Scouting for Growth

On this episode of Scouting for Growth, Sabine VdL interviews FinTech and Blockchain Advisor Efi Pylarinou about why sustainable investing is so important, her view on the state of FinTech (and what the insurance industry can learn from it), sustainability in the context of Digital Transformation, what the emerging risks are, and more.   KEY TAKEAWAYS Switzerland is one of the largest hubs for Blo...

In this episode of Scouting for Growth, Sabine VdL interviews Erlijn Sie , a seasoned social entrepreneur, leader, and social business advisor. Erlijn wrote a book on Reimagining Financial Inclusion, a must-read for all corporate business leaders concerned with the future of our planet. In the book, Erlijn discusses the 5 levers that shape our financial system.  Erlijn also talks about ESG, focusi...

On this episode, Sabine VdL interviews Susanne Chisthi, one of the leading names in the industry. Susanne started her career in finance before becoming an influential voice in FinTech. Susanne is also renowned for her work with investors and FinTech startups through the FINTECH Circle, a platform where startups can access education and angel investment. Susanne is also renowned for the wonderful b...

On this episode of Scouting for Growth, Sabine VdL interviews Nicole Anderson, Founding Partner at Redsand Ventures, who supported Sabine’s acceleration programs over a 5-year period by providing those startups with proposition design and go-to-market strategic thinking. These two skill sets are crucial for gaining customers and accessing capital. In this episode, they discuss Nicole’s journey fro...

In this episode of Scouting for Growth, Sabine VdL interviews Gwen Yu, an expert in sustainable finance with a background in transfer pricing, who helps international ventures understand the best way to expand internationally. Sabine talks to Gwen about how she made her way into sustainable finance, and how her past business and personal experiences have shaped her decision to support a better fut...

On this episode, Sabine VdL interviews Sam Evans , Partner at EOS Venture Partners, a Strategic Venture Capital fund and an InsurTech investment specialist with offices in London and Philadelphia. This is their 2nd interview as Sam appeared in episode 6 of Scouting for Growth. Here, the pair discusses sustainability and ESG, the impact of urbanization, climate risk, and supply chain risk. Topics t...

On this episode, Sabine VdL interviews Nigel Walsh , formerly Managing Director, Insurance at Google and now global head of insurance at ServiceNow. Nigel is on a mission to make Insurance loveable. He spends his days helping insurance carriers unlock the power of Google Cloud and Alphabet, supporting startups, building communities, creating MGAs, writing papers, and more. KEY TAKEAWAYS In the las...

In this episode, Sabine VdL interviews Andrew Cons, who was the CEO of Bolttech’s European operations at the time of the recording. Now leading Bolttech in Indonesia. He discusses his leadership journey, including acquiring expertise over the years in strategy, business improvement, and founding his own venture. KEY TAKEAWAYS Bolttech has grown from a PowerPoint deck to a unicorn in just two years...

In this episode, Sabine VdL interviews Robin Kiera, the most renowned European FinTech and InsurTech influencer. He set up Digital Scouting in 2017 as a platform that now has 400,000 followers, which is not insignificant in this industry. Robin is a thought leader, an entrepreneur, and a senior leader who has worked in finance for years and gives practical tools and techniques around lessons to le...

In this episode, Sabine VdL interviews Minh Tran , founding partner of Mandalore Partners (and also her co-founder at Alchemy Crew) about the world of Venture Capital Funds. He has worked in the Corporate VC world for 30 years, most recently in financial services, and founded Mandalore Partners 10 years ago. KEY TAKEAWAYS When you are a Corporate Venturer you have two models, one is to invest in V...

On this episode, Sabine VdL interviews Elisa Vlerick, a partner at Ninepointfive Ventures , the Venture Capitalist dedicated to Corporate Venturing. Elisa loves removing syntax complexity from the proverbial crap, applying creativity and execution to everything she does. KEY TAKEAWAYS Corporate Venturing differs from traditional VC activity in that you have the power/leverage of a corporation to s...

On this episode, Sabine VdL interviews IBM’s David Kwon about how insurance companies have had to navigate a decade of societal change. From the financial crisis and the rise of digital technology to changing consumer expectations, insurers face challenges that are fundamentally altering the very core of our industry. Does the question remain whether property and casualty insurers will be able to...

On this episode, Sabine VdL interviews  Dr. Dietmar Kottmann , a Partner of Oliver Wyman in Munich and a member of the insurance and digital practices. Dietmar has more than 20 years of experience in management and strategic consulting. During this time, he has led numerous projects on strategy, IT, operational strategy, organisation, and digitisation. He leads insurance in the DACH region and is...

On this episode, Sabine VdL interviews Tanguy Touffut, founder and CEO of Descartes Underwriting, a top of its space InsurTech company which is recognized as a top-grade growth venture in its category, parametric insurance. It recently raised $120 million in series B funding with the likes of Mundi Ventures, BlackFin, Cathay Innovation to name but a few.   KEY TAKEAWAYS After graduating I really w...

On this episode, Sabine VdL interviews David King , Co-Founder and Chief Commercial Officer of fast-growing InsurTech startup, Artificial Labs or Artificial.io to discuss the company's strengths and how sport influences David's choices and business outlook. KEY TAKEAWAYS Artificial is focused on facilitating algorithmic underwriting in the insurance sector. That means the Artificial team works wit...

On this episode, Sabine VdL interviews Nick Pester. Sabine has known Nick for over 4 years. They met when Nick showed a strong interest in the tech startups accepted into Sabine’s accelerator programs and was willing to mentor them with his advice while he was leading the Financial Services, Insurance & InsurTech practices at Capital Law. Nick moved from legal advice within a legal firm to bec...

On this episode, Sabine VdL interviews Sid Chakravarthy, founder and CEO of StaTwig and a leading expert in emerging technology, including the Internet of Things, Blockchain, Metaverse, and NFTs. Sid uses these to develop solutions with large-scale social impact.   KEY TAKEAWAYS There are big problems with drugs and vaccines when you look at the last-mile delivery system, or indeed getting to the...

On this episode, Sabine VdL interviews Tobias Taupitz, CEO and Co-Founder of Laka, to discuss topics including business model innovation, leadership, culture, and expansion into new markets. KEY TAKEAWAYS Why should you protect future losses when you can look backwards knowing exactly how much you need to charge to cover your costs of claims? We do so retroactively shares Tobi, so as not to incur...

On this episode, Sabine VdL interviews Allison or Ally Schneider who heads up venture partnerships at Vouch, a US business insurance platform for startups. Vouch raised over $160 million in investment funding so far with well-renowned investors including Silicon Valley Bank, Index Ventures and Y Combinator. Ally talks to Sabine about the company’s business model and helps us understand how Vouch h...

On this episode, Sabine VdL interviews Roman Rittweger, founder and CEO of Ottonova – a digital health insurance provider for individual patients and self-employed people. Today, seven+ years after it was started, Ottonova has over 100 employees and has deployed a marketplace (or an end-to-end platform) that helps users register for and access health insurance coverage for medical services. By 202...

On this episode, Sabine VdL interviews Steven Mendel, CEO and Co-Founder of Bought By Many, an InsurTech startup well known across the UK market, with a new brand launched in the US under the name "ManyPets." Bought By Many is making the world a better place for pet parents through its tech-enabled insurance products and services.  KEY TAKEAWAYS The first startup I was involved with was in the inv...

On this episode, Sabine VdL interviews Helene Panzarino, author of Reinventing Banking and Finance: A Framework to Navigate Global FinTech Innovation, published on Amazon in November 2020. The pair discusses the book and the key insight Helene offers for reinventing the banking business model. KEY TAKEAWAYS We assume banking has always been what it is today. In the early days (1200s Italy) hyper-p...

On this episode, Sabine VdL interviews Spiros Margaris, who discusses the pros and cons of working for a young venture, setting up a startup, as well as the best way to succeed in business. He shares insights on the future of FinTech and much more. KEY TAKEAWAYS You build trust with founders by telling them what you think, honestly, but not always expecting them to do what you say. Trust is the ba...

On this episode, Sabine VdL reviews the four types of investment and who is winning the corporate venturing game as well as looking to the future to evaluate and imagine what is coming our way. KEY TAKEAWAYS The four types of investment strategies: ‘Driving’ (strategic and tightly linked to operational capabilities), ‘Enabling’ (strategic and loosely liked to operational capabilities), ‘Emerging’...

On this episode, Sabine VdL interviews Sam Evans, a Founding Partner with Eos Venture Partners, who has spent the last four years investing in InsurTech startups. He is an active speaker and a top 50 InsurTech influencer.  Prior to establishing Eos, Sam was a partner at KPMG, where he led the Global Deal Advisory insurance practice. During his career, Sam has worked on over $75bn of insurance-rela...