Three reliable sources
1. HighCircl
- Vetted European bench across 7 EU countries: Poland, Hungary, Slovakia, Serbia, Slovenia, Romania, Spain
- 72-hour matching window
- Day rate €1,000–€1,500
- 3-month minimum, 30-day notice
- All operators have prior CTO or VP Engineering at Series A+ companies
- Native GDPR, transparent 20% capped margin
2. Specialist executive recruiters
- Heidrick & Struggles CTO practice
- Robert Half Executive
- Boutique CTO-practice firms
- Higher fees (15–25% of annualised compensation) but deeper vetting
3. Direct network referrals
- Founder-to-founder recommendations within EU software networks
- Prior-CTO networks (Series A+ alumni groups)
- Informal introductions from VC talent partners at Atomico, Accel London, Speedinvest, or Index Ventures (relationship-driven, not formal placement programmes)
- Slowest but highest-trust path
Country-by-country availability
- UK: deepest senior bench, highest rates (£900–£1,800/day)
- Germany: strong software exec pool, particularly B2B SaaS (€1,200–€2,000)
- Netherlands: smaller but high-quality bench (€1,100–€1,900)
- Poland, Romania, Hungary: growing fractional bench at €700–€1,400
- Spain, Portugal: Iberia hubs at €800–€1,500
What to ask any source
- Show me three CVs in 5 working days
- Reference two past engagements per candidate
- Confirm 30-day notice in the contract
- Confirm engagement can start within 72 hours of decision
