// 01
16 years
Commercial experience spanning export, distribution, brand development, marketplaces, partnerships and European expansion.
About Rafael Frankow
Sixteen years building growth from inside the channel.
I have worked on the distributor side, the brand side and the local-market side. I understand how European expansion looks from the strategy meeting—and where it usually breaks during execution.
Experience
Experience across products and European markets.
The product and market have changed across my career. The work has remained consistent: understand the opportunity, build the right route, earn partner attention and maintain enough ownership to make the channel perform.
// 02
Across channels
Distributors, resellers, Amazon, retail relationships, B2B projects, connected software and integration partners.
// 03
Across markets
Practical experience in the UK, DACH, Nordics, Benelux, Eastern Europe and wider European markets.
Career path
From generating export business to leading European commercial systems.
This is the hands-on experience behind Frankow Ltd. View my career on LinkedIn ↗
// 01
2010–2018
Distribution and channel development
I began in export at Platinet in 2010. From 2011 to 2018, I worked through Computers Unlimited, Softline and MMD Distribution, developing reseller networks and retail opportunities. Brands I worked with across these distributor roles included:
…alongside many more Apple-ecosystem and consumer-electronics brands.
See distributor-side retail development →// 02
2015–2017
Smanos / Chuango — brand-side market entry
Working directly on the brand side, I developed the UK and DACH commercial presence, distributor relationships, product positioning and retail opportunities.
See the Smanos market-entry case →// 03
2018–present
igloo — European commercial leadership
At igloo, my work spans connected products, distribution, retail, Amazon, Shopify and software partnerships across Europe and the group’s hardware and software offerings.
See software and integration partnerships →Experience in the room
Commercial credibility is earned face to face.
European growth also means presenting the proposition, answering difficult questions and representing the product confidently at exhibitions, partner showcases, buyer meetings and industry events.
Hardware, software & partnerships
Turning connected hardware into recurring revenue.
My experience includes the business side of moving connected products beyond one-off hardware sales: developing integration partnerships, revenue-sharing models, joint go-to-market activity and software-linked B2B propositions.
I do not replace a product or engineering team. I help connect product capability to partner value, customer adoption and a commercial model that the market can understand and support.
Publications
Research into how buyers choose.
I also run Unstaffed Works, covering self-service operations and connected access, and Portable Power Post, a research-based publication about portable power products.
This research informs how I think about product information and buying decisions. Each publication explains its own research methods and relevant commercial relationships.
AI-assisted approach
Tools built from the work—not added for the presentation.
I use the Frankow AI Brain to organise market research, challenge assumptions, compare commercial routes and preserve decision history across an engagement.
The system expands the research and analysis I can complete. It does not replace direct conversations, commercial judgement or responsibility for the final recommendation.
Working model
Direct leadership. Additional capability only where it is needed.
Every engagement is led directly by me. I remain accountable for the commercial thinking, relationships and operating cadence.
Where the scope genuinely requires it, I bring in specialist research, account-management or local delivery support. I do not present an assembled network as permanent headcount.
Languages & regions
Local conversations matter.
- English, German and Polish
- UK, DACH, Nordics, Benelux and Eastern Europe experience
- Commercial work across wider European markets
Start
Bring the current market problem.
I will help determine whether it needs a diagnostic, partner development, marketplace activation, software-commercialisation support or ongoing commercial ownership.