Elin Helander

Background

About Elin Helander

I work at the intersection of innovation and behavioural science, applying my expertise in human behaviour and cognitive neuroscience to rethink how things are done. I’m the founder of Placeholder where we specialize in human-context-interactions to address individual, societal, and business needs. And Whateverland where we innovate and build products (B2B, B2C, and B2B2C) that create positive impact for people and businesses. Our work blends behavioural science with deep expertise in technology, and human perception. I played a key role in building the Swedish B2C fintech company Dreams, which resulted in that we gained international recognition for its application of research in cognitive sciences and behavioural economics and empowering users to save and manage money through science-backed design. I also founded Dreams Institute — an organization, first of its kind, connecting academia and industry to promote financial well-being through research and applied innovation. I'm the author of two books in behavioural economics and a speaker on decision-making and behaviour change. With a background in cognitive neuroscience and hands on experience in start-ups and scale-ups, I bring a unique perspective to product development, customer experience, branding, behaviour change, and go-to-market strategy. I thrive in transdisciplinary, impact-driven environments—especially those tackling systems-level challenges.