January 01, 2022

Matthew Jones: Some Investors Care About Diversity

42 minutes

In this episode, Sabine VdL is joined by Matthew Jones, Managing Director and venture capital investor in insurance and risk management-related technology for Anthemis in the UK, Europe, and North America.

Through his previous work with Swiss Re, Matthew sponsored Sabine’s first accelerator and was one of her most active mentors, engaged assessor, and investor. They both learned a great deal during the acceleration programme about what a sustainable business model meant.

KEY TAKEAWAYS

At the core of our investment thesis are banks, insurance companies, and FinTech companies. But in addition to those kinds of businesses, we’re also actively researching, exploring, and investing in several adjacent industries where we believe that the technology will intersect with financial services in the future, including energy, agriculture, mobility, health, and property tech.

For me, cultivating change means that we’re prepared to back genuinely different and disruptive ideas that others aren’t. Because our team comes from both inside and outside financial services, we try to blend those perspectives to think creatively about how we back new companies and underrepresented founders.

In the context of venture, there’s a rule of thumb that startups should aim for a 10x better user experience or a 10x better return on investment. That’s a good rule of thumb. And across financial services, there are so many underdeveloped spots where growth ventures can focus on delivering that kind of outcome.

Entrepreneurs who seek funding should seek smart money. They should ask their investors what they believe in and how they put it into practice. They should also evaluate their investment team and partners: Are they a diverse bunch? Do they have values that align with yours, and are they putting them into practice? Would you want to affiliate with a firm that doesn’t share your values?

BEST MOMENTS

‘Without insurance and re-insurance, nothing really happens. Insurance is everywhere, which is great for me as someone who’s a little bit obsessive about insurance.’

‘Financial services are the lifeblood of the world’s economies. But we recognise it’s not perfect and there are opportunities for improvement.’

‘There is no part of the insurance value chain that is immune to the effect of technology.’

‘There’s no excuse, and it’s not acceptable, for big venture capital companies to have all male and all white CEO portfolio companies. We are in the 21st Century!’

ABOUT THE GUEST

I interviewed Matthew when he was the Managing Director at Anthemis, responsible for sourcing, analyzing, and executing investments, as well as providing support to Anthemis’ portfolio companies. Today, he is the head of business development at MS Transverse

He brings in-depth knowledge of the insurance sector and focuses on investments in insurance and risk-related technology.

Matthew’s areas of interest include analytics and data, artificial intelligence and automation, asset management, digital health, mobility, new insurance propositions, and risk management. Prior to joining Anthemis, Matthew was at Swiss Re, with roles across non-life, life, and reinsurance in the USA, London, and Europe.

Matthew previously served on the boards of Flock, Hokodo, and Stable and is the resident venture investor for Carrier Management’s VC Viewpoint series. He holds a bachelor’s in business administration from the University of Bath and also studied at Queen’s University in Kingston, Ontario.

ABOUT THE HOST

Sabine VanderLinden is a corporate strategist turned entrepreneur and the CEO of Alchemy Crew Ventures. She leads venture-client labs that help Fortune 500 companies adopt and scale cutting-edge technologies from global tech ventures. A builder of accelerators, investor, and co-editor of the bestseller The INSURTECH Book, Sabine is known for asking the uncomfortable questions—about AI governance, risk, and trust. On Scouting for Growth, she decodes how real growth happens—where capital, collaboration, and courage meet.

If this episode sparked your thinking, follow Sabine VanderLinden on LinkedIn, Twitter, and Instagram for more insights.

And if you’re interested in sponsoring the podcast, reach out to the team at [email protected]

...more

View all episodes

By Sabine VanderLinden

1212 ratings