Welcome to Maplebloom, my company and me!

I founded this company in 2014 as a means to establishing new structures, ecosystems, and facilitating the transition to the evolving sustainable world.

In this evolving sustainable world, I envision collaboration, altruism, heightened consciousness, and a deep care for our planet and its inhabitants. Additionally, I foresee a surge in creativity, innovation, and new technologies.

It is my belief that we can live in abundance and in harmony with nature.

You can delve deeper into my vision by visiting my blog.

Katarina
Chowra

With a specialization in energy and the environment, my academic background encompasses a Master of Science degree in Industrial Economics and Management from the Royal Institute of Technology in Stockholm.

Over the course of my 30-year career, I have worked on innovation initiatives in various contexts. At the beginning of my career, I developed the very first e-commerce service for municipalities in Sweden (WM-data), launched 3G and MMS (Telia), and developed mobile payments (also Telia), among others.

In the next phase, I worked in the startup field. I worked at a couple of startups, co-founded one (or two, including a consulting firm), and won investment at the Swedish version of Dragon’s Den. However, this period was challenging for me with many failures.

 It was before I discovered the Lean Startup method, which became an aha moment for me. Since then, I have coached 500+ startups in this method, mostly at Uppsala Innovation Centre (together with my colleague, we created probably the very first Lean startup program in Sweden) and later at KTH Innovation.

 

I have also developed tools and methods to incorporate sustainability into the Lean Startup method. I have to mention one of my happiest years in 2017 which I spent in Palo Alto at Nordic Innovation House as a Senior Wallenberg Fellow (thanks to Vinnova and the Wallenberg Foundation) – I loved Silicon Valley´s belief that everything is possible and we can make a better world. During this time, I also helped various corporate entities become more agile and innovative.

Nowadays, my focus lies in developing the Swedish innovation system, increasing the impact from research, establishing structures for the new circular economy and beyond, and supporting academia and society in collaboration.

Some examples of my existing projects: development of a national program for deeptech researchers, conducting a course on sustainable assessment of projects and startups, and provide strategic advise to a recruitment company.

Since childhood, my passion has been animals and nature, which later became intertwined with personal development. I possess a talent for recognizing patterns and perceiving both details and the bigger picture across multiple layers. Through this, I contribute new perspectives.

I hope that my experience and skills can support you and your organization in creating a sustainable, joyful, and thriving world!

If you are interested in the finer details of my CV, please refer to my LinkedIn profile.

 

Contact Katarina.