Prince Daniel – initiator of the Prince Daniel Fellowship
In his opening speech, Prince Daniel emphasised the importance of creating forums where experience and courage can thrive. He began with the words:
“Sweden is not just a country – it’s an engine for innovation.”
With great enthusiasm, he spoke about Swedish innovations such as the seatbelt and the zip, and well-known brands like Volvo, Spotify, IKEA, along with many music exports, painting a picture of a nation where creativity and entrepreneurship are integral to society.
Markus Wandt – test pilot and Sweden’s third astronaut
Markus Wandt shared that at first, he felt he didn’t fit the norm for astronauts – and that he was afraid to apply, fearing failure. But he dared to try, and the rest is history: He became the third Swede in space.
He spoke about calculated risks and the importance of carrying out thorough risk analyses and gathering enough information to understand those risks.
Markus Wandt emphasised how important it is to create an open climate where mistakes can be shared and discussed. He described how mistakes he had made as a fighter pilot became valuable lessons for the entire team – and how that kind of transparency can be crucial. A lack of openness about mistakes, he argued, can have serious consequences, especially in environments where every decision is critical.
Tina Thörner – rally world champion and speaker
With three World Championship golds in rallying and a career as a co-driver at the very top level, Tina Thörner knows what it takes to perform under pressure. She spoke about “mental fuel” and the importance of creating an environment that fosters growth.
“Just as we train AI, we need to train ourselves – to build resilience, grit and a winning mindset.”
She urged participants to surround themselves with people who give energy and to create an environment that nurtures growth. With practical tools such as micro-breaks, visualisation and the courage to ask for help, she demonstrated how mental strength can be trained – just like physical strength.
Marcus Wallenberg – Chair of SEB & Joel Hellermark – Founder and CEO of the AI company Sana
n a conversation with AI entrepreneur Joel Hellermark from Sana Marcus Wallenberg highlighted the importance of Sweden becoming better at quickly turning research into practical application – especially given the rapid pace of AI development.
He described AI as a powerful driving force for the future and pointed out one of the greatest challenges: getting larger companies to adapt and actively start using AI in their operations.
Wallenberg noted that long-term investments in research are now beginning to pay off, but that both courage and speed are needed to take the next step.
Hellermark made it clear that Swedish companies must stop running small-scale pilots that never scale up: “Stop running pilots – roll out at full scale straight away. Pilots never scale up,” he said, comparing it to how companies acted during the pandemic.
He urged Swedish entrepreneurs to think bigger, move faster and launch globally from the outset – not start in Sweden and scale slowly.
In the panel discussion Tech meets tradition
Jacob de Geer spoke with two young entrepreneurs, Hedda Båverud Olsson, co-founder of Lassie , and Max Junestrand, founder of Legora about challenging and driving change, and finding different ways to transform traditional industries.
The discussion focused on how technology, data and AI can transform industries where innovation is traditionally slow: pet insurance and law. Båverud Olsson described how Lassie is revolutionising the insurance experience by combining digitalisation with preventive care, while Junestrand explained how Legora uses AI to make legal information more accessible, efficient and scalable.
Both emphasised the importance of demonstrating the business value behind innovation – it’s not enough to be forward-thinking; you must also show how it creates tangible value. They noted that the first breakthrough often comes from finding a traditional player willing to collaborate, which can be crucial for moving forward.
