Bart Knijnenberg

My marketing team starts at 11 PM. I’m asleep. | Fractional CMO for EU B2B scale-ups | 13 AI agents, senior strategy | 3x founder

Spain

About

In 18 years I've helped 200+ companies turn marketing budgets into actual revenue. From well-known tech platforms and FMCG brands to automotive and healthcare companies, I've been the person they call when they need performance marketing, lead generation, or someone who knows how to put AI to work in ways that actually matter. Some things I'm proud of: • Built Labelnone, a white-label marketing agency in Valencia, from scratch. Two people in a room turned into 27 employees from 12 countries, 45+ clients, and profitability within 90 days. • Ran marketing and growth at The Next Web, where we scaled the conference to 225+ speakers and brought 70K+ people together for one of the biggest tech events in the world. • Co-founded BrainBoostXR, a VR/AI medtech startup. Built the entire commercial pipeline from nothing, got hospitals on board for pilots, and closed contracts across Europe and APAC. • Managed over €3M in annual ad spend across Google, Meta, Amazon Ads, and programmatic for clients in retail, tech, finance, and healthcare. • Started the Valencia Founders Club, a community of 100+ international entrepreneurs who actually help each other grow. These days I work as a freelance Head of Marketing, helping B2B and D2C brands grow faster through performance marketing, AI-driven automation, and lead generation that fills pipelines. I also regularly speak at events and conferences about how AI is changing the marketing game. Looking for a marketing lead who can plug into your team? A strategic sparring partner? Or a speaker for your next event? Let's talk.

Experience

  • Fractional CMO at Bartknijnenberg.com
    Apr 2016 - Present · 10 yrs 3 mos

    I help brands scale through data-driven marketing, AI-powered automation, and lead generation that actually converts. In the past 10 years I've worked with 200+ clients across retail, tech, finance, healthcare, and automotive, consistently delivering results that show up in the P&L. What I do: • Lead Generation: Automated outbound engines using CRM, direct mail, and B2B advertising. For clients like Adyen and Polestar this meant 1,000+ qualified leads per quarter. • AI in Marketing: Hyper-personalization and automation at scale. Typically cuts CAC by up to 35% while pushing conversion rates up. • Performance Marketing: €3M+ in annual ad spend across Google, Meta, Amazon Ads, and programmatic. ROAS improvements averaging 40-60%. • SEO & Content: Long-term organic strategies that have driven 200%+ traffic growth for multiple clients. • Analytics & Data: I don't guess. Everything is backed by attribution modeling, cohort analysis, and predictive segmentation. Clients include Amazon, Adyen, Heineken, Financial Times, Polestar, WE Fashion, Colourful Rebel, Clini Clowns, Make-A-Wish Foundation, Nestle, and many more.

  • Founder at Valencia Founders Club
    Feb 2024 - Present · 2 yrs 5 mos

    Started as a handful of entrepreneurs grabbing coffee, now it's Valencia's most active international business network with 100+ members from 20+ countries. We run monthly events, peer advisory sessions, and curated introductions that lead to real deals, not just small talk. Members have found clients, co-founders, and international expansion partners through the club. Building it has been one of the most rewarding things I've done.

  • Co-Founder & CCO at BrainBoostXR
    Nov 2023 - Nov 2025 · 2 yrs 1 mo

    Co-founded a VR/AI medtech startup focused on cognitive rehabilitation for stroke, TBI, and MCI patients. I wore three hats: marketing, business development, and product. What I did: • Mapped the VR rehabilitation market across NL/EU and APAC (including China) and identified a €2.4B addressable market • Built the commercial pipeline from zero: 15+ hospital demos, 4 pilot programs launched, outcome-based contracts closed • Set up partnerships with EHR vendors, hardware manufacturers, and insurers • Co-defined the product roadmap: device-agnostic platform, remote monitoring, privacy-by-design • Ran multi-site validation pilots measuring therapist time savings (30%+), patient adherence, and MoCA/FIM outcomes • Recruited and managed a team of 8 (interns + specialists), running OKRs and weekly sprints

  • Senior Campaign Manager a.i. at New-Media
    Mar 2023 - Sep 2024 · 1 yr 7 mos

    Built and ran multi-channel marketing strategies for 6+ agency clients, combining performance marketing with big data and AI. Focused on scaling paid campaigns, tightening attribution models, and bringing AI-driven optimization into the mix. Average result: 45% ROAS improvement across the client portfolio.

  • Founder and Head of Marketing at Labelnone
    Sep 2022 - Nov 2023 · 1 yr 3 mos

    Founded and ran Europe's first "dark kitchen" white-label marketing agency from Valencia. Started with 2 people, ended with 27 employees from 12 countries, 45+ clients, and profitability in under 90 days. After my departure the company grew to 45+ clients with minimal churn. What I built: • Designed the go-to-market strategy that landed 19 clients in the first quarter, making the agency break-even by month 3 • Worked 30 billable client hours per week myself as Senior Marketing Specialist while running the entire business • Built a scalable B2B lead generation engine: defined MQL criteria, set up multi-channel funnels, trained the sales team on the full pipeline. Result: 4x increase in qualified inbound leads • Created reporting dashboards for clients, shareholders, and team leads with full transparency on performance, spend, and ROI • Developed a structured growth plan for all 27 employees with clear seniority milestones, reducing turnover by 40% • Was the primary point of contact for the entire team: hiring, onboarding, client relations, strategy, all of it