BUILDERS

In today's episode of Category Visionaries, we speak with Martin Einemo, CEO and Co-Founder of Insurely, an open insurance platform that's raised €22 Million in funding, about why so many of us lack true understanding of how the insurance industry operates, and why that’s a problem for both providers and their customers. By empowering insurance customers to access their data from the companies who cover them, Insurely helps people find the policies which really work for them, and ultimately provide a win-win solution for everyone involved.

We also speak about Martin’s long career in the insurance industry, and how that made him aware of both technological shortcomings and customer frustration, what ‘open insurance’ really means, how angel investors provided the real impetus to find a marketable offering, and why, for Insurely, that ultimately turned out to be in the B2B space.

Topics Discussed:

• Martin’s long career in the insurance industry across multiple European markets, and the insights it gave him into how it could be improved

Favorite book: 

The Lean Startup: How Today's Entrepreneurs Use Continuous Innovation to Create Radically Successful Businesse

In today's episode of Category Visionaries, we speak with Michael Konialian, Co-Founder and CEO of Modern Life, a tech-enabled insurance brokerage that’s raised over $15 Million in funding, about how a lack of clarity and access to information in the life insurance space can leave people at a loss, and how Modern Life is hoping to bring a better model of insurance brokerage to the sector. By partnering with leading carriers, putting advisors first, and deploying strategic data analytics to help guide clients to the right choices, Modern Life helps everyone make complex financial decisions with care.

We also speak about Michael’s background and journey to becoming a CEO and Co-Founder, the challenges of the insurance sector and the potential for technology to radically improve things, why advisors will always remain key to the business model, and how the COVID-19 pandemic has changed everyone’s attitude to integrating new technologies.

Topics Discussed:

• Michael’s career background in the brokerage and technology space, consulting, sales and startups

Favorite book: 

The Lean Startup

In today's episode of Category Visionaries, we speak with Taylor Lint, CEO and Founder of Swantide, a go to market technology platform that's raised $7 Million in funding, about why so many companies find managing their CRM such a headache, and how Swantide plans to make every aspect of the process simpler and more straightforward. With processes designed with engineering and sales operations best practices already in mind, rigorously testing performed before they reach potential clients, Swantide brings the expertise of an in-house salesforce engineer at a fraction of the cost.

We also talk about Talyor's background in software engineering and her experiences working at LinkedIn and Alphabet, her passion for improving vital processes through the power of data, the importance of the ‘go-to-market stack,’ why Swantide felt the need to build upon what salesforce is capable of delivering, and why they decided to focus on problem-solving over building a brand new market category.

Topics Discussed:

• Taylor’s software engineering background, and the lessons she brought to Swantide from some of the biggest names in tech

Favorite book: 

The Design of Everyday Things

In today's episode of Category Visionaries, we speak with Andreas Cleve, CEO and Co-Founder of Corti, a patient consultations platform that's raised $32 Million in funding, about why so much important information from patient consultations is underutilized and ultimately wasted, and how Corti plans to change all that. By activating the data produced by every patient-provider interaction via a bleeding-edge ai platform, Corti’s mission is to give healthcare professionals a set of supportive tools that transcend today's time-consuming technologies.

We also speak about the personal experiences which helped draw Andreas into the healthcare space, transitioning from the technology sector, his first forays with AI and chatbot technologies, and how being an industry thought-leader means dealing with regulation as you move to build a new market modality.

Topics Discussed:

• Andreas’ very personal experience which led him to take an interest in healthcare, and why he believes many people have similar stories

In today's episode of Category Visionaries, we speak with Andrew Scheuermann, CEO of Arch Systems, a machine data and analytics company that's raised $25 Million in funding, about the struggles people all over the world face with accessing the tools and resources necessary to build truly smart solutions. Powered by rich machine data, the Arch Systems FX Platform has been developed to automatically surface actionable insights for manufacturing operations, driving better decisions at every level of an organization, whatever they’re trying to achieve.

We also talk about Andrew's background in engineering, machine building, and entrepreneurship, what it was like striking out on his own to found and lead a tech startup, what manufacturing optimization really means in practice, and how a late-stage pivot from horizontal developer to vertical analytics helped Arch Systems secure their elusive product-market fit.

Topics Discussed:

• Andrew's background in engineering, machine building, and entrepreneurship, and what it means for his current business

Favorite book: 

Built to Last: Successful Habits of Visionary Companies

In today's episode of Category Visionaries, we speak with Robert Kozikowski, Chief Product Officer of Tensorflight, a property intelligence platform that's raised nearly $7 Million in funding, about why having eyes in the sky is providing critical value insights for people working in the property sector. Having honed their offering from drone analytics for agriculture to a more focused offering deploying satellite imagery and machine intelligence to inspect properties at scale for their clients, Tensorflight is helping people across the world get a better understanding of what their portfolio is really worth.

We also speak about Robert’s background in software engineering for some of the biggest names in tech, why data is so important for the financial sector, how scaling up brings exponential benefits when it comes to knowledge, and how Tensorflight differentiates itself from potential competitors to carve out a niche in a fairly crowded market.

Topics Discussed:

• Robert’s software engineering past and what it was like working at Google

Favorite book: 

Underwriting Commercial Property

In today's episode of Category Visionaries, we chat with Reed Switzer, CEO of Hopscotch, an all-in-one B2B payments platform. Reed talks about his unconventional start in the B2B payments space, and how Hopscotch enables customers to achieve a frictionless payment experience by streamlining invoicing, bill pay, and cash flow management.

Reed also shares his thoughts on the growth and traction the company has experienced since its launch and how they’ve been able to "rise above the noise" in a competitive market. Reed believes that building trust with customers is crucial for success. And having a high level of conviction in what you're building, and maintaining transparency are key to building a successful brand. Hopscotch achieves this through a strong brand identity, storytelling, and providing valuable content beyond their core offering.

Topics Discussed:

• How Reed came up with the idea for Hopscotch after seeing the challenges faced by most B2B companies using antiquated payments platforms and systems that came up short

Favorite book: 

Rise and Kill First: The Secret History of Israel's Targeted Assassinations

In today's episode of Category Visionaries, we speak with Mollie Breen, CEO and Co-Founder of Perygee, an IoT/OT security platform that's raised $6.4 Million in funding, about why so many security teams often find themselves making critical decisions about their IoT and OT device security using imperfect information, and the vulnerabilities that can ultimately cause for companies. With an innovative solution unifying reams of scattered, unstructured data into a single space compounded by custom workflows to supercharge productivity, Perygee is putting the power of decisions back in the hands of those who need it most.

We also speak about Molly’s background at the NSA and what it taught her about the vulnerabilities of IoT and operational technology devices, how that insight eventually led to her founding Perygee, and why they made a conscious decision not to follow the trend of selling based on fear.

Topics Discussed:

• Molly’s background as a mathematician working at the NSA, and how the experience exposed her to the vulnerabilities of IoT devices

In today's episode of Category Visionaries, we speak with Godard Abel, Co-Founder and CEO of G2, the world's largest and most trusted software marketplace tracking over 2100 software categories.

Topics Discussed:

• The founding story of G2

In today's episode of Category Visionaries, we speak with Rak Garg, Principal at Bain Capital Ventures, a $10 Billion venture capital firm, investing primarily in early-stage cybersecurity or artificial intelligence companies, about why investing in every stage of the developer cycle is building a more efficient software ecosystem for all of us. With verticals in everything from national security to climate change, Rak sees AI-enhanced software development as being crucial to a new generation of software solutions and the companies building them.

We also speak about Rak’s upbringing in the technology hotbed of the Bay Area, how his childhood passion led him to engineering education and a career across a wide range of software solutions, the current state of venture capital and the role it has in driving innovation, and why, for a venture capital firm, there are just never enough hours in the day.

Topics Discussed:

• Growing up in the Bay area, surrounded by technology, and an earl fascination which led to engineering school