OPERATORS launches to build the leading industrial board and co-Investment collective in the Maritime, Ocean, Energy and Supply chain industries

Most technology startups never become real businesses, and only a rare few ever reach an exit. The result? An enormous waste of founder talent, investor capital, and potential industrial impact.

The Collective unites founders with the best industry executives, entrepreneurs and experts who have built the industries they now aim to transform. It aims to redefine how these cautious, experience-driven sectors build technology and bring it into real use. After years of “innovation” and wasted time and capital, now is the time.

The problem

Industrial-technology founders face a dual challenge: building breakthrough solutions while navigating markets where adoption cycles are long, risk tolerance is low, and funding depends on clear, credible execution. 

Technology companies turn to mentors, advisors, advisory boards and boards - with good intent but poor outcomes. These models are broken: they lack matching competence to the real need, shared goals, aligned incentives, processes, systems and execution. Basically everything you need to drive professional outcomes.

OPERATORS launches today with a mission to bridge that gap. The Collective brings together exceptional founders with some of the world’s most experienced operators, board members, and investors in one aligned model. By combining frontier technology with senior operators who understand the constraints, and risk-averse culture of these industries, OPERATORS introduces a unified method of building companies that redefines how industrial sectors innovate, adopt, and scale technology in the years ahead.

"I watched too many talented founders fail not because of the wrong idea or bad technology, but because they couldn't access the right expertise when it mattered most. An enormous waste of founder talent, investor capital, and potential impact.” says Nicklas Fursund, founder and CEO of OPERATORS. “I founded OPERATORS to bring the right competence and capital  to the founders, with a structure that actually works. Co-investing time, aligned incentives, real execution." Nicklas V. Fursund is a former MAERSK executive and Rainmaking partner, co-founded an industrial venture fund and has spent the past decade building, investing in, and advising industrial-tech startups alongside leading corporates and top-tier venture investors.

How OPERATORS works with founders

For founders, OPERATORS Collective provides structured access to senior operating talent through four core offerings: Build A Board, Operator Board, Funding, and Founder Advisory. Support focuses on execution across commercial strategy, product-market fit validation, capital planning, partnerships, and scaling processes. Operators work directly with founders and their teams, ensuring guidance turns into concrete actions and measurable progress.

“Being a deep-tech scaleup rooted in the best research, we have built breakthrough technological solutions. In our partnering with OPERATORS, we have gained new bandwidth, access to markets, executive level decision makers and valuable strategic sparring on GTM. We’re now scaling faster!”

Tanuj Jhunjhunwala, Co-Founder & CEO at Planys, LinkedIn

“OPERATORS was instrumental in enabling EnCoat to reach the target in our recent investment round. The network and credibility they brought were essential. Operators connected us with qualified, relevant people in the shipping industry who already understood the potential of our solution made all the difference. Moreover, the fact that OPERATORS had vetted EnCoat meant that we were taken seriously from day one.”

Andreas Møgelhøj, PhD, CEO, EnCoat, LinkedIn

A professional framework for Executives, Entrepreneurs and Experts (operators)

For operators, the Collective offers a professional way to contribute to high-potential companies where their experience is directly relevant. Operators join boards and Operator Boards with clear expectations, cadence, and scope of work. Each engagement is structured around defined goals and aligned incentives, so time invested is tied to company execution and long-term outcomes.

Operators can qualify to join the Collective. All applicants are assessed against criteria that focus on proven operating experience, domain relevance, and the ability to support founders in building real, scalable businesses.

Addressing industrial-tech execution risk

"The OPERATORS Collective is unique and timely. I see real value in a model that combines experienced operators, thoughtful strategy, and aligned capital for early and growth-stage business. I bring deep domain knowledge across maritime, logistics and supply chain, a network that can help founders accelerate growth, and global experience to support founders when facing tough decisions."

Gregory White, Ex-Executive now strategic advisory LinkedIn

"In many industrial markets, capital alone doesn't address the execution risks founders face. OPERATORS pairs investment with operators who have relevant sector experience, which helps teams validate assumptions earlier, focus on the critical challenges and opportunities, and help teams reach key milestones with fewer iterations and confidence. This combined approach not only reduces uncertainty for both founders and investors, but also greatly increases speed and capturing the value."

Carsten Gram Haagensen, corporate executive in ocean and energy, serial founder and startup investor, LinkedIn

"Early-stage industrial and deep-tech companies frequently encounter challenges that aren't covered by standard startup playbooks. OPERATORS brings together specialists who understand regulatory pathways, technical integration, and enterprise requirements. For founders, this provides a clearer path through decisions that typically slow progress or increase risk."

Jonas Munch Agerskov, Ex-former corporate executive and founder in offshore, LinkedIn

”In intelligence work and in startups, you constantly make decisions with imperfect information. After building and exiting my own company, I know how valuable it is to have experienced people to pressure-test your thinking. That’s why I’m part of OPERATORS - to help founders navigate uncertainty with a bit more clarity and confidence.”

Richard Gwilliam, former intelligence officer and exited startup founder, now Operator, LinkedIn

About OPERATORS

OPERATORS is a board, advisory, and investment collective focused on scaling technology solutions to industrial opportunities in maritime, ocean, energy, and supply chain. The collective brings operators, board members, and investors together in one coordinated model to help ambitious founders build real, scalable businesses with clarity, structure, and execution.

Website: www.operatorscollective.io
Contact: Nicklas V. Fursund - nicklas@operatorscollective.io

Contact details and introduction to all individuals quoted available.