Welcome back to Denim Rivet – this episode is the podcast’s first employee spotlight, highlighting our Customer Experience Manager, Adam Christophersen. You may remember him from Season 4 Episode 1 where Adam and Charlie Turri discussed Denim’s growth over the summer and Denim Summit 2018. Adam talks about all things customer experience in studio at Denim Headquarters and what he has been focused on, as well as his big ideas about where Denim is headed.

Backstory

Adam is the son of a small business owner in Minnesota and received his undergrad from Iowa State University. After receiving his MBA, Adam started a family with his wife and has two kids back at home. While he worked in insurance industry for a few years, Adam landed Workiva before headed over to join us at Denim, where he just had his one year anniversary.   

Adam was the first Product Marketing Manager at Workiva that focused on a single industry – insurance, and later banks and investment companies. After the first year, they scaled the team out and Charlie’s job was to stand them up in EMEA –Europe, the Middle East, and Africa. This started Adam’s fascination with doing things no one has done before, which always involved taking risks—testing and adapting and trying out things that might not be comfortable to do.

What Does Customer Experience (CX) Mean?

In summation—CX is all the interactions a customer has from knowing little about a company, to becoming a customer and future advocate. It’s about how you interact, retain, and grow with your customer’s needs. This can include help center articles, consumer reports—basically new tactics for Denim’s customers to approach their markets with.

To get most of Denim’s customers on board with this, we roll out what we lovingly call the "Cupcake” version of a product. Namely, making a cupcake before the whole cake: what some call the minimum viable product. Beta users have access to this version of our product and provide feedback to further hone in and perfect the product so Denim is on each step of the journey with our customers in digital marketing.

Denim’s Values

Denim has spent months defining what it is exactly that Denim stands for—and as you might imagine, this is completely a team effort. As Adam states, there are four core values we’ve landed on: think big, be open, create impact, and fourthly—be awesome. This means seeing the forest from the trees in terms of product development, developing products with the end use in mind. Being open means constantly challenging each other here at Denim and finding the value in different opinions. Creating impact means keeping the customers at the forefront of Denim’s mind. And being awesome? This means everyone at Denim being the best versions of themselves that they can, so every idea and motivation trickles through the company and products to make Denim the best version of itself it can be—so all heads, hearts, and ideas are weighed and heard.

Links

LinkedIn

[email protected]

Welcome to the first Denim Rivet podcast episode of 2019! To start the New Year, we're heading back to Denim Summit 2018 to hear from Denim's CEO, Gregory Bailey. In the "Denim Outlook," Gregory is interviewed by Tiffany Tauschek, chief strategy officer at the Greater Des Moines Partnership. Through the conversation, Gregory shares Denim's point of view on the digital divide between financial services companies and their mobile consumers, discusses Denim's take on customer engagement and explains three continua that comprise the nexus where both consumers and the Denim platform intersect.

Today's guest is Troy Vosseller — cofounder of gener8tor, the force behind the OnRamp Insurance Accelerator and the OnRamp Conference Series. Troy updates us on a few exciting OnRamp announcements, including relocating the OnRamp Insurance Conference to Minneapolis in 2019. He also shares a fun story about how his entrepreneurial journey started and offers great advice to other entrepreneurs and startup founders.

OnRamp Insurance Conference

A major part of OnRamp’s recent announcement includes a partnership with Allianz Life Insurance Co. and Securian Financial Group, which — together with the OnRamp Insurance Accelerator — will invest $100,000 in five different insurtech startups that participate in the program. With both of these companies based in of Minneapolis-St. Paul, it makes sense to bolster the growing network there by migrating the Onramp Insurance Conference as well. The conference will take place April 11, 2019, in the Target Center (home of the Timberwolves).

The unique aspect to the OnRamp Insurance Conference is that, in addition to standard conference tracks with keynotes, panel discussions, fireside chats, and networking, it also has its own startup track. Each participating corporation at the conference signs up for 10 curated, one-on-one meetings with startups that OnRamp selects from a pool of applicants. This puts startups in a pitching position with the executives and venture capital that can help form strategic partnerships and investment opportunities. If you’re interested in applying, head over to the OnRamp Insurance Conference website and register now.

Startup Advice

Troy has some great advice for any startup founders and entrepreneurs looking to get up and running. His first point revolves around the “making sure the dog will eat the dog food” concept. He sees a lot of up-and-comers getting bogged down with analysis and stacking assumptions one on top of the other. This doesn’t validate the concept of your product or service, however. Getting your ideas out in the world and in front of people in the market who can see if your idea has value is the surest way to see if the dog is headed to the food bowl.

The second point is about being aware of your company’s core competency. Whenever you encounter turbulence, it’s easy to revert back to that core competency, whether that’s writing code or fixing product problems. However, often when those problems arise, you should really be focusing on things outside that competency—such as sales and getting out in front of customers, things that you may not be so great at. That’s a big part of Troy’s job, identifying that and pushing entrepreneurs to get out and really live and listen with their customers.

Links

OnRamp Insurance Conference

OnRamp Insurance Accelerator

[email protected]

Denise Garth, senior vice president of strategic marketing, industry relations and innovation at Majesco, is back on Denim Rivet. She’s a top 50 Insurtech Influencer – and on today’s episode, she shares her thoughts on the shift to digital insurance 2.0. Our conversation covers the digital divide and how it’s changed since she was last on the show a year ago. Denise also shares what she sees happening in the insurtech ecosystem and marketing trends for 2019 and beyond.

Denim Summit 2018

Denise was at Denim Summit 2018, and we couldn’t be happier to have the continued support from Majesco as one of our sponsors for the event. Denise was happy to see Denim continue its focus on the shifting customer expectations and how to meet those expectations. It is customers that are putting pressure on insurers to change how they approach engagement and what channels they use, which means products need to shift as well to meet those changing needs.

Majesco Convergence 2019

Majesco Convergence is an annual customer conference being held in Savannah, Georgia April 14 – 17, 2019. It brings together some of the best analysts, influencers, and thought leaders the industry has to offer. You can find out more details and information convergence.majesco.com.

Digital insurance 2.0

On Denise’s initial appearance on Denim Rivet, she talked about the digital divide created by the transition from insurance 1.0 to 2.0 — a shift she likened to the splitting of the continents, where some systems and companies would survive and some would go extinct. When we asked her how that divide has fared in the last year, she shared how Majesco’s research has highlighted generational gaps in engaging digitally. Gen Z and Millennials all have much higher expectations for digital engagement. However, Gen X and the Baby Boomers are keeping pace, showing they are acclimating to digital 2.0 —they are using Uber, Netflix, and Airbnb. The more they use these other services, the more their expectations grow as well.

Denim & Majesco Thought Leadership Report

We were thrilled to have partnered with Majesco on a recent thought leadership report: Distribution in the Age of Insurance 2.0: Expanding Reach and Options to Shift Insurance from Being ‘Sold’ to ‘Bought.’ The report dives into why and how distribution needs to shift along with changing customer values and expectations. The report is available for free online at https://www.majesco.com/resources/distribution-digital-insurance/.

Links

LinkedIn

Twitter

Majesco

[email protected]

Allan Egbert, co-founder of Ask Kodiak, was last on the show in December 2015. He was just getting ready to announce general availability of the Ask Kodiak platform. On this episode, Allan gives an update on what his team has been working since then, as well as how they’ve grown and what he’s learned along the way.

3 Years Back

When Allan was last on the show, Ask Kodiak only had a few users on the platform. He remembers checking logs just to see if people were using it and what they were up to. Now the platform has thousands of users and it’s continuing to grow. Another impressive feat, three years ago Allan said Ask Kodiak had not sought outside investment, and that has remained the case. One of the company's goals was to be run on revenue, and while it's been a lot of work, Ask Kodiak has remained self-reliant. However, Allan is quick to point out he is not against investment; he just hasn’t seen the right opportunity present itself.

Blast from the Past

If Allan could go back three years and give himself advice it would be this: Prepare for the highs and lows of entrepreneurship. When Ask Kodiak was just starting, he wasn’t prepared for the rollercoaster of day-to-day operations. Everything might be fine in the morning, only to collapse at noon and have to be rebuilt by the end of the day. Allan would tell himself to keep an even keel though this, to not over celebrate the victories or mourn the losses because that can lead straight to exhaustion. Tune out the static and focus on the work and keeping your customers happy and fans of your brand.

Insurtech Kinship

When looking to the future, Allan hopes that more insurtech startups will reach out and learn to work together. There is a lot to be learned from everyone in the space, and it’s in this regard that he hopes the companies working behind the scenes in “stealth mode” come out and show what they are working on.

Links:

S1E9: A Destination for P&C Agents and Brokers

Email: [email protected]

Twitter: @AskKodiak

Denim Summit 2018 sold out — but if you didn’t manage to make it in, don’t sweat it. Over the coming months, we will be delivering some of the content that was shared at the event through Denim Rivet.

This episode features a fireside chat with Lori Bochner, vice president of marketing at Sammons Financial Group; Miguel Edwards, CIO, Life & Health Division at Kemper; and Dustin Yoder, CEO of Sureify. Denim’s CEO and Founder Gregory Bailey moderates the panel on the topic of engaging customers at the digital edge.

Engaging at the Digital Edge

Marketing has had a philosophy in the past where companies were always talking to their customers, telling them what they need. Now there is a shift in this mentality — namely now there is a lot more listening going on. There is a need to meet consumers where they are to truly serve them.

The panelists discuss how engagement can also start online, and then shift to real-time advice at the point of sale. Millennials in particular demonstrate this behavior. Taking an omnichannel approach to engagement is what will differentiate one service from another — not necessarily differentiation by a product or service alone.

Data and Mobile

Educating people is the biggest hurdle to a sale — and using mobile and data to be the first in line to a consumer is critical. The content needs to be delivered to a consumer at the right place and time, and being the first brand in front of someone’s eyes makes a huge difference. Capitalizing on data allows you to put a product in front of someone before they even realize they needed it.

There are so many ways data can be leveraged. A legacy mindset of searching for the “perfect data” is something we’re starting to see a shift away from. Looking directionally at imperfect data and analysis and being able to “poke” in some directions and determine the impacts can open new insights. Learning how to stack real-time data, projective data, and pulls from the data lakes of old legacy systems is the way of the future. The challenge is making all these different channels talk to each other.

Stay tuned in the coming months and weeks for more content from Denim Summit 2018 as well as new interviews and insights from the industry’s top thought leaders.

Links

Denim Summit 2018 Photo Highlights

Lori Bochner

Miguel Edwards

Dustin Yoder

Gregory Bailey provides an overview of what more than 100 insurance, financial services, technology, and innovation leaders will experience at Denim Summit 2018, taking place October 24 and 25 in Des Moines. He gives a sneak peek into the Denim Outlook, which is Denim's annual point of view on the future of marketing and consumer engagement in the financial services industry.

If you missed out on purchasing a ticket to this now sold-out event, be sure to listen to this episode and follow along on social media October 24 and 25 using #DenimSummit.

Links:

Denim Outlook from Denim Summit 2017

Thank You to the Denim Summit 2018 Sponsors:

Limelight Health

Global Insurance Symposium

Majesco

AscendIA Ventures / TrustedChoice.com

Joining us on this episode of Denim Rivet is Jason Andrew, co-founder and CEO of Limelight Health, and Charlie Turri, Denim’s CTO. And, a Denim Rivet first, this episode is hosted by Tim Laehn, Denim’s director of content.

Jason and Charlie provide their thoughts on APIs and how both Limelight Health and Denim are using them as a competitive advantage. They also talk about Denim Summit, coming up Oct. 24 and 25, and the fireside chat they will be participating in.

InsureTech Connect

Another InsureTech Connect (ITC) conference just wrapped up in Las Vegas. For Jason, the most exciting part of ITC was seeing the amount of focus, money, innovation, and attention being placed on the insurtech space. Over the last three years, the attendance has grown from 1,000 attendees to over 6,000 — which is a clear indicator of the enthusiasm and resources being funneled into the ecosystem.

Limelight Health

Insurance impacts every aspect of people’s lives. Jason and his team started Limelight Health to provide a better experience when it comes to getting coverage. Currently, a lot of that process is done in spreadsheets, email, and other legacy systems, without a lot of connections to other systems and platforms. Limelight has set out to make that experience better.

Limelight also recently expanded to downtown Des Moines to join the growing tech scene in the Midwest. Jason says this was an easy decision for Limelight to make. Settled right between the Coasts, the business climate in Des Moines is incredible. This has been evident to Jason as he has attended events like the Global Insurance Symposium. It’s one of the few events in the country where you see the Governor, the CEO of the NAIC, startups, and carriers — all working together in a very passionate way to solve some of the big challenges in insurance.

We’re so excited to have Limelight Health join us in Des Moines, and we’re looking forward to growing together and solving problems side by side in the insurance and financial services space.

Denim Summit 2018

The API economy is the topic of a fireside chat Jason and Charlie will be part of during Denim Summit 2018. Not many carriers in the industry are built to consume or work with APIs at the moment, and this panel discussion will highlight some of the reasons why adopting APIs has been slow going across the board.

There’s still time to sign up for Denim Summit 2018, and we’d love to have you come to Des Moines and catch the rest of our conversations about where the industry is headed, as well as Denim’s point of view and roadmap as we head into 2019.

Links

Limelight Health

Denim Summit 2018

If you would like to connect with Jason, you can reach him at [email protected].

Welcome to Season 4 of Denim Rivet, financial services' leading technology podcast! We have a host of exciting updates coming your way this season, including a brand new studio, a refreshed format, and new guests who will offer leading perspectives on the fintech and insurtech landscape.

To kick this season off, Gregory sits down with two others from the Denim team: Charlie Turri, Denim's CTO, and Adam Christophersen, growth marketing manager. They discuss what Denim has been up to over the summer — including a new product announcement, Denim's culture and growth, and Denim Summit 2018, which is coming up October 24 and 25.

Product Launch: Smart Campaigns

The Denim team has been busy working on Smart Campaigns, the first-ever solution for optimizing mobile advertising across local markets. We've been working closely with our customers to help refine Smart Campaigns, and our customers even helped us come up with the name!

Smart Campaigns scales all the way to the local level with a new algorithm we've developed. With the launch of Smart Campaigns, we're also going to start pulling insights every hour instead of every day, providing customers even faster and more robust data on their campaigns. Learn more about Smart Campaigns and sign up for a demo a denimlabs.com/smart.

Denim Summit 2018: October 24 and 25

That's right, the Denim Summit is headed back to Des Moines in late October. During the opening reception on October 24, we'll be showing off Denim's new office we transitioned into over the summer. Also that day, we'll be hosting a user group. This user group will be made up of our customers that are in the Denim platform every day, and they’ll be sharing tips, comparing notes, and giving us direct feedback.

An action-packed agenda on October 25 includes a fireside chat on the API economy — how Denim uses it, how the industry uses it, and how you can use it as the economy shifts and grows. Charlie will be leading the fireside chat with Jason Andrew, Co-Founder and CEO of Limelight Health; Derek Hyde, CTO at TrustedChoice.com and AscendIA Ventures; and a few additional guest yet to be announced.

Gregory will also be giving another Denim Outlook during Denim Summit. He'll be projecting Denim's point of view on the state of insurtech, fintech, and our product roadmap. This year, we'll be going bigger and bolder with our projections. Head over to denimlabs.com/summit to learn more and register.

Welcome to the final Denim Rivet episode of Season 3! To close out this season, Denim’s CTO Charlie Turri provides insight on some of the things Denim is focused on. He also shares his experience transitioning from leading IT at a big insurance company to joining a tech startup. Following that conversation, Tim Laehn, Denim’s director of marketing, sits down with Gregory to talk about a similar transition he made when he joined Denim eight months ago. You’ll also catch a glimpse of what Denim Rivet will be producing over the summer, and what’s in store when the show returns for Season 4 in September.

Charlie Turri

What got Charlie most excited about working at Denim was the small, dedicated group of people on the Denim team. In fact, the quote underneath Charlie’s bio on the Denim website reads: “A small group of thoughtful, committed people could change the world. Indeed, it’s the only thing that ever has.” – Margaret Mead.

Denim’s culture could be summed up like this: "What you’re doing matters right now.” This is something that larger companies can struggle to instill in their employees, which was part of the allure of Denim that caught Charlie’s attention. Denim can take a higher velocity of change, implementation, and innovation. In fact, the company has to in order to accomplish its mission to reimagine marketing and distribution for financial services companies.

Charlie will be helping Denim take the wealth of data the company has amassed and use it to directly impact customers. Whether that’s the right audience to target, the right campaign, even the right time of day — Denim is working hard to translate that data into actions for its customers.

Tim Laehn

About eight months ago, Tim left a great job at a fairly large financial services organization to become Denim’s new director of marketing. He didn’t jump onboard the Denim team and abandon his old position without any thought; it was a big move he considered for a while. But while Time likes comfort, he realizes that when you are comfortable you’re not growing. The opportunity at Denim was one that wouldn’t be around forever, and it was a chance for him to learn new things and grow in an exciting environment.

Tim has summed up some of this thoughts on the risk he took in his article Corporate to Startup: 6 Months In.

At the beginning of the year Denim, sat down to put together a Marketing Playbook. This playbook highlights five initiatives Denim has set out to move forward on in 2018. The speed in which the team has been able to implement these initiatives, again, highlights what makes intimate teams in startups so effective. The team understands the strategy will evolve and the plan will have to adapt. However, the main goal of leveraging owned, earned, and paid media to grow and nurture Denim’s community is at the center of the playbook. The team has worked hard to position Denim as a thought leader in the insurtech and fintech space, and will be continuing to put out webinars, videos, audio books and more great content.

Watch for some Denim Rivet best hits episodes over the summer, and we look forward to launching Season 4 in September!

Links:

Charlie Turri

Tim Laehn

The Lean Startup

Dealers of Lightning