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Donnie Lygonis

Innovation Strategist & Business Coach at KTH Royal Institute of Technology

Stockholm, Sweden

In short, I am passionate about everything that has to do with ideas, concepts and new ways of doing things we never thought could be done differently.

I also love teaching, I love meeting students, the ones that are ready to conquer the world but might not, and the ones that will but have no idea yet, and for every person I meet, I hope I can inspire them to have a better day.

My own journey started in the army, where every day was a creative challenge. My eight years as an Officer in the Royal Engineers taught me to always be prepared to re-evaluate situations at hand, and try figure out the easiest and smartest solution for the day. And a new one each and every day, since it was all about being unpredictable, and almost never having the right or enough resources.

Since then I have started and run a number of companies and projects, many of them together with my sister Deborah, as well as helping large organisations with their business development.

I am a juror in a number of competitions; Venture Cup, Young Enterprise, The Inventors (TV show) and Finn Upp to mention a few, and I have also created and taught a number of courses, amongst them a leadership program for the School of Economics and Business in Göteborg and a course on Business Planning for IHM Business School in Stockholm.

I am also an avid TEDxster, with having organized 15 TEDx conferences so far and spoken 5 times at various TEDx events, as well as being a part of the European TEDx Organizer Organisation (www.tedx.com) I have attended one TED event so far, TED Global in Rio de Janeiro 2014, and also the EG Conference in Carmel in 2016 and 2017.

In 2016 I founded Entrepreneurs WIthout Borders, a non-profit that helps early stage founders of positive impact organisations scale and grow sustainably, in order to create jobs and speed up the worlds journey towards the UN Sustainable Development goals.

Available For: Consulting, Influencing, Speaking
Travels From: Stockholm
Speaking Topics: innovation, startups, entrepreneurship

Donnie Lygonis Points
Academic 0
Author 286
Influencer 147
Speaker 70
Entrepreneur 20
Total 523

Points based upon Thinkers360 patent-pending algorithm.

Thought Leader Profile

Portfolio Mix

Company Information

Company Type: Company
Minimum Project Size: N/A
Average Hourly Rate: N/A
Number of Employees: N/A
Company Founded Date: Undisclosed

Areas of Expertise

AI 30.17
AR/VR 30.22
Business Strategy 30.10
Creativity 30.22
Digital Disruption
Emerging Technology
Entrepreneurship 53.02
Health and Wellness
Innovation 42.40
Leadership 30.30
Lean Startup
Metaverse 30.19
Startups 53.03
Sustainability 30.92

Industry Experience

Publications

111 Article/Blogs
Weekly Musing #39 Halftime 2025
Linkedin
July 05, 2025
I had my last big delivery last week with the KTH Innovation Readiness Level Summit, and I’m now in the last two weeks at work, winding down into the holidays.

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Tags: Entrepreneurship, Innovation, Startups

Weekly Musing #22 Delegate to get things done
Import from medium.com
October 26, 2023
Today’s work environments are messier than ever; product cycles are shorter, the TikTok consumer has the shortest attention span in history and yes, the world seems kind of upside down, with conflicts erupting everywhere and environmental issues only getting worse.We had hardly made it out of a g

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Tags: Innovation, Startups, Entrepreneurship

Weekly Musing #21 The Comfort Paradox
Import from medium.com
October 24, 2023
The Comfort Paradox: We avoid struggles, yet desire the rewards that come with them.This week’s musing is based on a LinkedIn post that I commented on by Martin Ödman , here is the original post, in Swedish, where he reflects over a discussion he had with a friend regarding taking on challenges

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Tags: Innovation, Startups, Entrepreneurship

Weekly Musing #20 Hand on your heart, do you learn from your m
Import from medium.com
October 01, 2023
Weekly Musing #20 Do you (really) learn from your mistakes?Imagine wrapping up a project that you poured heart and soul into, only to realize it didn’t go as planned.You tell yourself you’ll learn from this experience, but will you really? How many of us keeps saying we’ll learn from our mist

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Tags: Innovation, Startups, Entrepreneurship

Weekly Musing #19 Look back to learn, look forward to build.
Import from medium.com
September 17, 2023
A good metaphor for how to live your life is the one of driving; you occasionally glance in the rear-view mirror but you keep your eyes on the road in front of you, and you probably have an idea of where you want to end up as well.Sounds easy but one of the hardest things to do is to find the balan

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Tags: Innovation, Startups, Entrepreneurship

Weekly Musing #18 Don’t get stuck in the problem, move into the solution
Import from medium.com
September 10, 2023
We all face challenges — some small, some large, and some that seem almost insurmountable, and it’s easy to get lost in a maze of worry and frustration.However, staying stuck in the problem isn’t going to help you get out of it, on the contrary, it’s a trap, a sand hole that will keep fi

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Tags: Innovation, Startups, Entrepreneurship

Weekly Musings #16 Celebrating Jante
Import from medium.com
August 04, 2023
The five Nordic flagsWeekly Musing #16 — Celebrating the Law of Jante.If you hail from Sweden, Denmark, Norway, Finland, or Iceland, you are bound to be familiar with the Law of Jante.In Sweden, we often consider this a Swedish concept, subject to harsh criticism and contempt, particularly

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Tags: Innovation, Startups, Entrepreneurship

Weekly Musings #15 Reflections from the open road
Import from medium.com
July 29, 2023
Weekly Musings #15 Reflections from the open roadEvery year I embark on a couple of solo or semi-solo trips.Over Ascension Weekend (Kristi himmelfärdhelg in Swedish) we (me and some friends) go hiking and canoeing, and the last three summers I have got on my motorbike and headed off for a drive, 

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Tags: Innovation, Startups, Entrepreneurship

Daily Post #518 Experience doesn’t count
Import from medium.com
July 13, 2023
Ok so a slightly click-baity heading, sorry for that, but when talking about experience, please make sure you mean “have done something, been somewhere AND learned something, evolved, grew, moved on”, and not just “I was there” or “I have done that before”.Someone might say “Oh I have

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Tags: Innovation, Startups, Entrepreneurship

Daily Post #517 On mindset
Import from medium.com
July 09, 2023
Life is life, it is what is is.We play the cards we are dealt, and yes, a lot in life might be perceived to be unfair, cursed and not what you were hoping for.You can’t choose what happens to you, the only choice you have is to decide on how you react to what happens to you.That doesn’t mean

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Tags: Innovation, Startups, Entrepreneurship

Daily Post #516 Things to stop saying, part II “Ok guys”
Import from medium.com
July 05, 2023
From time to time I write about expressions and filler words that have found their way into our language and that I find annoying.I have previously written about the filler word “Basically” which seems to be the dominant staple food filler word for entrepreneurs, see post #68 from 2021 for that

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Tags: Innovation, Startups, Entrepreneurship

Daily Post #515 Halftime 2023
Import from medium.com
July 01, 2023
July 1st.6 Months past, 6 months to go. Halftime so to speak.The magic of the pre-summer halfway mark is that it starts with the summer period, which for many of us is a time of rest and recreation, and hopefully, reflection and contemplation.For some, it is a welcome break after a hectic spring, I

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Tags: Innovation, Startups, Entrepreneurship

Daily Post #514 Growth Mindset — The Summary
Import from medium.com
May 27, 2023
Daily Post #514 Growth Mindset — The SummaryDaily post 514 “Growth Mindset — The Summary”So , 10 posts on growth mindset, they are all published in order on Medium, and I must say I have learned a lot.Not so much maybe regarding what it is or how to cultivate it, in many ways (as

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Tags: Innovation, Startups, Entrepreneurship

Daily Post #513 The flip side of the concept of Growth Mindset
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May 27, 2023
Post 9 of 10 on the topic of Growth Mindset, popularized by Carol Dweck’s book “Mindset: The New Psychology of Success”.As you know by now it’s all about the idea that you can improve your abilities and intelligence through effort and learning, rather than believing they are fixed and unchan

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Tags: Innovation, Startups, Entrepreneurship

Daily Post #513 Growth Mindset — the flip side.
Import from medium.com
March 19, 2023
Daily Post #513 Growth Mindset — the flip side.Post 9 of 10 on the topic of Growth Mindset, popularized by Carol Dweck’s book “Mindset: The New Psychology of Success”.As you know by now it’s all about the idea that you can improve your abilities and intelligence through effort and lea

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Tags: Innovation, Startups, Entrepreneurship

Daily Post #512 How to develop a growth mindset “ACTIONS”
Import from medium.com
March 14, 2023
Ok then, part 8 of 10 on Growth Mindset and part three of three on how to develop a growth mindset. As you know I divided the “How to” up in three parts; SELF, INTERACTIONS and now finally ACTIONS.What can I DO to foster and develop a growth mindset? what do I need to continue doing to keep a g

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Tags: Innovation, Startups, Entrepreneurship

Daily Post #512 How to develop a Growth Mindset: “ACTIONS”
Import from medium.com
March 09, 2023
Ok then, part 8 of 10 on Growth Mindset and part three of three on how to develop a growth mindset.As you know I divided the “How to” up in three parts; SELF, INTERACTIONS and now finally ACTIONS.What can I DO to foster and develop a growth mindset? what do I need to continue doing to keep a g

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Tags: Innovation, Startups, Entrepreneurship

Daily Post #511 How to develop a growth mindset “INTERACTIONS”
Import from medium.com
March 07, 2023
So post 7 in my 10 posts on Growth Mindset, and I have divided the “How To” into three parts; SELF, INTERACTIONS and ACTIONS.So, INTERACTIONS. What to think about in your interaction with the world around you when working towards a more growth oriented mindset?My top five:Change your attitude

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Tags: Innovation, Startups, Entrepreneurship

Daily Post #510 How to develop a growth mindset: “SELF”
Import from medium.com
March 03, 2023
Ok so in my series of 10 posts about growth mindset, here comes number 6 and this one is the first of three of the topic of “how to develop a growth mindset”.I have chosen to divide them up into three separate posts:SELF — things connected to your inner selfINTERACTION— things connecte

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Tags: Innovation, Startups, Entrepreneurship

Daily Post #509 The false growth mindset dilemma
Import from medium.com
February 27, 2023
The fifth post in a series of ten on the topic of the growth mindset.Today something about the drawback of thinking you have a growth mindset, yet use that as an excuse to always trying to learn a little bit more before that scary “doing” thing.Let’s call it unconscious procrastination.It’

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Tags: Innovation, Startups, Entrepreneurship

Daily Post #508 Can one develop a growth mindset?
Import from medium.com
February 26, 2023
Part four of my ten posts on growth mindset, a series of posts where I explore the concept of a growth mindset. I have defined it, compared it to a fixed mindset, and in my previous post I wrote about why entrepreneurs need to foster a growth mindset.So how do we get there? How do we develop a grow

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Tags: Innovation, Startups, Entrepreneurship

Daily Post #507 Why entrepreneurs need a growth mindset
Import from medium.com
February 12, 2023
Part 3 of 10 posts about The Growth MindsetThe previous two posts I wrote about the differences between a growth and fixed mindset, and in this post I thought I would explore why having a growth mindset is crucial for anyone wanting to be an entrepreneur.First of all, with a growth mindset you real

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Tags: Innovation, Startups, Entrepreneurship

Daily Post #506 The Fixed Mindset
Import from medium.com
February 10, 2023
Part 2 in a series of 10 posts about “Growth Mindset”.The definition of a fixed mindset might sound obvious; The belief that ones intelligence and abilities are limited and can’t be improved.The interesting thing is when we start looking at what that might mean in everyday life.See it’s not

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Tags: Innovation, Startups, Entrepreneurship

Daily Post #505 The Growth Mindset
Import from medium.com
February 08, 2023
The Growth Mindset.You’ve probably heard about it a 1000 times now, everyone is talking about that they have it, or want it, and even if you have no idea what it means, you know that you need it. At least that’s what everyone says.So what is it, this mythological concept?The coming 10 posts I

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Tags: Innovation, Startups, Entrepreneurship

Daily Post #504 Feeding the monster
Import from medium.com
February 02, 2023
If we consider the shortened attention spans a problem, then why are marketeers and others feeding that monster?“YOU ONLY HAVE 3 SECONDS TO GRAB THEIR ATTENTION, SO ADAPT YOUR CONTENT!!”And suddenly all our feeds look like the conditioning scene from A Clockwork Orange (a film by Stanley Kubric

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Tags: Innovation, Startups, Entrepreneurship

1 Author Newsletter
Weekly Musing #23 If not you, then who?
LinkedIn
November 05, 2023
This week’s musing is inspired by an article by the journalist Vesna Prekopic who wrote a brilliant article this weekend in Dagens Nyheter about democracy, polarization and how she has decided to take a stand for a better world.

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Tags: Innovation, Startups, Entrepreneurship

1 Founder
Entrepreneurs Without Borders
Entrepreneurs Without Borders
December 01, 2016
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

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Tags: Innovation, Startups, Leadership, Entrepreneurship

7 Keynotes
Donnie SC Lygonis Keynote at Sustainable Entrepreneurship Day 2021
Entrepreneurs Without Borders
December 15, 2021
The opening keynote for Sustainable Entrepreneurship Day 2021 by EWB founder Donnie SC Lygonis

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Tags: Innovation, Startups, Sustainability, Entrepreneurship

Keynote Speaker Donnie S. C. Lygonis convida a todos a participar da Conferência Anpei 2018
ANPEI
May 16, 2018
Keynote Speaker Donnie S. C. Lygonis convida a todos a participar da Conferência Anpei 2018

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Tags: AI, Innovation, Startups, Entrepreneurship

Donnie SC Lygonis: How HTH Works and Gains
Rīgas Tehniskā universitāte
February 01, 2018
How HTH Works and Gains

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Tags: Innovation, Startups, Entrepreneurship

Donnie Lygonis · KTH Royal Institute of Technology | HÉROES FEST 2017
Innpulsa Colombia
November 29, 2017
HÉROES FEST 2017

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Tags: Innovation, Startups, Entrepreneurship

How Norway became the most innovative country in the world
YouTube
December 02, 2016
Donnie Lygonis is an expert on innovation from KTH Royal Institute of Technology, Sweden. He helps bright students of KFT to commercialize their ideas and makes startups succeed. He has just returned from 10 months in Silicon Valley working out on the Nordic Innovation House in Palo Alto. Donnie is also an avid TEDxster, with 3 talks under his belt.

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Tags: Innovation, Entrepreneurship

How Norway became the most innovative country in the world | Donnie Lygonis | TEDxBergen
TEDx Talks
November 02, 2016
Donnie Lygonis is an expert on innovation from KTH Royal Institute of Technology, Sweden. He helps bright students of KFT to commercialize their ideas and makes startups succeed. He has just returned from 10 months in Silicon Valley working out on the Nordic Innovation House in Palo Alto. Donnie is also an avid TEDxster, with 3 talks under his be

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Tags: Innovation, Startups

Creativity and innovation can save the world | Donnie Lygonis | TEDxAUEB
TEDx Talks
October 23, 2014
This talk was given at a local TEDx event, produced independently of the TED Conferences. You go to school to learn how to learn. And keep learning. To learn how to think, and rethink. If we can adapt from an
early age the mindset that accepts that the only constant is change, we can feel a lot better about learning, and we can
position us in this change, and even more, instead of being reactive to change, we can be proactive to change, and take
control of change. Donnie explains the connection between equality, curiosity, diversity and trust, in this journey of
constant changes.

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Tags: Innovation, Startups, Entrepreneurship

2 Media Interviews
Entrepreneurship & UN-SDGs | Donnie Lygonis | Conscious Stockholm
Conscious Design Dialogues
October 28, 2021
Donnie Lygonis, a Business Development Coach and Innovation Strategist in conversation with Aishwarya Narayana

Donnie sheds light on the nature of innovation in the Design Industry. The dialogue delves into the nuances of social responsibility and scalable human impact that Entrepreneurs across the world and domains must reflect upon.

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Tags: Innovation, Entrepreneurship

AI in Innovation and Entrepreneurship | Donnie SC Lygonis
KTH AI Society
June 06, 2021
The following is a conversation with Donnie SC Lygonis. Donnie Lygonis is an Innovation Strategist and Businesses Development coach at KTH Innovation.

In this podcast series, you will get to listen to different people from diverse backgrounds. To stay updated, click on the bell icon.

To support us like and share our videos and subscribe to our channel. If you have any feedback, don't hesitate to comment down below.

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Tags: AI, Innovation, Startups, Entrepreneurship

2 Podcasts
Innovation Fika E78 Making it work, my entrepreneurial journey with Rohit Agarwal
Innovation Fika
September 28, 2022
Episode 78 of my Innovation Fika and this time all about HOW TO MAKE IT WORK. Rohit Agarwal started his business just before the pandemic and had to iterate, pivot, try new things and just simply make it work, and he has some really good lessons for every struggling entrepreneur out there.

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Tags: Innovation, Startups, Entrepreneurship

Innovation Fika Episode 68 Storytelling as a business strategy with Melina Galeadi
Innovation Fika
June 22, 2022
Join me and Melina Galeadi for a conversation about using storytelling as a business strategy.

Melina is Global Head of Strategy & Planning at The Absolute Company and has held numerous executive positions in brand management, product development, international business development and worked with different FMCGs on a global, regional and local level, and has developed and launched numerous brands in over 50 markets around the world.

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Tags: Innovation, Startups, Entrepreneurship, Business Strategy

56 Videos
Innovationsfika avsnitt 182 - mitt liv som affärsängel med Lars Lindgren
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June 11, 2025

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Tags: Innovation, Startups, Entrepreneurship

Innovation Fika Episode 172 Expo West 2025 Recap
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April 01, 2025

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Tags: Innovation, Startups, Entrepreneurship

Innovation Fika Episode 172 Expo West 2025 Recap
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March 26, 2025

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Tags: Innovation, Startups, Entrepreneurship

Innovation Fika Episode 172 Expo West 2025 Recap
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March 12, 2025

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Tags: Innovation, Startups, Entrepreneurship

Good Morning June 24th 2024
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June 24, 2024

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Tags: Innovation, Startups, Entrepreneurship

Good Morning June 17th 2024
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June 17, 2024

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Tags: Innovation, Startups, Entrepreneurship

Innovation Fika E148 How to lead for equality and diversity
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April 17, 2024

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Tags: Innovation, Startups, Entrepreneurship

Innovation Fika E148 How to lead for equality and diversity
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April 15, 2024

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Tags: Innovation, Startups, Entrepreneurship

Open Webinar on the KTH Innovation Readiness Level
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April 10, 2024

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Tags: Innovation, Startups, Entrepreneurship

Open Webinar on the KTH Innovation Readiness Level
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April 09, 2024

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Tags: Innovation, Startups, Entrepreneurship

Innovation Fika Episode 146 - AMA with Donnie
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April 03, 2024

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Tags: Innovation, Startups, Entrepreneurship

Innovation Fika Episode 146 - AMA with Donnie
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April 02, 2024

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Tags: Innovation, Startups, Entrepreneurship

Innovation Fika E145 - AMA with Donnie
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March 27, 2024

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Tags: Innovation, Startups, Entrepreneurship

Innovation Fika Episode 144 The Source of Happiness with Lars AP
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March 22, 2024

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Tags: Innovation, Startups, Entrepreneurship

Innovation Fika Episode 144 The Source of Happiness Lars AP
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March 20, 2024

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Tags: Innovation, Startups, Entrepreneurship

Innovation Fika Episode 144 The Source of Happiness Lars AP
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March 19, 2024

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Tags: Innovation, Startups, Entrepreneurship

Innovation Fika E142 "Train for Brains" with Erik Ohlzon
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February 28, 2024

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Tags: Innovation, Startups, Entrepreneurship

Innovation Fika E142 "Train for Brains" with Erik Ohlzon
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February 26, 2024

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Tags: Innovation, Startups, Entrepreneurship

Innovation Fika E141 How to create effective education
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February 21, 2024

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Tags: Innovation, Startups, Entrepreneurship

Innovation Fika E141 How to create effective education
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February 19, 2024

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Tags: Innovation, Startups, Entrepreneurship

Innovation Fika Episode 140 AI Battle - Google Gemini vs ChatGPT
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February 14, 2024

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Tags: Innovation, Startups, Entrepreneurship

Innovation Fika Episode 140 AI Battle - Google Gemini vs ChatGPT
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February 13, 2024

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Tags: Innovation, Startups, Entrepreneurship

Innovation Fika Episode 139 - An AI AMA with Donnie
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February 07, 2024

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Tags: Innovation, Startups, Entrepreneurship

Good Morning Monday Morning february 5th 2024!
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February 05, 2024

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Tags: Innovation, Startups, Entrepreneurship

Innovation Fika Episode 139 - An AI AMA with Donnie
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February 05, 2024

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Tags: Innovation, Startups, Entrepreneurship

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