One day in the mid-90s, while running a sports store in Stockholm, I was introduced to the internet, and a whole new world opened up. With an old friend from pre-school, we launched TheAlps.com with every ski resort, hotel, and thousands of slopes, and where passionate skiers and snowboarders could connect. It quickly became the largest online community for winter sports, long before social media existed. And the start of a personal journey into digitalization, innovation and community building.
Soon after came the .com boom, a period when Stockholm’s emerging tech scene burst with creativity and new ideas, fueled by international venture capital. I was fortunate to be part of that wave, learning how collaboration, openness, and curiosity could transform an entire city. That spirit still drives me today. Over the last decades, I have been part of several start-ups, the growth journey of Hyper Island school of creative media into the world, co-founded SUP46, one of the first digital startup accelerators in Sweden, and built The Park, a community and coworking hub with more than 1,000 members and several locations in Stockholm.
Throughout this journey, I’ve had the opportunity to experience innovation from multiple perspectives. I’ve worked with business development in my own startups, served on boards, and collaborated with directors in large corporations navigating transformation and supported governments and nations in their efforts to stay relevant and thrive in a rapidly changing world. These experiences have strengthened my belief that innovation isn’t limited to a specific sector or size of organization; it’s a mindset shaped by people, culture and the environments they create together.
I’ve always been fascinated by how Stockholm became one of the most innovative cities in the world, producing more Unicorns per capita than anywhere else. I take every opportunity with international delegations to explore their thoughts behind them. It can’t only be the darkness and long winters that drive our focus. Is it the life balance with nature and the Allemansrätt, the Swedish right to roam, as an early open source solution? Or maybe it’s our consensus-driven, low-hierarchy leadership, our functional Scandinavian design that translates seamlessly into the digital world, or the transparency and trust that make collaboration so natural. Perhaps it’s these and other cultural and structural clues that together form the invisible architecture of innovation.
Creating environments for growth has become my passion. I’ve watched generations of first-day students grow into confident professionals ready to take on global roles or build companies that shape the world. Seeing that transformation unfold — in a classroom, a coworking space, a hackathon, or at a community event — is what truly drives me.
The future belongs to those who keep learning, who stay curious, and who dare to engage in spaces where growth can happen. I cannot predict the future, but we can design the environments where the future is being shaped.
