Samuel Dirksz · Oslo area
Maker. I build things people actually use.
Applied AI and automation · own companies with full P&L responsibility · six years as a sparring partner for founders at Innovation Norway.
sammydirksz@gmail.com·+47 966 45 001·linkedin.com/in/samueldirksz
I must understand how things actually work, and I don't stop at the first answer. For 25 years that's driven me to build: founder of four companies, product manager in two startups, and six years as senior advisor at Innovation Norway, where I learned to find out where the shoe actually pinches for the people I worked with. Today I design and ship data-driven AI systems and automations by directing AI tooling, without a traditional coding background, though I've always liked to speak "nerd". I'm at my best at the interface between business and technology, translating both ways.
None of it happens alone. My wife Rena and I left the Dutch rat race eight years ago for a small farm in Sunnfjord: land, quiet, and food we grew ourselves. We have landed, and now we are moving to the Oslo area for a bit more pulse.
Timeline
25 years of building
Competence
AI & automation
- Default is not to reinvent the wheel: look for existing building blocks first, from single prompts to complete platforms, and build on top where the license allows.
- Designed and shipped 100+ working builds, among them 30+ custom AI agent workflows combining live data APIs, web crawling, and persistent storage, productized into repeatable client services.
- Built an AI flow in Copilot Studio at Innovation Norway that assessed the level of innovation and novelty in applications. Shared with colleagues and developed further together. Research per application went from one to two hours to a few minutes.
- Built AI-driven SEO and visibility services end to end (analysis, automation, delivery), now in use with pilot clients.
- Built agentic pipelines with real engineering decisions baked in: secure credential handling, cost control, validation gates before spend, audit trails.
- Runs MCP server integrations, scheduled automations, and a persistent personal knowledge system.
- Bridge between non-technical teams and AI tooling. Has trained colleagues, clients and founders hands-on.
Claude Code, Perplexity, Codex, Dyad, MCP servers, PyRunner, ActivePieces, n8n, Azure OpenAI (EU) · self-hosted on Coolify / Hetzner
Experience
Where I've worked
Innovation Norway
Senior Advisor
January 2020 – May 2026 · Førde, Norway
Advisor and mentor to early-phase startups and companies, from small local producers to national tech firms. Based at Vekst- og Gründersenteret, the first-line filter for the whole organization.
- Personally assessed around 700 startup grant applications over five years, evaluating business plans, budgets, teams and market potential.
- Four years on Gründertelefonen, the national startup helpline: more than 2,000 conversations, triaging callers and giving direct guidance.
- Built an AI flow in Copilot Studio, inside Innovation Norway's approved Microsoft environment, to assess level of innovation and novelty. Shared with colleagues and improved together. The time saved on research went back into the conversation with the client.
- Built the online course "From Idea to Market" single-handedly when COVID demand outgrew a regional live webinar. Still running nationally today.
- Elected safety representative (verneombud): working environment, Miljøfyrtårn (Eco-Lighthouse) reporting, HMS checklists. Inherited a multi-year reporting backlog, caught it up, and built a routine so it stayed current.
- Digital Business Developer, MinSide product team (2024): recruited and ran a 20-user beta community feeding a six-person dev team; beta launched within six months.
- Senior Business Developer, En Vei Inn (2023): cross-agency project building a single digital entry point to public business support, with SIVA, Eksfin, the Research Council and county municipalities.
AI visibility for Norwegian businesses, moving from consultancy to platform. I joined as a partner in 2026 and own product and tech; my partner owns sales and network. Flagship product: the AI Visibility Tracker, tracking how ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini and Perplexity describe a client's brand over time. The platform is built on an open source foundation, with my own feature and automation layer on top.
Digital Revisor AS
Product & Project Manager (full-time consultant via my own sole proprietorship)
February 2018 – January 2020 · Førde, Norway
Translated a founder's vision into buildable software. Made the build-versus-buy call to adopt Nextcloud as a foundation rather than building from scratch. The product still runs on it today, as Jointly Office.
- Auditing is a traditional market where selling something completely new is hard. The solutions that won were the ones that lived inside the workflow people already had.
- Coordinated a development team in Belarus through weekly standups, and owned the priorities from roadmap to launch with the first customers.
Meesterknecht BV
Founder & CEO
2014 – 2017 · Amsterdam
Founded Amsterdam's first road-cycling specialist store, with workshop, clubhouse and coffee bar, in a city with more than 200 bike shops. Named one of the "25 favorite bicycle spots in the world" by Soigneur Magazine.
- Did the full rebuild of the premises myself: storefront, new workshop and coffee bar.
- Recruited and led a team of six. The coffee bar paid off at events and gave the shop an experience online retail could not copy.
- When price pressure from online stores ate our margins, we shifted strategy toward workshop and maintenance. When competitors caught up, we chose to close with no debt, and a farewell event for our customers.
Pristine Fixed Gear
Founder & Owner
2009 – 2014 · Amsterdam
Founded the Netherlands' first fixed-gear specialist shop and Mission Workshop's first physical retailer in the EU. Built it into a place cyclists from all over the world put on their list when visiting Amsterdam.
- Started with our own money after the banks said no to the niche. Break-even in year one, paying three wages.
- Own frames under the Pristine name: the Superior, produced in China, and the Super Vetta, built by an Italian hand builder.
- Wholesale from year three to other bike shops, with direct distributor deals lifting margins significantly.
- Events, our own alleycats, Eurobike, and collaborations with MASH SF, Deus Ex Machina, Cinelli and Kryptonite.
Earlier: built and sold PCs and game consoles from age 18 (1992), formalised as Tweakheat from 1996 to 2007. The Audio Hunt, product manager (2017). Rapha Racing, freelance translator (2014–2018).
Community
Outside work
Represents the village's interests toward the municipality and other public authorities, and coordinates with other local associations and businesses on shared priorities. Built and maintain the association's website. Coordinated the volunteer-run Slåtterock festival end to end for two years: booking artists, website, social media, poster design and merchandise.
Education
Hogeschool Rotterdam
Bachelor, Social Pedagogy
2003–2007
Erasmus University Rotterdam
Psychology
2008–2009
MTS Zuid, Rotterdam
Micro-electronics, Telematics
1991–1995
LTS De Eilanden, Spijkenisse
Electrician, Electrical and Electronics
1987–1990
Languages
Dutch (native) · Norwegian (fluent, Norwegian mother) · English (fluent) · Swedish, Danish and German (basic)