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Swedish-born revenue architect Mats Forsgren joins Oh Frac! with host Adir Ron to unpack a 25+ year journey from scaling BlueCurve and LinkedIn Nordics to building GrowthGen as a fractional CRO. Mats contrasts New York’s “fast no” sales culture with Europe’s “slow no,” explains why a PE shake-up pushed him out of corporate and into fractional life, and how coaching—and the value of freedom—shaped that leap. We dig into founder-led, B2B tech companies (€0.5–2M ARR) as his sweet spot, why networking beats cold outreach early on, and how a weekly LinkedIn newsletter compounds into inbound. Mats’ frac’d-up story (his startup Clindox) delivers hard-won lessons on focus, timing, and exiting. We close with challenging impossible targets, owning the number, and the toolkit (hello, Remarkable) that keeps him sharp.
Key Takeaways:
* For founders: a fractional CRO can own the number—clarity beats proximity.* Challenge inflated targets; align revenue goals with realistic budget & capacity.* Early pipeline = network-first (referrals, communities, Superconnectors) is better than cold outreach.* Consistency compounds: a weekly LinkedIn newsletter can unlock inbound—even from silent readers.* Values matter: optimizing for freedom and fit prevents burnout and drives better work.* Ideal fit: B2B tech, founder-led, revenue-generating, aiming to professionalize sales.* Europe is catching up to the US on fractional adoption—expect more education-led selling.* Bring a coach to big career pivots; outside perspective accelerates clarity.* Failure ≠ regret: Mats’ Clindox story shows how exits (even hard ones) sharpen judgment.* Fractional survival rule: always build pipe while delivering.* Toolkit shoutout: the Remarkable e-ink tablet keeps notes searchable and workflows tight.* Superpower: fractionals open doors—tap their networks to round out your exec bench.
Chapters:00:00 Cold open — why fractional work keeps you fresh03:50 Intro & creds — from Sweden to LinkedIn to GrowthGen07:40 Toughest sales lesson — NYC’s "fast no" vs. Europe’s "slow no"11:30 From CCO to fractional — PE shake-up, coaching & values15:20 Ideal clients — founder-led B2B tech, €0.5–2M ARR, Europe19:10 Superconnectors — networking as a client-growth engine23:00 Outreach vs. networking — the LinkedIn newsletter flywheel26:50 Frac’d Up — Clindox, exits, and the LinkedIn rebound30:40 Owning/challenging the number — targets, budgets, reputation34:30 Quickfire & final advice — tools, clients, future of fractional
Mats Forsgren’s LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mats-forsgren-13152b1/
Adir’s LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/adir-ron/
Keywords:fractional CRO, fractional leadership, revenue architecture, founder-led sales, B2B SaaS, Europe startups, pipeline, networking, referrals, Superconnectors, LinkedIn newsletter, inbound marketing, ARR, sales targets, budgeting, Pavilion CRO school, New York sales culture, freedom at work, executive coaching, Clindox, GrowthGen, Remarkable tablet, sales playbooks, go-to-market, scale-up, VC portfolio support
