Donnie SC Lygonis

KTH Innovation

At KTH Innovation my job is to meet and coach researchers and students at The Royal Institute of Technology, KTH, in Stockholm, and help them commercialize their ideas and results.

I am humbled to be able to spend my days working hands-on with exponential technologies and people with ideas that actually have the potential to change & save the world. 

I have also have had the opportunity to be a part of KTH Innovation's own innovation process and helped develop the organization, some of the things I have helped co-create so far are:

- 15 TEDx events (http://www.tedxkth.com)
- The Innovation Pavilion (http://www.kth.se/innovation/passion/love-1.74062)
- The KTH Innovation Pre-Incubator Program  (https://www.kth.se/en/innovation/forinkubator)
- The Early Bird Network (http://www.kth.se/innovation/investera/earlybird-1.58191)
- Open Lab (http://openlab.se/)
- Student Innovator Award (https://www.facebook.com/events/202513163218458/)
- Armada Startup

Innovation Strategist & Business Coach

Entrepreneurs without borders

Entrepreneurs Without Borders (EWB) is a business driven non profit that aims to help local founders start and grow sustainable businesses. We have developed our proprietary framework that we call Entrepreneur2030, which is part of our vision that no startups are started without a clear idea of which global goal(s) they are trying to solve (see the UN 17 SDGs for 2030).

I got the first idea of EWB back in 2011, and started working actively on it in 2016, and 2019 we started our first pilot of our virtual campus for startups, offering workshops, lots of peer-to-peer learning, and a global alumni network with like-minded people.

Founder

Nordic Ignite

Nordic Ignite is an angel investment network that supports early-stage companies in the Nordics and Baltics, at pre-seed level. We focus on sectors where the Nordics have a competitive advantage, deep knowledge and strong infrastructure. 

In my role as an Angel ambassador I help provide deal flow, add input to investment decisions and help mentor portfolio investments.

Angel Ambassador

Constant Innovation AB

Constant Innovation is an early stage idea accelerator founded and run by me and my sister Deborah. We have been active on the Nordic startup scene since 1995 when we founded our first startup; children’s game publisher Romelix Interactive. Since then we have founded, supported and invested in more than 50 startups. Today we focus our efforts on projects connected to social good and sustainability.

To sign up for news on investment opportunities or booking us for speaking engagements, please get in touch.

Concept Developer & Professional Speaker

Validicity AB

Patent Pending blockchain solution aiming to solve the chain of custody issues in anti-doping. Developed in collaboration with the Arne Ljungqvist Foundation with anti-doping in mind, however the solution can be used for any logistics in general where proof-of-tamper is important.

Co-Founder

Mellanmål of Sweden

Mellanmål of Sweden is a US based company that imports and sells Swedish and Nordic healthy food products in the US. We have a full one-stop-shop operation and offer shipping, import, warehousing, sales and distribution all across USA.

Friendbase

Friendbase is the worlds first truly cross-platform virtual world chat service, where cell phone users seamlessly interact with computer users in realtime. It's a place for young people to meet and hang out with old and new friends, play games, cultivate pets, design and furnish their own apartments and much more.

We (the founding team) have more than 15 yrs experience from the game industry and business development, and have taken the product from idea to released product with over 2 500 000 users  (main user group being girls 14-20) using only social media and viral spread, no paid advertising or PR. 

http://www.friendbase.com

Founder and concept developer

Various gyms and fitness centers

I have been working as a fitness instructor since 1994. I started out at a small but great gym called Saga Motion and then moved on to Olympic Fitness in Göteborg, that was later aquired by SATS, and at the same time I started working as a boxing instructor. When I moved back to Stockholm I moved over to Kroppskultur and evolved into kickboxing and more classic boxing. After that I spent five years at World Class Vasastan and nowadays you'll find me at Nordic Wellness Odenplan Stockholm.

Fitness Instructor

Nordic Innovation House

I was picked as the first Swede to go to Silicon Valley on a Fellowship in a new pilot program run by the Swedish innovation agency Vinnova. The program is a four year pilot that will send over two senior advisors per year from the Swedish innovation system for 10 months each, in an effort to create and sustain a platform for Swedish startups in Silicon Valley as well as figure out how Sweden can create a more sustainable and scalable way of exporting ideas and getting them ready for a global market. 

Read more about my experiences on my blog: 

http://kth.se/blogs/donnie

Senior Advisor

Lohilo AB

I got the idea of creating a healthy ice cream back in 2011 but didn't act on it until 2013 when I contacted Swedish ice cream producers Alvestaglass. Together we developed Sweden's first ice cream for people who live an active life style and/or care about what they eat. 

I came up with the name Lohilo when trying to figure out what to call something that was Lo(w) on sugar, Hi(gh) on protein and Lo(w) on fat. Lo-Hi-Lo. As simple as that. 

We released the first product in June 2014 and then started distributing to shops in September and reached national coverage in only six months with a presence in over 600 stores, and the rest is as they say, history. 

The branding was done by my me and some friends and the whole thing was a by-the-book boot-strapped startup success story, growth hacked all the way, The first images on the boxes were friends from the gym, shot by a photographer that did it all pro-bono. 

The vision from the start was to create a brand that could become a health food brand, selling a lot more than ice cream, and who knows where the story will end?

SuperConnector | Innovation Strategist | Sustainable Innovation | Food Entrepreneur | 6x TEDx Speaker | Live on LinkedIn Wednesdays 2.30pm CET 🌞

I work as an Innovation Strategist and Business Coach at KTH Innovation, where I have been helping researchers and students at The Royal Institute of Technology, KTH, in Stockholm, for over 14 years. I assist them in turning their ideas and results into viable products and services. I love working hands-on with exponential technologies and people who have world-changing and world-saving ideas.

I am the founder of Entrepreneurs Without Borders, a non-profit organization that supports female entrepreneurs in starting and scaling sustainable businesses that align with the UN 17 SDGs for 2030. 

My latest own venture is Mellanmål Inc, a US based company focused on bringing Swedish better-for-you-and-the-planet food products to America and later the world, aiming to build a global leader in healthier snacks and small bites. 

Besides that, I am an experienced speaker, pitch coach, and serial entrepreneur, with patents and successes in various fields. I have also appeared in several TV shows as a jury and expert, and given 6 TEDx talks on topics related to innovation, entrepreneurship, and social impact.

What a crazy place to work... Just the past a few days... We used to say "It all starts here" and now we say "start here, go anywhere" 

⭐ Maja Åstrand Co-founder of Simulair is awarded the Stiftelsen SKAPA grand prize. 

⭐ Ella Karlsson Co-founder of Permly.ai is awarded best young business idea Solna stad 

⭐ Jonatan Hellvig and his teammate were awarded Bragdguldet for their Olympic beach volleyball win

⭐ Anton Osika and Fabian Edin, founders of Lovable were awarded the KTH Innovation Award 

⭐Katarina Hedbeck Co-founder of Interlinked AB received the Entrepreneurs Without Borders Award

⭐ The KTH Innovation Readiness Level framework now has just almost 4000 organisations using it, all over the world, I am currently in Brazil to workshop with universities and innovation hubs. 

And today it's time for another edition of KTH Innovation Collide, the meeting place of all of our people and many many more - over 500 signed up so far!

Teknikringen 1 - 17:00 to 19:00 - come and join the fun!

All. Images below courtesy of the photographers named in the posts

https://lnkd.in/dyGbpZAN

https://lnkd.in/dPBkp5_F

https://lnkd.in/ddagfx_6

Wohoo!! Big trumpets, happy fireworks! 

So glad to see the 2025 awardee of the Entrepreneurs Without Borders EWB Award receive this well deserved prize, joining the ranks of other great female founders like Maja Åstrand Sandra Vahdani of Simulair, Rutvika Acharya of Caplyzer, Kristina Stojanovic Leyla Ali Dholey of ex-Ovulai, Laura Jardine Paterson of CONCAT Tech, Dominique Uwase Alonga of ImagineWe Publishers. 

Well done and congratulations! 

Congratulations Katarina Hedbeck and Rebecca Stjernberg Bejhed and well done with all your work with Interlinked AB!  

https://lnkd.in/dJhducTF

View company: Entrepreneurs Without Borders

Happy to announce the 2025 EWB Award recipient Katarina Hedbeck, co-founder of Interlinked AB together with Rebecca Stjernberg Bejhed. 

This year's theme was "Grit and Perseverance" and we could not have found a better recipient that this team. 

Well deserved! 🥳🎉🎆🎇

And thank you to all prize sponsors that help make this such a valuable award 🙏❤️

Brainspot Innovation AB / Hans Alveros
The Branding Table / Kim Westerlund
Validicity AB / Deborah B. Lygonis
Pareto 80/20 / Maria Malmsjö Söderberg

And of course a large THANK YOU to our venue sponsor Vasakronan Pernilla Långström🙏🤗

Good Morning Monday Morning! 🤗🎉

From Curitiba, Brazil where I am spending the week with the innovation ecosystem going through the KTH Innovation Readiness Level, but that's not stopping us from getting the week going, right? 

This week:

Tuesday International Anti-Corruption Day
Tuesday Pepparkakans Dag 

Wednesday Nobel Day 
Wednesday Innovation Fika, something from Brazil, yes! 

Thursday Mountain's Day 

Friday International Day for Universal Health Care (shoutout to Nonso Opurum founder of SOSO CARE winner of the Entrepreneurs Without Borders EWB Award in 2022)

Saturday 13th is of course Lucia! ❤️

Sunday 3rd of Advent 🕯️🕯️🕯️
Sunday 14th is also Sustainable Entrepreneurship Day, a day started by Entrepreneurs Without Borders some years back.

So, get up get going, tag a friend, let's make this a great week for the world!

IT'S MONDAY!!

#superconnectorthursday and my 16th Anniversary at KTH Innovation 😲😅🥳

For my anniversary, I want you to:

1. Post your need in the comments below 👇
2. Scroll the comments and help people who have posted, OR post / tag someone else you know is looking for something! 🤗
3. Share the posts so more people can see it! 👀

Here we go my friends -#superconnectorthursday!

Morning everyone! Happy Friday 🥳

It's the International Volunteer Day today, so if you aren't volunteering yourself, help others that are! Donate to your favorite organization - or why not help people find what they need in my #superconnectorthursday post from yesterday? 

Here's the link to that post, I know there are some cool companies looking for people and also some other needs there!

https://lnkd.in/drvyeYy6

Have a happy Friday and a nice weekend, see you all next week! 

#volunteer #beabetterperson

Idag på Nobeldagen kommer här ett helt ojobbmässigt, obusinessigt, okarriärgrundande och oseriöst (plankar dina o-n där Charlotta Alnersson!) men varje dag på instagram så kör jag lucköppning av min julkalender som jag fick av mamma 🤗

En te-kalender med 25 teer, en för julens alla dagar (och ja 25, hon är ju engelska trots allt). 

Har tagit med mig 10 st på resan till Brasilien så jag inte missar några dagar pga resan, så det blir lucköppning på hotellrummet på morgonen innan dagen börjar. 

Idag vart det Tranbär, Hibiskus och Nypon! 🍵🫖 

Här länken till insta https://lnkd.in/dW7YcHSe

HAPPY NOBEL!

Imperial College London

I lead a team that provides extensive support to founders, including thousands of hours or coaching and mentoring by serial entrepreneurs, c-suite individuals, subject and sector specialists. In 2021 I co-founded the Green Tech Legal Collaborative, which received the Law Works Award for Most Effective Pro Bono Partnership in 2023 and has provided over £6m of pro bono legal and IP support to climate tech startups. My focus is on driving innovation and supporting startup success across Imperial College London.

Key achievements:
* Co-developed an Imperial-led Research England bid that secured £5m to create the Climate Scaling Collaborative with Cranfield University, the University of Derby, the University of Exeter, the University of Leeds and the University of Leeds. Co-leading in launching (April 2025) and execution of the project, 
* Co-developed a Research England bid, led by the University of Hertfordshire, and in partnership with Cranfield University, to create the Healthcare Technologies Capability Connect, which secured £1.5m in funding and launched in January 2024. This has already disseminated £400k to potential IP spinouts, and £450k of in kind support to 15 startups, and provided training to over 100 researchers and founders.
* Led Venture Treks to Japan (2023) and New York (2024)
* Oversaw the expansion of Experts-in-Residence to 110 experts
* Oversaw the expansion of the Imperial Venture Mentoring Service to 83 mentors
* Oversaw, alongside the Steering Committee, the expansion of the Green Tech Legal Collaborative from 10 to 20 startups and to 11 law firms. Over £6m in pro bono support provided since 2021.
* Launched Innovation Coaching programme for researchers, A/B tested in cohort 1, now on cohort 3
* Expanded Network for Coaching and Mentoring Entrepreneurs to 100+ members
* Oversaw the development of a peer-reviewed supplier list and resources web pages for Imperial Enterprise Lab
* Spoke at GCEC (2022) and the Slice of Mentorship Podcast (2023)

Head of Incubation Services

Responsible for developing Imperial College London’s entrepreneurial coaching and mentoring services for innovative student and graduate start-ups to help realise the Lab’s vision to be a world leading student entrepreneurship centre for STEM entrepreneurs.

* Idea Surgeries increased provision by 194% from 114 hours (2018-19) to 335 hours (2020-21) 
* Experts-in-Residence increased provision by 514% from 199 hours (2018-19) to 1,221 hours (2020-21) 
* Imperial Venture Mentoring Service: increased from 38 to 75 mentors who provide over 700 hours of gratis mentorship a year to Imperial College founders
* Created the Secret Sauce newsletter, that provides founders with the best opportunities, thought pieces and Imperial startup community news we can find
* Launched Startup Financial Modelling and Startup Pitching Monthly Masterclasses in October 2021
* Launched the Network for Coaching and Mentoring Entrepreneurs in May 2021
* Secured over £90k of gratis legal consultancy for Imperial founders in 2021 and over £250k in 2022

Entrepreneurship Development Manager

As part of a team of seven, this post is responsible for ensuring the Department of Bioengineering’s taught and research programmes run smoothly, to provide a high-quality experience for the students and to raise the profile of the programmes.  

The Department currently has 48 academic staff, 60 postdoctoral researchers, 145 PhD students, 180 MSc and MRes students, 510 undergraduates and 50 professional services staff. Our research and teaching has consistently been ranked in the highest categories both in formal assessments and in published league tables. Our undergraduate and MSc courses in Biomedical Engineering are accredited by the Institution of Mechanical Engineers (IMechE), Institution of Engineering and Technology (IET), Institute of Physics and Engineering in Medicine (IPEM) and Institute of Materials, Minerals and Mining (IOM3). The range of accreditation illustrates the breadth and depth of the learning outcomes our students attain and is also testimony to the breadth of core expertise of our academic staff.

To us we are not just developing future bioengineers; we are creating the future leaders of bioengineering. Therefore we value the whole development of students not just their academic achievement. The Department is a strong supporter of the college-wide Imperial Horizons programme which is designed to broaden the education, inspire creativity and enhance students’ professional impact through courses in business & professional skills, languages & global citizenship, global challenges and science, culture & society.

Student Programmes Manager - Department of Bioengineering (Temporary Contract)

Imperial Venture Mentoring

IVM won the Enterprise Catalyst Award 2025 by the National Enterprise Educators Awards

IVMS is an advisory service for any student or staff member showing a clear entrepreneurial intent and wishing to realise their entrepreneurial idea via the development of a startup company. IVMS uses team-based mentoring where two to three mentors work with a startup for an open-ended period. Team mentoring offers a unique opportunity to advise the leader of a venture and to selectively lend the mentor͛s wealth of contacts and experience to the venture.

The Network for Coaching and Mentoring Entrepreneurs - NCME

NCME connects 120+ practitioners across 60+ institutions globally, facilitating best practice dissemination and community building. We hold three panels a year, on topics proposed by our network, and produce thought pieces about how to best build coaching and mentoring services for entrepreneurs.

Sotheby's Institute of Art

• Created and executed ‘Fall 2018 MA Recruitment and Admissions Campaign’ strategy 
• Increased MA Tuition Paid by 21.6% from 2017 to 2018
• Increased MA applications by 7.1% from 2017 to 2018
• Increased Summer Tuition Paid by 3.3% from 2017 to 2018
• Kept Semester Fall 2018 Tuition Paid comparable with 2017
• Secured MA Deferrals that should account for at least 7% of the 2019 cohort
• Stakeholder engagement, consulted with and worked closely with key stakeholders: co-CEO; Deputy Director; Programme Directors; Course Leaders; Faculty; Global and London Admissions Teams; Global Director of Marketing; Marketing; Programme; Finance; IT; Facilities; Student Services; Library; UKVI  
• Expanded recruitment function, generating new lead engagement tactics 
• Led programme of events, webinars and content
• Managed Financial Assistance Budget and led Financial Assistance Committee
• Line Management: led team of five (2 x Admissions Officers and 3 x Admissions Assistants)
• Recruited and onboarded three Admissions Assistants
• Increased attendance at annual Global Open House event by 100%
• Presented to Sotheby’s Institute of Art Board 

With campuses in London, New York and Los Angeles, Sotheby’s Institute offers graduate level programs that are relevant to an art world that is constantly seeking individuals with depth of understanding, art historical scholarship and business acumen.

Interim Admissions Manager

Entrepreneur First

Entrepreneur First brings together extraordinary people to build startups from scratch. We fund individuals and help build cofounding teams, develop ideas, and accelerate through fundraising from the world's best investors.

To date we have helped over 350 individuals build 80 companies with a total valuation of over $1 billion. Our major exits to date include Magic Pony, led by Rob Bishop and Zehan Wang, which was acquired by Twitter for a reported $150m only 18 months after the Founders met on the EF programme.

For more information about Entrepreneur First, or to apply to join our next cohort, please visit www.joinef.com

Admissions Manager

• Project management and stakeholder engagement: specified and led on the implementation of a more efficient interview scheduling system to cope with increased demand of UCAS applications (approximately a 20% increase per year for the last six years) saving approximately two working weeks a year
• Project management: specified the integration of multiple databases into one centralized system, eliminating redundancy and data entry errors, saving approximately 70 hours per year of manual work   
• Line Management: 1 x Undergraduate Admissions Secretary (Managed a team of approx. 30 student ambassadors)
• Stakeholder engagement, built and maintained relationships with companies, doubling the number of pre-approved placement opportunities for students and increasing their variety 	
• Stakeholder engagement: increased Department of Computing Corporate Partnership Programme funds from £45k a year in 2012-13 to £89k a year in 2015-16, securing new partners & increased commitment from current partners
• Stakeholder engagement: provided industry specific career advice for all Computing Department students
• Project management: overhauled Industrial Placement monitoring system, improving administrative functions, reducing workload and providing a better student experience 
• Stakeholder engagement, key member of college Placement Management Implementation working group 
• Stakeholder engagement, was part of Operational Excellence Undergraduate Admissions working group
• Recognised on multiple occasions for excellent work on undergraduate admissions and connecting students to industry.

Industrial Liaison and Undergraduate Admissions Manager (Computer Science)

• Stakeholder engagement: advised students; academic staff and other colleagues on academic regulations 
• Stakeholder engagement: developed a more positive Fresher’s week programme 
• Supported the Formula Student team by writing a case for funding videos and managing production
• Managed all facets of undergraduate teaching, examination and progression for the department
• Successfully completed the recruitment for the October 2013 undergraduate intake 
• Led project team to successfully develop and implement an online staff handbook
• Organised undergraduate admissions activities such as: open days; interviews; application forms

Undergraduate Administrator (Mechanical Engineering) (Temporary contract)

• Project management and stakeholder engagement: liaised with PASCAL2 and ComPLACS EU Project Officers, Principal Investigators, researchers and administrators. The 50+ beneficiary and non-beneficiary sites which comprised the projects were based all over Europe and I was one of two key contacts expected to keep track of finances, deliverables and milestones. Both projects received multi-million Euro grants and a key responsibility was to ensure that we kept in budget and that researchers were aware of the regulations regarding expenditure and the metrics by which the success of the projects were evaluated
• Meeting and event organization, including: master classes; conferences; seminars and workshops
• Managed 1.5 cycles of student recruitment for two MSc’s and the exam board process for both degrees   
• Streamlined the sponsorship acceptance process by developing a template contract

Postgraduate and Research Administrator (Computer Science) (Maternity cover contract)

City University London

• Provided general non-programme administrative support to Head of Department and academic staff 
• Stakeholder engagement: Finance; HR; Marketing; Timetabling; other departments; external funders
• Improved systems by leading the move to monthly timesheets for the Visiting Staff system.  
• Stakeholder engagement: liaised with external contacts and organizations

Departmental Administrator (Optometry)

• Provided administrative support to Centre staff and students by managing information and budgets
• Reviewed, created and implemented office systems
• Stakeholder engagement: facilitated seminars, conferences, focus groups & awaydays for staff & students
• Stakeholder engagement: liaised with charities who provided research funding and care homes who provided research venues
• Administration of Journal of Research in Nursing

Research Support Administrator (Care for Older People)

Orion Publishing Group

• Liaised with audio production company, authors, readers, abridgers, design, sales, marketing, rights, production, publicity and contracts 
• Managed schedule
• Researched titles and assist in acquisition where possible
• Publicity for audio titles
• Distributed content to download retailers
• Researched opportunities presented by evolving digital platforms and technology 
• Administrative support to Audio Manager – dealing with in-house publishing database, website, reprint list, departmental calendar, invoices etc.

Audio Editor

Society of Young Publishers

• Responsible for managing the London and Oxford Committees (20 people) 
• Ensured that a varied and comprehensive programme was maintained for the 350+ members 
• Evolved and expanded all areas of the society

Chair

• Updated membership database 
• First point of contact for new members 
• Reminded members when they needed to renew their memberships

Membership Secretary

With significant experience in leading and developing incubation services for entrepreneurs, I am passionate about enabling and supporting innovation and impact at Imperial College London. As the Head of Incubation Services, I manage a range of services that provide thousands of hours of expert support to Imperial founders, and £1 million per year of pro bono legal and IP support.

I am also the co-founder of The Network for Coaching and Mentoring Entrepreneurs (NCME), a platform that connects and trains mentors for early-stage ventures. In recognition of my contribution to enterprise education, I was awarded the Fellowship of Enterprise Educators UK (EEUK) in 2021. I have a strong background in information, communication, and society, with a Master's degree from City, University of London, and a Postgraduate Diploma in Management from Birkbeck, U. of London.

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