Fractional Product & Go-to-Market Executive

Great products don't fail on ideas. They fail on execution.

I'm Nikolas — a fractional Product & Go-to-Market executive. Products fail between strategy and execution — exactly where I step in to catalyze success. When you can't yet justify (or find) a full-time CPO or CCO, I join hands-on, a few days a week, bringing 20+ years of building products and markets — from Philips OneBlade to Solplanet to the ventures I work with today.

There is no miracle, but persistent curiosity, creativity and hard work — fueled by an engaging, positive personality and know-how.

Schedule an intro call Do you recognise yourself?
What a catalyzer does
Nikolas Fahlskog, Innovation Catalyzer
Nikolas Fahlskog · Amsterdam
Who it's for

Sound familiar?

Three situations where a fractional executive changes the game.

We've raised, but product and go-to-market are all on me.

You're a founder doing three executive jobs. I take two of them off your plate — product and commercial leadership — until you're ready to hire full-time.

That's my role at Breggz, a Dutch smart-hearables venture.
Our business is solid — but our next growth engine isn't built yet.

You're an SME leader with a new product, market or brand to launch, and no in-house muscle for it. I build it with you, from positioning to distribution.

For AISWEI I created the Solplanet brand, a Red Dot-awarded product, and go-to-market across 15 European countries.
We're a corporate. Why does innovation take us so long?

You need someone who has shipped breakthrough products inside a large organisation — and knows how to navigate one from within.

That's my Philips OneBlade experience.
"I tell you what I honestly think — and then I roll up my sleeves."

No miracle: persistent curiosity, creativity and hard work, plus an engaging, positive personality and two decades of know-how in strategy, breakthrough innovation and commercialisation.

I work in English, but am happy to speak Swedish, German and Italian — and I fully understand Dutch. It helps, because a lot of my work is about getting people aligned and moving.

How we work

Three ways to start

Advice & Strategy

A sharp outside view and an execution roadmap. Start small; know where you stand in weeks, not quarters.

Workshops & Plans

Bespoke workshops that get your team aligned and moving — you walk out with a concrete action plan, not a poster.

Execution & Scale-up

I embed as your fractional product or commercial executive and deliver alongside your team, hands-on, until it works.

Most clients start with 1 or 2 — and continue with 3.

UNDERSTAND → DESIGN → DELIVER → SCALE

Every engagement is tailored to you — combining best-in-class methods from Design Thinking, Systems Engineering, Lean Six Sigma, Agile and more, under one principle.

Proof

Products & markets I've helped build

Corporate · Breakthrough innovation

Philips OneBlade

Breakthrough innovation inside a global corporate — part of the team that took OneBlade from concept to shelf.

SME · Brand & European go-to-market

Solplanet

Created the brand and a Red Dot-awarded product for a global inverter manufacturer; led go-to-market across 15 European countries.

Venture · Fractional leadership

Breggz

Fractional product & commercial leadership for a Dutch smart-hearables venture on its way to market.

Ecosystem · Current

Bondo Foundation

Building innovation infrastructure for the European ecosystem — because scaling shouldn't be this hard.

Jury member, EIC STEP Scale Up — part of the jury boards evaluating tickets of €10–30M for scale-up equity rounds of €100–150M, focused on promising tech ventures of strategic importance for the future of Europe.
The model

Why fractional, why me

A fractional executive gives you C-level product and go-to-market leadership without the cost, search time or commitment of a full-time hire. You get the outcomes of an executive, at the footprint of an advisor.

And because I'm independent — one senior partner, backed by a hand-picked network of freelance specialists tailored to your challenge — you get agency capability with founder-level commitment. You pay for expertise, not office space.

In their words

What it's like to work together

"A hands-on innovation & transformation leader with a track record of delivering breakthrough innovations in diverse industries. His pragmatic approach, persistent nature and creative mind make him highly effective and engaging to work with."

Steven Vaassen · Sr Consultant Innovation Management, Philips

"Nikolas is always fully booked as coach or a.i. commercial lead, and his work with a variety of startups has had proven success in helping them grow and raise funding. I can definitely recommend him as advisor or hands-on executive at any startup or scale-up."

Thomas van den Boezem · Program Director, StartLife · Investment analyst, Innovation Industries

"With his unique expertise and personality he adds tremendous value to our network of diverse C-level experts and masters — a selected Master in the Top 100 Hackmasters."

Saher Sidhom · CEO, Hackmasters

Together we can make our world a better place — one great product at a time.

Let's talk. A first call costs nothing and usually helps.

Schedule an intro call

Or just email me: Nikolas@innovationcatalyzer.com