Industry experts bring new startup ideas to SSE Business Lab
From insurance and manufacturing to AI and entertainment, experienced founders are turning industry challenges into new businesses. This fall, SSE Business Lab welcomes a new group of startups, including a company operating between Stockholm and Los Angeles.
Photo: Juliana Wolf Garcindo
The new companies joining SSE Business Lab, the startup incubator at the Stockholm School of Economics (SSE), share a common approach: solving problems their founders know firsthand. Their ideas range from simplifying insurance and accounting to protecting people's identities in the age of artificial intelligence.
“These founders know their industries from the inside. They have sold insurance, run factories and kept the books, and now they are building sophisticated solutions to solve the real problems they have lived with. We’re very excited for this batch,” says Elin Torstensson, CEO of SSE Business Lab.
Turning industry experience into new solutions
In insurance, Kelly is developing an AI advisor that brokers and other companies can offer under their own brands. Founder Carl Hellström has worked in insurance since 2017 and previously started companies in insurance technology and finance. He is joined by SSE alum Elias Ricci and product lead Måns Monti Danielsson.
Pylero focuses on smaller manufacturing companies. Founded by Isak Rizell, Fredrik Myhrman, and Bengt Myhrman, the company develops AI tools that connect factory machines with business systems. The founders bring experience in industrial technology, business development, and manufacturing, and have already tested their platform in operating factories.
SSE graduates Edith Wolff and Philip Eriksson, joint winners of Per Hiller's Award for the best accounting thesis, are taking a different approach to bookkeeping. Their company, Igdrasil, has built its own accounting system for the Swedish market. The founders also run a bookkeeping practice to test and improve the product using real customer cases.
From personal stories to digital identities
Other startups are exploring how AI can support people and protect their information.
Stillwell is developing an AI companion that helps people record their life stories and preserve memories for future generations.
Another company, currently operating in stealth, is building health data infrastructure for advanced AI platforms. Its founding team has experience developing digital platforms used by millions of people.
Meanwhile, Selfmint is tackling a growing concern in entertainment and beyond: who controls the use of someone's face and voice in AI-generated content? The company helps people verify, protect, and license their digital identities.
Led by CEO Mike Butler, alongside actor Cottrell Guidry and Nordic Tech Week founder Ludvig Bergström, Selfmint develops its technology in Stockholm while managing sales from Los Angeles.
The new group adds to SSE Business Lab's 25-year history of supporting entrepreneurs. Since its founding, the incubator has helped more than 360 companies get started, including Klarna, Voi, Budbee, and Legora. The Financial Times ranks SSE Business Lab first in the Nordics and seventh in Europe.
SSE Business Lab's fall batch:
Igdrasil: Accounting platform optimized for agents and automations.
Kelly: AI insurance advisor that brokers can offer their customers under their own brand.
Pylero: AI for your factory, providing AI agents and intelligent machine sensors for manufacturing companies
Selfmint: provides the identity layer for the AI economy, enabling talent to license and protect their identity for commercial AI use.
Stillwell: An AI companion that captures life stories, preserves legacies and connects generations.
Stealth: Health data infrastructure for frontier AI platforms.
For more information, please contact:
Milena Vergara
Ecosystem Manager, SSE Business Lab
Milena.vergara@hhs.se
Ylva Mossing
Content and Media Relations Manager, Stockholm School of Economics
Email: ylva.mossing@hhs.se
Phone: +46-730 97 26 16
Pictured (from left to right, top to bottom):
Edith Wolff (Igdrasil), Adam Sonesson (Investment Associate SSEBL), Tommy Andorff (Selfmint), Daniel Johansson (Kelly), Elias Ricci (Kelly), Carl Hellström (Kelly), Elin Torstensson (CEO SSE Business Lab & Ventures), Carissa Abazia (Program & Alumni Manager SSEBL), Eric Åkermo (Partnership Manager SSEBL), Fati Hakim (Selfmint), Måns Monti Danielsson (Kelly), Albin Hallander (Pylero), Shivani Deshpande ( Marketing Intern Igdrasil), Philip Eriksson (Igdrasil), Fredrik Myhrman (Pylero), Milena Vergara (Ecosystem Manager SSEBL).
Not pictured: (Stillwell): Marius Kaljuvee, Vincent Infanger, Vincent Kriegmair, Tijs de Jong. (Selfmint): Ludvig Bergström, Mike Butler, Cottrell Guidry, Björn Nyström. (Pylero): Bengt Myhram, Isak Rizell. (Kelly): Emil Holm.
About the Stockholm School of Economics
The Stockholm School of Economics is rated as a top business school in the Nordic and Baltic countries and enjoys a strong international reputation. World-class research forms the foundation of our educational offering, which includes bachelor, master, PhD, MBA, and Executive Education programs. Our programs are developed in close cooperation with the business and research communities, providing graduates substantial potential to attain leading positions in companies and other organizations.
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