Meeri Rebane (EE) shares her experience of launching a company in one of the hottest Insurtech markets in Europe - Germany. Having pivoted away from a bicycle identification platform, Meeri together with her co-founder Risto Klausen (EE) is building a consumer-friendly insurance app in the heart of the Berlin tech scene with an edgy brand inspired by Red BullIn this conversation, we talk about the potential of Insurtech (an industry that raised over 1bn EUR in VC in Europe this year) and how it is helping the age-old insurance industry to reach the young and mobile population. We also dig into the intricacies of starting a company abroad and especially as a foreign founder. Finally, we discuss serial entrepreneurship, pivoting and building on top of existing businesses and ideasThe topics covered in this episode with Timestamps[02:00] - Starting an Insuretech businessIf your home market is tiny, then whatever traction you have there won’t mean anything for proving the ability to conquer the bigger European or other marketsDon’t be afraid to start a business in an industry where you don’t have significant experience[08:45] - The rise of global and European Insurtech and INZMOCustomer acquisition cost through digital is so high in insurance that one must find smarter ways of getting customersB2B2C partnerships as an efficient customer acquisition methodLegacy insurance companies invest in Insurtech companies heavily to not become obsoleteThe insurance market pie is growing both due to new types of products (devices, pets, rent/bills) as well as the growing adoption of insurance products among the younger generationsUser experience is more important than the cost for the consumer in most casesSubscription and embed models will create huge value by making the insurance experience even more seamless[28:35] - Starting a company abroadPicking the market to go-toLegally it’s simple to set up in Germany and most countries in the EUTap into potential partners for market intelligenceBerlin is a great place to start a business in terms of costs and welcoming towards startups and big VC interestUse local accelerators to help market entry with investors and partnersNot knowing the local language has not been a problem at least in Germany so don’t be discouraged by thatHiring the local teamMaking your company an appealing workplaceEmployer branding as a foreignerEstonian vs. German company - how to present yourself in a foreign market to investors, employees, and clients[43:00] 2 Co-founders / 2 Co-CEOsHow it practically works in day to day businessLong experience working together with founders seen as a huge plus by VCs[51:40 ] - Serial entrepreneurship and Pivoting the businessGet started, get to market, don’t make the perfect productRaising 3M from VCs shortly after making the pivotTo successfully pivot you need to be conscious of the real value that you are bringing to the customer - it might be in just one feature of your whole productIntroducing a high;y demanded insurance innovation (apartment deposit insurance)Building a Red-bull like brand in an old-school industryFind out more on https://www.pursuitofscrappiness.co/ Support for this episode comes from Nexpay > https://paynexpay.com/Support the show

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