Roald Larsen Joins In The Pocket as Strategy Lead
In The Pocket welcomes Roald Larsen as its new Strategy Lead, bringing over twenty years of experience in helping companies through digital transformation and adapt to new technologies.
Twenty years ago, Roald Larsen built one of Belgium's first e-commerce platforms from his university dorm room, witnessing the first digital disruption as an active participant and learning about its possibilities first-hand. Today, as In The Pocket's new Strategy Lead, he's helping companies navigate an even bigger shift: the AI revolution.
From Record Collector to Startup Entrepreneurship and Digital Transformation
When we connected with Roald for an interview, his backdrop resembled a "The Sound of Music" scene. That week, he worked remotely in the mountains while enjoying cycling and hiking in his free time. Roald's motto is maintaining a balance between work and outdoor activities. "Moving and being active is a big part of my life."
It's a stark contrast to how things were at the start of his career, when remote work was unimaginable and being "online" meant being tied to a physical location. Roald's journey began in the mid-90s, from vinyl records to online stores. As a music lover and record collector, he saw firsthand how the internet changed the music industry. "We built everything from scratch - there weren't any helpful tools like Cursor or Lovable back then," Larsen recalls. "Everything was new. There was no guidebook, no community of startups like today." This led him to build one of Belgium's first online record shops while still at university, learning important lessons about business and technology along the way.
His engineering background, entrepreneurial spirit and can-do attitude were essential in shaping his career path. Working at eBay, he helped companies to embrace online selling before e-commerce became mainstream. "What started as individual problem-solving for specific businesses evolved into a repeatable framework that could help traditional companies across industries embrace digital transformation,” he explains.
Building Expertise Through Experience
His hands-on experience proved to be worth more than countless strategy presentations as it allowed him to spot real market signals and understand genuine business needs. By sharing these firsthand insights with other companies and seeing what resonated, he developed a great sense for identifying transformation opportunities. This approach of combining practical experience with strategic insight became his trademark, establishing him as a trusted advisor helping large companies adapt to the digital age.
Roald's connection with In The Pocket dates back to 2009 when he met co-founder Louis Jonckheere during their business school, working on an in-company project at Netlog. "He was showing me the first iPhone and all the apps on it, saying, “Hey, look at this - it's going to be a huge thing," Larsen remembers with a smile. "The founders of In The Pocket are true visionary entrepreneurs".
From mobile apps to AI product development and transformation services, Roald sees In The Pocket as a partner that blends both hands-on building and strategic advice: "We're pioneers; we explore what's possible. We share what we learn. That's what we do for our clients - help them understand what matters."
On Artificial Intelligence, Larsen takes a practical approach:"What we have seen in the past two years is innovation that would normally have taken us 10-15 years," he says. "Companies need a clear path forward. Business leaders are pressured to do "something with AI". What I like about the In The Pocket approach is that we stay calm and focused. We know that being pragmatic and strategic while leaving room for exploration is the way to move forward.”
He highlights how In The Pocket covers all the aspects of the digital transformation journey - delivering premium quality and tangible results. "From strategy and platform development to product and design, our blended teams bring everything together. That is one of our biggest strengths."
Looking ahead, Larsen emphasises the importance of human knowledge in an AI-driven world: "What's crucial is the real experience, understanding what works because you've done it before. That's the kind of skill we all need to develop with AI."
