He rowed solo across the Tasman, later sold his BNPL startup—now he’s rebuilding life insurance with AI from New Zealand.

Our guest, Shaun Quincey, is a New Zealand tech entrepreneur who went from a 54-day solo ocean row to exiting a services-focused BNPL company—and now leads Simfuni, an AI-first operating platform for life insurers. He breaks down how a payments “wedge” became a full policy-admin + automation stack, and why eight insurers are already on the platform.

We go deep on enterprise sales inside legacy insurers, using AI agents for real self-service (move payment dates, policy changes, docs), and the ethics of data, wearables, and genetics in underwriting. Plus: the early NZ accelerator days, a 7-figure exit with an earn-out, and what it really takes to survive 300 metaphorical “uppercuts” in startups.

🧭 From Singapore birth & military family → New Zealand childhood → resilience through constant change.

🚣 Rowing Australia→NZ solo at 23; 54 days, capsizes, a bestselling book—and startup lessons.

💳 BNPL in services (5k merchants) → strategic sale to Latitude; why timing beat ego.

🧠 Simfuni: payments wedge → policy admin OS → AI agents for customer ops.

🏢 “Enterprise infiltration”: who decides, budget cycles, and asking for money early.

🤖 What AI does today: automate common requests, cut FTEs, boost compliance.

📈 Eight life insurers live; AU/NZ focus with South Africa interest next.

🧬 Wearables & genetics: pricing fairness vs. privacy—where regulation lands.

🧱 Founder mindset: pivots, patience, and building for 5–10 years.

Connect with the Guest

Shaun Quincey — LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/shaun-quincey-53548132

Company (Simfuni): simfuni.com

Learn more about NZVC & Hosts

NZVC: https://www.nzvc.co.nz

Mark Pavlyukovskyy: https://www.linkedin.com/in/pavlyukovskyy/

Hendrik Remigereau: https://www.linkedin.com/in/hendrik-remigereau-09a03067/

Timestamps

00:00 – Introduction & welcome

01:20 – Shaun’s childhood in Singapore and New Zealand

03:30 – Growing up with constant change and resilience

06:00 – Family background and his father’s solo Tasman row

08:40 – Shaun’s own Tasman Sea adventure (rowing from Australia to NZ)

12:00 – Storms, setbacks, and pushing through challenges

15:00 – Writing a book and lessons learned from the row

19:00 – Transition into career and first job at Debit Success

28:30 – Exposure to startups and move to San Francisco

31:30 – Founding his first fintech startup (buy now, pay later)

35:30 – Growth, competition, and acquisition

41:00 – Reflections on exiting and lessons from competition

43:20 – Coming up with new startup ideas during earn-out

46:00 – Entering the insurance industry

50:30 – Cracking enterprise sales with insurers

53:00 – Building Simfuni: modernizing life insurance systems56:00 – How AI transforms insurance operations

59:00 – Understanding life insurance and underwriting

1:03:00 – Risk, reinsurance, and margins

1:05:30 – The future of AI in insurance

1:08:00 – Vision for Simfuni and closing thoughts

If this sharpened your startup/business brain, hit 👍, drop your questions for Shaun below, and subscribe for more New Zealand founder deep-dives.

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