Scouting for Growth

By Sabine VanderLindenBusiness Entrepreneurship Technology

Scouting for Growth episodes

April 16, 2025Areiel Wolanow On Unleashing AI, Quantum, and Emerging Tech
On this episode of the Scouting For Growth podcast, Sabine meets Areiel Wolanow, the managing director of Finserv Experts, who discusses his journey from IBM to founding FinServ Experts, emphasising the importance of focusing on business models enabled by technology rather than the technology itself.
Areiel delves into the challenges and opportunities presented by artificial intelligence, responsible AI practices, and the implications of quantum computing for data security, highlighting the need for organisations to adapt their approaches to digital transformation, advocating for a migration strategy over traditional transformation methods
KEY TAKEAWAYS
Emerging tech should be leveraged to create new business models rather than just re-engineering existing ones. Understanding the business implications of technology is crucial for delivering value.
When harnessing artificial intelligence, it's essential to identify the real underlying problems within an organisation, assess its maturity, and build self-awareness before applying maturity models and gap analyses.
The EU AI Act serves as a comprehensive guideline for responsible AI use, offering risk categories and controls that can benefit companies outside the EU by providing a framework for ethical AI practices without the burden of compliance.
Organisations should prepare for the future of quantum computing by ensuring their data is protected against potential vulnerabilities. This involves adopting quantum-resilient algorithms and planning for the transition well in advance.
Leaders should place significant responsibility on younger team members who are more familiar with emerging technologies. Providing them with autonomy and support can lead to innovative solutions and successful business outcomes.
BEST MOMENTS
'We focus not on the technology itself, but on the business models the tech enables.'
'The first thing you have to do... is to say, OK, is the proximate cause the real problem?'
'The best AI regulations out there is the EU AI Act... it actually benefits AI companies outside the EU more than it benefits within.'
'Digital transformations have two things in common. One is they're expensive, and two is they always fail.'
ABOUT THE GUEST
Areiel Wolanow is the managing director of Finserv Experts. He is an experienced business leader with over 25 years of experience in business transformation solutioning, sales, and execution. He served as one of IBM’s key thought leaders in blockchain, machine learning, and financial inclusion. Areiel has deep experience leading large, globally distributed teams; he has led programs of over 100 people through the full delivery life cycle, and has managed budgets in the tens of millions of dollars.
In addition to his delivery experience, Areiel also serves as a senior advisor on blockchain, machine learning, and technology adoption. He has worked with central banks and financial regulators around the world and is currently serving as the insurance industry advisor for the UK Parliament’s working group on blockchain.
LinkedIn
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]
50 min
April 10, 2025Lisa Bechtold: From AI Governance to AI Transformation
On this episode of the Scouting For Growth podcast, Sabine VdL talks to Lisa Bechtold, a global executive and strategic leader in technology and law, who at the time served as the head of AI governance from a transformative viewpoint at Zurich Insurance Group. Lisa is now with Nestlé.
In this episode, we explore the challenges and opportunities of the current AI transformation, what it takes to drive innovation in insurance while minimizing potential risks of AI, the role of digital trust and sustainability in leveraging AI for long-term growth, and how leaders can prepare their teams for the digital transformation ahead of us.
KEY TAKEAWAYS
AI governance is about how we use AI, which already affects all areas of our private and business lives. The acceptance and potential success of AI applications, tools, and use cases correlate with the respect of legal systems and the culture of the country or region.
With the tools, systems, and platforms we’ve built at Zurich, we’ve driven and scaled AI adoption, including the reuse of solutions that have proven extremely successful. In parallel, we drive AI literacy to foster adoption and ensure AI tools are used optimally. For example, setting the right prompts is crucial for generating the most valuable output from GenAI tools.
On the one hand, we invest in the education of our workforce, with a particular focus on digital upskilling and AI literacy. On the other hand, it’s crucial to allow experimentation in a safe sandbox environment so everyone can embrace technological opportunities. Insurance has always been a data-driven industry, so the adoption of AI techniques is well-founded across the insurance value chain, from risk modelling to all phases of the insurance business.
Looking ahead, with the AI revolution taking place this year, both opportunities and risks will be taken to another level. Today, AI systems are beginning to autonomously interact with one another and adapt their behaviours accordingly. I expec thatt, as things increase within both the interaction of individual AI agents as well as in the creation of high-performance, multi-agent systems. Such multi-agent systems offer a multitude of business opportunities but also pose challenges, such as potential information asymmetries and miscoordination, which need to be understood and managed.
BEST MOMENTS
‘The goal of deploying AI solutions must be to optimise the benefits of the technology while effectively minimising the risks.’
‘AI governance is the foundation of being a catalyst of AI innovation and ensures high-quality outcomes and inspires trust in customers.’
‘Today we’re focusing on the scalability and further optimisation of our AI capabilities.’
‘Managing the complexity of multi-agent systems in a safe and lean way while optimising business value will be one of the key priorities for 2025.’
ABOUT THE GUEST
Lisa Bechtold shares: As a Global Executive and Strategic Leader and Leader in Technology & Law, I have profound expertise and experience in Data, AI, Governance, Digital Risk, and Regulatory Affairs to protect corporate assets and optimise business performance.
After serving as Head of AI Governance at Zurich Insurance Group, I moved to Head of Group Risk Management at Nestlé. I have pioneered and led the operationalisation of a framework for AI Quality & Safety to oversee the development and deployment of AI solutions globally.
My multifaceted background positions me perfectly to provide strategic advice on data, digital solutions, and technology topics, integrating legal & risk considerations, to generate sustainable business value and digital trust as a competitive edge.
LinkedIn
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]
31 min
April 03, 2025Alex Schmelkin: Transforming Insurance Underwriting with GenAI and AI Agents
On this episode of the Scouting For Growth podcast, Sabine VdL talks to Alex Schmelkin, a visionary entrepreneur who's reshaping the future of insurance operations. Alex is the Founder and CEO of Sixfold, a company at the forefront of harnessing Generative AI to empower insurance underwriters with groundbreaking tools and capabilities.
Today, we'll explore how Sixfold is leveraging Generative AI to transform underwriting practices, the challenges and opportunities in implementing AI at scale, and Alex's vision for the future of insurance operations.
KEY TAKEAWAYS
There’s close to $7 trillion of premium written around the globe every year. That equals 7% of global GDP, it’s an enormous amount of premium that’s needed for the world to function and for people and businesses to take risks. The most underserved population are the underwriters, the people making decisions day in day out on that $7 trillion worth of business trying to figure out the good and bad risks and why. There’s so little support for these unsung heroes.
The typical underwriter is reading the equivalent of a novel every 2-3 days in documentation. These are not interesting fiction novels, they’re information-dense losses, statements of values of property and exposures. We’ve expected them to consume more and more but it’s information overload. Enter language models and AI, in the first time in human history we have the ability to take in a nearly limitless volume of data and help the underwriter to see through that to find the patterns without having to read every single word on every single page and free them to do the extra research at the end to find the best result for the end customer.
Regulators understand that AI is here and have already embraced it. They’re not as ahead of it as we would like them to be, as an industry, and they’re not getting everything right. But by putting a few fence posts around the problem we’re trying to solve they’ve forced the conversation and the industry to respond to it and to start rolling out the way we are with some of these AI transparency partner models.
The single challenge we run into everywhere is underwriter trust. The underwriters, despite being overworked, there not being enough of them, and despite it being a challenging job, are really good at what they do. The reason is they’ve been trained over the years to do everything they can to get the right answer. They’re the front line protecting insurance companies from bringing on bad risks. The hardest thing is to convince them is that AI is accurate. If they have a bad experience with AI first time they may not go back ever.
BEST MOMENTS
‘I found insurance – or it found me – almost 20 years ago and I’ve never looked back, and it’s all underwriting all the time.’
‘The biggest use of GenAI today is helping underwriters to find more accuracy, be more effective, and more transparent in their underwriting efforts.’
‘We attempt to arm the human with a bevy of different things for those who are the less value-producing part of their jobs.’
‘The human is so much more effective when they’re working beside a robot that helps them be more accurate and more efficient at their job.’
ABOUT THE GUEST
Alex Schmelkin is the Founder and CEO of Sixfold and is at the forefront of revolutionizing how insurance underwriters operate through Generative AI—a game-changing approach that not only enhances decision-making but also streamlines processes for a more efficient future.
His knack for identifying industry pain points and transforming them into innovative solutions has been the backbone of his success. With a deep-rooted belief in the power of technology to drive growth, Alex has consistently pushed the envelope, challenging norms and inspiring those around him.
Beyond his entrepreneurial endeavors, Alex is a dynamic speaker who captivates audiences with insights on SaaS, customer experience, and technology ethics. His passion for responsible innovation shines through in every conversation, as he advocates for solutions that not only meet business needs but also uphold ethical standards.
LinkedIn
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]
47 min
March 27, 2025Anneli Scopazzi: AI-Driven Talent Management and Upskilling Strategies for High-Growth Ventures
On this episode of the Scouting For Growth podcast, Sabine VdL talks to Anneli Scopazzi, CEO and Founder of Boulevard Recruiting. With a background rooted in fast-growth startup environments, Anneli has become an authority on matching world-class talent to the right opportunities—particularly in an era brimming with AI-driven disruption.
Expect a compelling conversation about how technology is changing the face of recruiting, the critical importance of upskilling and reskilling in today’s competitive market, and what early-stage ventures need to keep in mind while scaling with AI.
KEY TAKEAWAYS
We work with early-stage startups, starting with series B but it’s moved down to series C when the market crashed, but we now sit in series A where we’re hoping to scale with those clients for the next couple of years to be the first recruiters on the ground, working very closely with the founders. As the companies start to scale and hire internal recruiters the we’ll work very closely with them too.
Covid benefitted us in vary big way as a remote company founded in Q4 2019, I was fiercely committed to working remotely, it was the number one driver of the company, the name Boulevard was chosen because it represents remote work. When Covid happened, everyone had to figure out how to work remotely and now companies are accustomed to it and how it works.
AI is something that felt scary for a minute back when ChatGPT was released and there was all this appearance of fast acceleration. But, working in tech, we’ve known this has been going on for years. I wanted to be the first to adopt and work with these early tech companies, you don’t want to be the company that doesn’t survive the extinction event if you can’t work it out.
In the recruiting landscape I haven’t seen any amazing AI solutions just yet. There are some things that make us more efficient, but we’re in a bit of a safe space because of the relationship focus, which is really hard to replicate with AI technology. The more exciting thing is working with the AI companies and seeing them get funded massively. It’s an exciting space to be in.
BEST MOMENTS
‘I’ve loved the French language and Paris since I was very young and I didn’t want to name my business after myself. What I love about Boulevard is that it’s of French origin but it’s very recognisable around the world.’
‘What excites me about working with early-stage startups is that you have the ability to do more than you’re qualified to do.’
‘A lot of my personal growth has been very self-taught. That’s been very liberating and rewarding but also can be very painful at times learning through mistakes.’
‘There’s a lot of administrative work in recruiting, in-bound applications have surged dramatically in the last couple of years globally. The recruiting tools we’re seeing are sorting through profiles faster and narrowing it down to a shorter list for the human to review.’
ABOUT THE GUEST
Anneli Scopazzi is the CEO and Founder of Boulevard Recruiting, a boutique San Francisco-based agency that specializes in matching startups with world-class talent in engineering, product, and beyond.
She began her career in accounting before transitioning into recruiting about seven years ago, initially stepping into a 100% commission role at a boutique agency and later being recruited to Palantir.
This non-traditional path enabled Anneli to grow quickly in leadership, ultimately becoming Head of Talent at Figma, where she played a key role in tripling the company’s headcount through its Series B and C stages.
In September 2019, driven by her passion for connecting people and technology, Anneli founded Boulevard Recruiting—a remote-focused firm that balances expert matching of talent with a flexible work culture for its team members.
LinkedIn
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]
37 min
March 20, 2025Emmanuel Djengue: Driving Tech Innovation & Sustainable Growth
On this episode of the Scouting For Growth podcast, Sabine VdL talks to Emmanuel Djengue, a dynamic professional whose passion for technology and user-focused innovation has shaped his remarkable career path. From leading tech initiatives to connecting diverse people and ideas, Emmanuel exemplifies the very spirit of relentless curiosity and strategic thinking that we celebrate on this show.
We’ll be delving into his personal journey, uncovering how he transforms ambition into concrete impact, and discussing the role of collaboration and how talent can play a crucial role in fostering exponential growth as the world goes through a workforce transformation requiring reskilling and upskilling, while finding the talent for the right role across markets.
KEY TAKEAWAYS
Insurance is a product no one wakes up wanting to buy, but it’s super essential to society and people, especially life insurance. We need to help people understand the importance of insurance and ensure that everything we offer customers is simple, attractive, and delivered at the right time.
Health insurance is also very important. How do we help people with this? I’ve studied how people think to figure out how to motivate them. If you bring this element into industry innovation, we’d be able to improve how people interact with insurance, how they care about it, and how they take care of themselves.
There are 3 types of InsurTech players: Integrators – those that identify solutions and want to integrate them into what an insurance company is doing. Disruptors – They want to change everything that doesn’t work well so that it does. These require financial capability to do that, so there aren't many startups that can be disruptors. Collaborators – who want to touch base with insurers to try to improve what’s going on
The difference between a great and a bad insurer is not so much in the product, efficiency, etc. It’s on the people making the company great. If I need to do more innovation, change things, and bring something different, why not help people solve this issue? The number one business problem for anyone is unsuccessful hiring.
BEST MOMENTS
‘South Africa has one of the most innovative markets in life and health insurance; there are a lot of startups doing great things there.’
‘Too many startups turn up in the market to play disruptor roles, but only 1 or 2 players can do this and win.’
‘In insurance, David is not going to win against Goliath.’
‘Both sides need the partnership and want the partnership to happen.’
ABOUT THE GUEST
From the moment he first tinkered with a computer at a young age, Emmanuel Djengue has been captivated by the power of creativity and innovation to transform lives. His journey—marked by curiosity, resilience, and collaboration—has taken him from passion projects in his hometown to spearheading tech initiatives on a global stage.
Along the way, Emmanuel developed a talent for weaving user-focused storytelling into every project, bridging technology and humanity in impactful ways. Fueled by an enduring love of problem-solving, he thrives on connecting diverse people and ideas to craft solutions that don’t just work but inspire.
Whether rallying a team around a new software concept or mentoring future innovators, Emmanuel’s drive to make a positive impact is as unyielding as his imaginative spirit, promising that every new chapter of his story will be just as vibrant and compelling as the last.
LinkedIn
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]
54 min
March 13, 2025Anna Bojic: Disrupting Customer Engagement with Digital Wallet Technology
On this episode of the Scouting For Growth podcast, Sabine VdL talks to Anna Bojic, founder and CEO of Miss Moneypenny Technologies, which is on a mission to transform wallet apps into dynamic, customer-focused engagement tools.
On this episode, Anna will share how her artistic roots inspired her approach to scaling Miss Moneypenny Technologies, especially in collaboration with leading insurance brands and more, as well as why digital wallets have become transformative assets for businesses looking to modernise their communication, streamline processes, and deliver exceptional customer experiences.
KEY TAKEAWAYS
My co-founder and I have something in common; that we learned a practice of critical refinement, building something up with all the ideas you have but noticing when the time has come when you have to look very intensely at it and strip away everything that isn’t essential to the core of what you intended to do, the real solution behind it and destroying everything you don’t need.
We’re in a world of information overload/overwhelm, and the information has varying qualities. Some is very fleeting, and maybe we don’t need it very often, but when we need it, we really need it. It may be very small, or we may just need it for a short time. We have this information at home, but it was never presented to us in a way that would be helpful when we need it. We realised that the digital wallet could provide the capabilities for reducing the chaos, stress, and overwhelm.
Companies and insurers try to use techniques that work for family members, but they don’t have that kind of pull. But they do have an amazing opportunity to build relationships that are trust- and reliability-based, and have a different tone. The wallet is the home for building these kinds of relationships.
Regarding vehicle insurance, what we would have done if we’d had an accident is scribble our details on a piece of paper and take pictures of driver's licenses (which is a security concern), all while very nervous. Now you can scan the QR code of my digital insurance card. You would receive a digital accident card, which would trigger an automation in Wallet Studio, and both people would receive messages that would then pull us into the client’s processes that Zurich has. It provides us with all the information until the claim is completed. The cost savings are substantial.
BEST MOMENTS
‘I have a background in fine arts, but I’ve always been a creator. I love to think deeply about problems I encounter in whichever subject matter, I just love problem-solving.’
‘We’ve trashed 100,000s of lines of code because we suddenly understood what we should have been doing, to let go of the things that weren’t working and tackle the real solution to the problem.’
‘Expectations of consumers have changed. 5 years ago, it was fine to wait for a week when I placed an order, now I get nervous on day 2.’
‘Wallet Studio adds to the capabilities of what wallet technology can already do, making it scalable within a large company.’
ABOUT THE GUEST
Anna Bojic is the founder and CEO of Miss Moneypenny Technologies, the no-code wallet studio, which enables Businesses to use the native digital wallet apps Apple & Google Wallet to connect and interact with users in a new, powerful way.
It’s a SaaS product, Wallet Studio, a digital wallet engagement and automation suite that enables companies to transform digital wallet cards into dynamic, interactive, meaningful, and invaluable communication hubs.
LinkedIn
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]
1 hr
March 06, 2025Danilo Raponi: Driving Insurance Innovation & Sustainability at Generali (Driving Insurance Innovation & Sustainability)
On this episode of the Scouting For Growth podcast, Sabine VdL talks to Danilo Raponi about the trends and topics from this year’s ITC London event, including AI, sustainability, new startups, and why InsurTech isn’t dead.
KEY TAKEAWAYS
Climate change is the biggest risk, along with misinformation and generative AI, because its misuse can amplify its spread, affecting many economies and democracies.
Partnerships are essential, though it’s not always super easy, especially when we’re talking about public/private partnerships. There has to be awareness on both sides that the starting points can differ, but the goals and objectives we want to achieve are the same. For example, the public sector doesn’t always seek profit as a motive, but it may recognize that the private sector has to make money somehow.
Technology can really help us with risk protection and the monitoring and detection of things like forest fires. There are fantastic startups out there with devices that detect forest fires extremely early, including devices you can place strategically where fires are likely to occur, as well as satellites. There are many materials that can now be used to rebuild houses and make them less prone to burning down. When these risk mitigations are in place, it becomes easier for insurers to provide insurance.
Insurance and reinsurance are essential to make the world work. And they’ve been important in growth and innovation across the world, going back to the merchants in Venice. Attracting talent from the younger generation is important, but they need to work in a place that lives up to its values. It’s easier to attract talent in innovation because it’s all about technology, and it’s cool. But when you combine purpose with that and show the positive outcomes the products will have for other people, it becomes even easier.
BEST MOMENTS
‘Generali is a 200-year-old startup, which is a fancy way of saying that we’ve always had a remarkable ability to stay ahead of the trends, innovate and be close to our customers.’
‘We need to be humble. These are big things that no one can solve on their own.’
‘Parametrics can be an option to be looked at in modelling and technologies around insuring the ‘uninsurable’.’
‘There’s a growing awareness that all the issues that the world is facing are big ones, but they can also be turned into opportunities for insurance companies.’
ABOUT THE GUEST
Danilo Raponi is the Group Head of Innovation at Generali, Managing Director, Board Member, Angel Investor, MBA (Bocconi), PhD (Cambridge)
Danilo Raponi serves as Group Head of Innovation at Generali, one of the world’s leading insurance and financial services companies. In this capacity, he focuses on accelerating the company’s strategic and business transformation and spearheading new product development to enhance customer experience. Alongside his executive role, Danilo is a Managing Director and Board Member, helping guide strategic decision-making and long-term growth across multiple initiatives. He is also leading Generali Ventures, the VC initiative of the Generali Group, bridging corporate strategy with entrepreneurial ecosystems.
Danilo holds a Master of Science summa cum laude from LUISS University in Rome, an MBA from the Bocconi School of Management, and a PhD from the University of Cambridge. These academic achievements underpin his multidisciplinary approach to innovation, enabling him to navigate complex challenges and foster impactful solutions within Generali’s global network.
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]
47 min
February 27, 2025John Hewitt: How CEOs Building Their Empire
On this episode of the Scouting For Growth podcast, Sabine VdL talks to John Hewitt, a true pioneer in the tax preparation and financial services industry, having founded and scaled two companies to over $500 million in value - Jackson Hewitt Tax Service and Liberty Tax Service.
Throughout his illustrious 55-year career, John has always kept his driving purpose in sight – to change lives. He takes pride in having a monumental positive impact on franchisees, employees, and customers. We'll be exploring his strategies for scaling successful empires, overcoming barriers, financing growth models, and more.
KEY TAKEAWAYS
One key ingredient is getting buy-in from everyone involved. You have to have a dream that’s fairly accurate, then get your employees, customers, vendors, investors, etc to buy into where you’re going.
As a franchisee, you want your franchisor to deliver consistency and quality. Whoever offers the worst service in your system will determine what your brand name is worth. We call every customer and ask them how we did, which no one else does, in the franchise world, they send and email, text, or send them a survey. It’s been great for us because not only do we police our brand, but our customers also love being called and asked how we can improve our service to them. Plus, we get higher staff retention and get more referrals.
Anything that’s systemic should be able to be provided by software and computers. We divide issues up into ‘tip of the iceberg’. If it’s systemic – an iceberg – we’re looking for a solution; if it’s just a one-off, we don’t build systems or use software for it. I’ve been doing it this way since 1981, making things more expeditious and consistently high-quality.
Train your staff so they can go anywhere and be successful, but treat them so well that they want to stay. It comes from creating a culture and an attitude in your organisation, and the attitude starts with employees first: If you want your customers to be treated well by your employees, you have to treat your employees well, you have to listen and be loyal to your team, and build a team of people with a great attitude. You can’t teach a great attitude.
BEST MOMENTS
‘There are two major parts of growth: The amount of money you spend, and the amount of money you take in; you always have to make sure they’re balanced.’
‘I’ve been in taxes for 55 years: There are only 2 certainties in life: death and tax, it’s recession proof.’
‘In the pet industry, we’ve seen young people in the past 10 years delay having children. Sometimes I ask if they have children and they say: “I have 2 dogs, those are my children.”’
‘Brand loyalty is such a cool and important thing to have, which is why my company is called Loyalty Brands.’
ABOUT THE GUEST
John Hewitt is a visionary entrepreneur renowned for founding two of the largest tax preparation companies in the United States - Jackson Hewitt Tax Service and Liberty Tax Service.
As the pioneer behind the "Hewitt" in Jackson Hewitt, John grew the company to over 1,300 offices and $483 million in sales before selling it in 1997.
Undeterred, John founded Liberty Tax in 1997 and rapidly expanded it to over 4,000 offices in the U.S. and Canada. By 2012, Liberty Tax was one of the top 100 largest retail organizations in North America.
Now, John is applying his strategic prowess to investing. He helps entrepreneurs build their own empires as CEO of Loyalty Brands. Guided by ambition and faith, he continues to compete - and win - on an extraordinary level.
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]
45 min
February 20, 2025Danny Nathan: Driving Innovation and Venture Growth with Apollo 21
On this episode of the Scouting For Growth podcast, Sabine VdL talks to Danny Nathan, founder of Apollo 21, an innovation and product design studio based in New York City.
Learn about the transformative role of emerging technologies like AI, quantum computing, and cloud services in reshaping traditional business models. Danny discusses how Apollo 21 integrates these frontier technologies to solve complex business and operational challenges, helping clients across industries such as healthcare, finance, fitness, and more.
KEY TAKEAWAYS
I focus on layering together the ideals of innovation, entrepreneurship, and technology, helping companies understand what it means to build a culture of innovation, what that looks like from an operational standpoint, and how that perspective shapes how companies are structured and how they approach their work. We then leverage those thoughts to help companies create interesting new products
We work with companies of all sizes, from napkin-stage founders who have an idea but haven’t figured out how to bring it to light or defined what an MVP product might look like to serve their customer needs, to large companies like Bank of America. Interestingly, the problems they’re trying to solve are not exactly dissimilar; it’s a question of scale and customer expectations today and where they want to get to tomorrow.
We’ve found that large companies are not inherently set up well to support the ideals of innovation. As companies grow, they optimise for efficiency and look for ways to wring every dollar out of every penny invested. Innovation is inherently an inefficient process that requires some expenditure on experimentation and trial and error, and that’s difficult to align with the way large companies operate in terms of budgeting.
One of our core values is: Crawl, walk, run. Having run startups ourselves, we’re highly aware of the benefit of starting small, understanding what you’re building, determining where the value is being delivered or not, and iterating on that over time, so we can truly build something that accomplishes a need and gives us an opportunity to figure out where we misstepped along the way.
BEST MOMENTS
‘Gen AI is the elephant in the room today, you can’t help but be aware of it because of the pace it’s coming into fruition. A lot of companies aren’t ready to incorporate it into their workflows.’
‘Start getting your data in order, understand and learning what type of structure and data you need to align to the goal you have for AI use cases in the future.’
‘Figure out ways for your employees to begin interacting with and utilising AI to accomplish the tasks they’re doing today, so they aren’t afraid of it and how to ask the right questions of it to get beneficial responses from it.’
‘One of the things a lot of people overlook is the level of research and understanding of your customer and their needs that should go into the process prior to building anything.’
ABOUT THE GUEST
Throughout a roller-coaster career spanning acting, advertising, consulting, technology, and entrepreneurship, Danny Nathan has developed a habit of helping companies create new products and services and launch new ventures.
Known variously as a product person, UX guy, designer, strategist, marketer, creative, and sometimes even "The Cleaner," Danny brings a wealth of experience to every project he undertakes.
Today, Danny is the founder of Apollo 21, an innovation and product design studio based in New York City. Apollo 21 sits at the intersection of business consultancy, product design studio, and venture studio. The company helps organizations foster innovation, leverage venture-driven growth, and remove barriers to scale by building technology that solves complex business and operational challenges.
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]
55 min
February 13, 2025Scott Gunther: Corporate Venture Capital, the Venture Client Model, and Driving Innovation in 2025
On this episode of the Scouting For Growth podcast, Sabine VdL talks to Scott Gunther, who is not only a corporate venture capitalist and start-up enthusiast—he’s also the secret ingredient that helps big businesses think like nimble innovators!
In this episode, we’ll hear how Scott’s unique blend of strategic vision and hands-on execution has set him apart in both blue-chip boardrooms and early-stage tech circles. We’ll dive into the venture client model, explore the evolving CVC (Corporate Venture Capital) landscape through the lens of 2025, and uncover the do’s and don’ts for insurance providers and emerging Tech founders.
KEY TAKEAWAYS
Recently, we’ve seen some stability in CVC investment. There’s been a strong volume of deal-flow dollars pouring into startup investment. At the same time, we’re seeing corporations change their attitudes and approaches to innovation and venturing. Some have closed their CVC funds, others have changed their investment focus, some have scaled back altogether, although some are quite the opposite.
We’re starting to see CVCs experiencing slower exit returns, and their financials aren’t what they were in 2021/22. In the last 2-3 years, the savvy CVCs have done 2 things well: they’ve kept their portfolio afloat and held onto their strategic assets, while also helping it grow. This will be a trend for CVCs in 2025.
We don’t put anything up to our investment community until we have an exec sponsor because post-investment is when the exec sponsor comes to life, and the VC model starts to hit home. We have a dedicated post-investment team that connects the startup and the corporate.
The biggest opportunities for insurers and CVCs operating in that space is understand how people use and interact with digital technologies, and how they’re affecting society. Also, customer segmentation and proposition development are different for different demographics now, and how different cohorts are researched, bought, serviced, and claimed, it’s not one size fits all. The savvy insurers know what these macro-trends are and understand how the latest technology, data, and AI trends are. This could help us get to the holy grail: The segment of one!
BEST MOMENTS
‘We’re going to see more competition, things are going to happen faster and cheaper, but there’s still an uncertainty about which things we should own and which we should outsource.’
‘I think a lot of people focus on the E and S or ESG, but not the G, but the G incorporates some of the most crucial aspects about how a company runs itself.’
‘The more efficient and effective a company can run, the more it can have on its customers and community.’
‘We connect the startup with the corporate to create mutual commercial value, it’s an ethos we live by.’
ABOUT THE GUEST
Scott Gunther is a Corporate Venture Capitalist and start-up enthusiast with a track record of partnering with business leaders to identify strategic opportunities and guide transformational change.
Drawing on years of experience designing future-state, digital-first businesses and delivering critical programs across multiple industries, he brings a rare blend of strategic vision and execution prowess to his clients and colleagues.
LinkedIn
Firemark Ventures
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]
39 min