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  • topserv_fractional_case_studies_v2.pdf

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Manuel Harnisch

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Assets

Roles available for:

  • Fractional
  • Consulting
  • Contract
  • Interim

FCCO

Fractional Chief Customer Officer

  • Page, Arizona, United States
  • https://topserv.info
  • Assets
  • Country experience:
    • United States of America
      Northern America

    • Germany
      Western Europe

  • Languages:
    • English,
      English
      Level: Native
    • German
      German
      Level: Native
Achievements
Charter
Message Download Resume
  • Expertise
  • Services

    CS org design and hiring. Retention and renewal operations. Churn forecasting and health scoring. Expansion revenue through CS. AI tooling to scale without adding headcount. Post-sales restructuring with clear P&L ownership. Coaching first-time CS leads.

  • Employees overseen

    32 employees

  • Budget overseen

    $ 5,000,000

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Manuel Harnisch

Add to favorites

Roles available for:

  • Fractional
  • Consulting
  • Contract
  • Interim

FCCO

Fractional Chief Customer Officer

  • Page, Arizona, United States
  • https://topserv.info
  • Assets
  • Country experience:
    • United States of America
      Northern America

    • Germany
      Western Europe

  • Languages:
    • English,
      English
      Level: Native
    • German
      German
      Level: Native
Achievements
Charter
Why hire me in a fractional role
You need CS built right, but not a full-time CCO yet. I've built the function four times at venture-backed SaaS companies, from first CSM hire through mature forecasting and renewal ops. I work in 3-6 month engagements: assess what's broken, install systems and team, create playbooks, and hand it off so your people can run it. You get the experience of someone who has done this at $6M to $80M+ ARR without the overhead of a permanent exec. I leave behind an organization, not a dependency.
Experience
  • VP Customer Success

Strengths in this role: I build Customer Success organizations at B2B SaaS companies from seed through Series C. Have done it four times: built the function, team, systems, and forecasting from scratch. Track record: 90%+ gross retention, $45M Series B supported, $600K OpEx cut via AI, zero voluntary attrition. Named Top 50 CS Influencer by Custify (2026). Native English and German with a technical foundation (former SE, employee #11). I don't bring a generic playbook. I build the one your company needs.

Industry Group: High Tech

Industry: Computer & Network Security

Years of experience: 18 years

Industry Group: High Tech

Industry: Computer Software

Years of experience: 18 years

Industry Group: High Tech

Industry: Computer Networking

Years of experience: 18 years

Industry Group: High Tech

Industry: Information Technology and Services

Years of experience: 18 years

Industry Group: High Tech

Industry: Internet

Years of experience: 18 years

Company name: FOSSA

Company size: 70 employees

Role in this company: • Turnaround: Rebuilt Customer Success from the ground up. Lifted gross retention from below 70% to the mid-80s, preserving approximately $1.2M in ARR through proactive account planning and restructured renewal processes • Expanded scope: Took on Support, Pre-Sales Engineering, and Technical Services after the company pivoted strategy and consolidated all technical field functions under one leader • AI-driven efficiency: Cut $600K in annual operating expenses by introducing AI-native platforms

Company name: People Data Labs

Company size: 50 employees

Role in this company: • Greenfield build: Scaled team from 3 to 14, adding CSMs, Customer Success Engineers, and a dedicated Solutions Engineering team to support complex data implementations. • Revenue impact: CS contributed approximately 33% of 2021 revenue. Supported 100% ARR growth. • Series B catalyst: Developed churn forecasting and ARR tracking in Salesforce that directly supported a $45M Series B raise at $330M valuation.

Company name: Kentik

Company size: 50 employees

Role in this company: • Built from zero: Designed the company's first CS organization. Implemented Salesforce Service Cloud and Guru for knowledge management. Built headcount model mapped to account tier and need, then hired and coached 10+ specialists for global coverage. • Growth engine: CS drove 20%+ of ARR growth via expansions and upsells, peaking at 50% in key quarters. • Retention: Maintained 90%+ gross retention with full P&L ownership. Achieved 0% voluntary attrition.

  • Degrees & accreditations

    B.S. Information Systems

  • Success story

    Joined a Series B SaaS company where gross retention had dropped below 70%. Rebuilt the CS function from scratch: restructured the team, implemented proactive account planning, and codified renewal processes. Within 18 months, GRR climbed to the mid-80s, preserving $1.2M in ARR. When the company later pivoted strategy, I expanded scope to lead all post-sales, cut $600K in annual OpEx through AI automation, and helped extend runway to profitability while growing ARR from $9M to $14M.

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Dear Employers, Members & Friends of GigX

 

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