is built on a set of core values that have been forged through years of experience, both professionally and personally:
- Resilience and a Strong Foundation: Like my 15 years as a volunteer firefighter, I believe in building businesses that can withstand pressure and adapt to challenges. This means focusing on solid fundamentals from the start.
- Disciplined Strength: My personal practices in Muay Thai and ice bath/breathwork echo my professional belief in disciplined, focused effort to achieve significant results and maintain clarity under pressure.
- Supportive Growth and Forward Movement: Whether as a fractional leader, a dad, or in my history of guiding companies to successful exits, my goal is to foster an environment where growth is not just possible, but sustainable and supportive for everyone involved.
I have a deep desire to effect positive change, and I believe that by sharing my experience, I can help other passionate founders and companies avoid costly mistakes and accelerate their journey to success.
From the Trenches
My career has been a dynamic journey of building, scaling, and transforming technology businesses:
- Building & Scaling Success: I've had the privilege of co-founding multiple SaaS B2B companies, growing them from early concepts to significant revenue milestones and leading teams of 30 to over 1000+ FTE across the globe. This involved everything from product innovation and go-to-market strategy to fundraising and M&A execution.
- Navigating Transitions & Turnarounds: I’ve been brought into companies to lead turnarounds, restructuring businesses across organization, finance, product, and technology to set them on a path to growth and stability. I’ve also been on both sides of acquisitions, understanding the complexities and sensitivities involved.
- Deep Technical Leadership: As a CTO, I've led the charge on creating innovative SaaS solutions, including one of the largest Statistical Machine Translation services globally (an early application of AI/ML/NLP). My expertise spans Cloud, BigData, Machine Learning (AI), and Edge computing. This deep technical knowledge isn't just theoretical; it's born from hands-on experience designing and operating large-scale distributed systems.
Beyond the Boardroom
My commitment to the tech industry extends beyond my direct company involvement:
- Academic Contributions: I'm passionate about education and have served as a visiting professor at Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, teaching Master/Bachelor students about complex distributed systems. I also authored the Cloud, Edge Compute, and AI chapters of the 2021 Data Center Handbook, a book used in computer science curricula globally.
- Investing in Innovation: As a Founding Partner at EVO Venture Partners, I focus on pre-seed and seed-stage investments in software-based infrastructure startups, helping to turn great ideas into global companies. We've had notable successes, including Wercker (sold to Oracle) and Hashicorp (sold to IBM).
- Recognized Expertise: My work and achievements in datacenter, cloud and leadership have been recognized with a US O-1A Person of Extraordinary Ability Visa.
Why Fractional? Empowering Your Vision.
I choose to work as a fractional executive because I believe it's the most effective way to bring high-level strategic guidance to early-stage and scale-up SaaS B2B companies that need it most. Many companies have the vision and the drive but lack the budget for full-time senior executive leadership. My fractional services and the "Momentum: Startup Strategy & Growth Subscription" are designed to bridge that gap, providing affordable access to top-tier strategic C-level expertise without the long-term commitment or expense of a full-time hire.
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Contact Jan
I believe the most effective advisory relationships are built on a strong mutual connection and understanding. Lets schedule an intro