Every year, LEAD welcomes two to four people to the well-established Entrepreneurs in Residence trainee program in Linköping. The mission? To transform new ideas and technologies into startups. “The program took me from student to CEO in one year,” says former participant Frida Wygler.
There is no shortage of research innovations that can benefit society, the only question is who will realize them. That’s the view of Åsa Glavich, program manager for LEAD’s trainee program Entrepreneurs in Residence.
– As a researcher, you often focus on your research and may not have the time or opportunity to build companies. The aim of the trainee programme is therefore to train promising talents in entrepreneurship, with the ambition to realize the ideas,” says Åsa Glavich.
For six months, participants in the program receive education, training and coaching in business development, business acumen and company building through real cases.
– There is a lot of learning by doing, where the participants are assigned a number of business ideas that they will analyze and evaluate the business benefits of together. The program also involves close collaboration with the idea owners, i.e. those behind the innovations, Åsa says.
– We also work a lot with the trainees’ personal development through coaching, as we know that it significantly increases the likelihood of their success.
Towards the end of the program, there is the opportunity to continue working in a key role with one of the cases, if both the idea owner and the trainee want to, which for many has been the beginning of an exciting journey.
From student to CEO
Frida Wygler, today CEO of the LEAD company Radar Reticence, attended the program in 2023. It was during her studies in industrial economics at Jönköping University that she heard about Entrepreneurs in Residence and realized that she could become an entrepreneur without having to find the perfect idea herself.
– For a long time, I thought I needed to come up with a great product idea to become an entrepreneur. But the program showed me that I could work with other people’s ideas and get support from experienced business coaches,” says Frida.
After the program, Frida became CEO of Radar Reticence, a startup company that develops solutions for interference problems in automotive radar.
– The trainee program took me from student to CEO in one year. It has been an incredible journey, both personally and entrepreneurially,” she says.
A career journey with opportunities
Victor Borén, now CEO of the start-up MicroDri, which focuses on wood drying, saw the program as a chance to change career paths. After working for a year at Saab, he applied to the program, where he came into contact with idea owners, with whom he then started MicroDri.
– It was a crucial turning point for me. The program gave me the opportunity to find an entrepreneurial path forward,” says Victor.
Sally Winter, a business developer at Cellfion, a company that recently made the New Technology 33 list, is also one of the program’s success stories.
– It opened doors I never thought possible so early in my career. The role I’m in today is thanks to the program,” she says.
Next-generation innovations
Former participant Eva Vollmer is Vice President of the start-up Dazoq, which focuses on helping the industrial sector reduce and optimize its energy use. For her, too, the program has been of great importance.
– You get to enter an environment filled with exciting ideas, driven people and a great community. It’s fantastic to be involved in influencing what could become the next generation of innovations,” she says.
