Building product and growth
in regulated B2B tech

I work with founders and product teams in energy, fintech, proptech, construction and engineering. Building new products, finding repeatable growth, and turning expertise into software and AI.

$Erlend Hovgaard, fractional CPO and venture builder at Hovgaard Ventures, in an office$

Product leader at a desk reviewing the Aparta proptech platform on a desktop screen

I'm a fractional/interim product leader and venture builder.

I work with teams with deep expertise in regulated industries, turning what they know into scalable products and new revenue streams.

One operator with the capacity of a small product studio, working with AI agents and a trusted network of senior engineers and designers.

Let's talk

What I do

Fractional product and growth leadership

As your Head of Product or Growth, I build new products, fix stalled growth, and scale what works:

Shape value propositions and translate domain knowledge into product strategy
Define, design and experiment to move you toward product-market fit
Improve GTM process, journeys, flows and offerings to win customers and revenue

Hands-on with sleeves up, or more hands-off as a coach.

Venture building

I build new B2B tech ventures from scratch, either my own or co-founded with partners or investors:

Explore, validate, and refine ideas through structured discovery
Build and iterate MVPs and early pilots with real users
Guide teams from zero to traction with clear strategy and tight execution

Occasionally I invest in B2B tech startups, combined with hands-on work. Currently building Baldr, an AI venture for construction tenders, as co-founder and CEO.

Full product team on retainer

For teams with deep expertise but no in-house product capacity, I deliver a complete product capability without the hires:

Product leadership from me, with strategy, discovery and delivery in one place
Design and engineering from a trusted senior network, scaled to what the project needs
AI-augmented discovery, validation and build for speed without losing rigor

One partner, one monthly fee, focused on outcomes.

Entail – Industrial SaaS to cut emissions and costs in offshore operations

As fractional Head of Product, I work within Entail's core team, shaping product strategy, venture design and user experience. Together we turned expert-dependent engineering workflows into a platform that streamlines offshore decision-making and cuts downtime, costs and emissions.

Recent cases

Aparta – Redefining home ownership with a two-sided fintech platform

Invested in and supported the fintech startup Aparta on strategy, positioning, GTM and product. I mapped user needs, helped define the value proposition, later designed and built their new GTM process and customer journey for real-estate developers. They ‘re now launching across Europe.

See more cases

Baldr — AI risk analysis for construction tenders

Baldr reads the tender packages Norwegian contractors bid on and surfaces the conflicts and gaps before the price is set. A collaboration with AI venture studio Intellectual Labs. I came in early as co-founder and CEO & CPO . Building now, part time alongside client work. Seeking design partners and seed investors.