Scouting for Growth

On this episode of the Scouting For Growth podcast, Sabine VdL talks to Sally Gimon, an absolute superstar in the world of real estate investing and financial education. After getting hit with a $79,000 tax bill from her wholesale real estate activities, Sally uncovered an incredible secret used by the mega-rich to save BIG on taxes. What she found led her down the rabbit hole into the realm of Spend thrift Trusts which have been tucked away in the tax code for over 100 years & used by families like the Rockefellers to shield assets and minimise taxes legally. KEY TAKEAWAYS I help US business owners save at least 90% on their Federal income taxes legally, year after year, generation after generation. In 43 states where there’s state or personal income taxes, I help them save money too. That’s money that can be used to pay off the mortgage, help a family member out, go on vacation, save for retirement, or give to charity.  The Rockefellers’ trust is called The Office, they hire 26 CPAs (they can afford it), & it goes from generation to generation, it’s complex, it’s discretionary – meaning the trustee can make the rules for the beneficiary, someone who is not a beneficiary can sign up for the trust & the become a trustee for 5 minutes – someone at a law firm or myself can do this for them for free. It’s has been in front of the Supreme Court twice & both times has been honoured. This is in the IRS tax code, it’s legal but not many people know about it. The Rockefellers, DuPonts, Carnegies, OJ Simpson, Robin Williams, they all have a Spendthrift Trust meaning Robin Willimas’ 3 grown children will pay no royalties for his TV shows, movies, comedy acts. If they can do this, everybody should do this. This comes from England hundreds of years ago, though it has a different name.  With the Spendthrift beneficial trust, if the average person joining my real estate group is a 56 year old man who is wholesaling or fixing & flipping a house & makes $50,000 on that deal & are on 24% filing jointly (1 of 7 tax bracket in the US), they will save over $12,000 on that first property. If they do 2 properties in one year, they pay for that trust for generation after generations. On the business trust side, I recommend someone who is making at least $80,000 gross, you will save about $17,000 a year or more depending on the state. BEST MOMENTS 'If the Rockefellers can do it, why can’t Sally?!’ ‘Since November, 5 of my businesspeople who have the business trust have started the beneficial trust because they were saving so much money that they wanted to start lending money to real estate investors.’ ‘This is not taught in schools and universities. There are 1 million active attorneys, only 4% are trust attorneys who work for very well-healed people, I’m just trying to help the average person.’   ABOUT THE GUEST Sally Gimon, a seasoned Medicare broker turned real estate investor, epitomises the transformative power of financial literacy. Her journey began in late 2018, amidst personal challenges, when she pivoted to real estate investing to secure her future. Sally's acumen shone through as she wholesaled seven properties in 2019, erasing her debts & earning acclaim within her real estate community. However, a staggering tax bill in 2020 was a wake-up call that led her to a profound discovery: the Spendthrift Trust.  Sally delved into the strategies of the affluent, uncovering how such trusts could shield investors from hefty capital gains and other taxes while maintaining privacy & asset protection. Find out more about Spendthrift Trusts framework and approach and to reach out to Sally. You can find out more and set up a call with Sally here ABOUT THE HOST Sabine is a corporate strategist turned entrepreneur. She is the CEO and Managing Partner of Alchemy Crew, a venture lab that accelerates the curation, validation, & commercialization of new tech business models. Sabine is renowned within the insurance sector for building some of the most renowned tech startup accelerators around the world working with over 30 corporate insurers & accelerating over 100 startup ventures. Sabine is the co-editor of the bestseller The INSURTECH Book, a top 50 Women in Tech, a FinTech and InsurTech Influencer, an investor & multi-award winner.  Twitter LinkedIn Instagram Facebook  TikTok Email Website

On this episode of the Scouting For Growth podcast, Sabine VdL talks to Steve Selengut who has over 40 years of direct investment management experience & is one of the few investing book authors who has actually managed client money for decades. Steve is here to share the fundamental principles behind "income-focused investing" laid out in his book “Retirement Money Secrets.” His approach can help investors confidently replace their paycheques with portfolio income streams that grow regardless of markets or rates. KEY TAKEAWAYS 25% of my money was always in the bond market, which included closed-in funds, mortgages, real estate, notes, loans, short-term, long-term, in the country, out of the country, a great, diverse portfolio. I stuck with stocks individually for a longer period of time & they all paid dividends which became an income stream over time. IN the first 5 weeks of 2024 my own personal accounts have generated over $20,000 in income. I’m not bragging about it, this is the possibility. Not only is it throwing out dividends every month, but the capital gains are like getting a cheque in the mail from your rich uncle & having something more to reinvest. After learning all the foundational rules about investing, people should focus on the income produced by the shares, bonds, etc, instead of their market values. You can’t spend the market value, you can’t spend a gold brick, you can't spend cotton futures, but you can spend cash. The companies are giving you cash because they appreciate your value as an owner, utilities companies were always very good at this. But most companies, especially in the tech sector, want to grow. Mutual funds were developed & began to get popular after the crash in the 20s, the great depression because everybody was afraid of the stock market at that point. Mutual funds gave people a diversified portfolio, you could own part of all the companies & participate in the growth of the economy again without the fear of 100% loss if a company goes bust. That bought a lot of money back into the marketplace. There isn’t an investment advisor out there that would deny the fact that diversification is the key elements of risk minimisation that you can employ.  BEST MOMENTS ‘Big companies influence advisors, it’s not just economics, there’s a lot of politics in there too.’ ‘Bonds are a much safer investment than stocks by their nature, & they pay income.’ ‘If you see a $100 bill on the sidewalk, do you walk by it hoping it’ll be $150 tomorrow? Pick it up & reinvest it, it’s new capital’ ‘I’ve been through too many crashes to take for granted that every great company is going to continue to be a great success.’   ABOUT THE GUEST Steve Selengut is a 44-year veteran investment manager & advisor specialising in income investing. Over his career, he directly managed over $110 million in individual investment portfolios in the US and abroad. Steve has now distilled his experience into the book: ‘Retirement Money Secrets’ which explains the principles behind income investing. He also provides coaching services to both individual investors & financial advisors on implementing income investing using customised security selection. His goal is to get people to a sustainable, growing income level that makes market volatility & interest rate hikes a benefit rather than a problem. ABOUT THE HOST Sabine is a corporate strategist turned entrepreneur. She is the CEO and Managing Partner of Alchemy Crew, a venture lab that accelerates the curation, validation, & commercialization of new tech business models. Sabine is renowned within the insurance sector for building some of the most renowned tech startup accelerators around the world working with over 30 corporate insurers & accelerating over 100 startup ventures. Sabine is the co-editor of the bestseller The INSURTECH Book, a top 50 Women in Tech, a FinTech and InsurTech Influencer, an investor & multi-award winner.  Twitter LinkedIn Instagram Facebook  TikTok Email Website

On this episode of the Scouting For Growth podcast, Sabine VdL talks to Lisa Wardlaw, a trailblazer in the insurance sector, a digital strategist, & an innovation enthusiast. She's a global leader with a knack for creating sustainable revenue streams & reinventing business strategies through technology & abstract thinking. The pair talk about Lisa’s career in insurance & technology as well as their new programme, the “Authentic Identity Masterminds”, that they devised alongside their colleague Jessica Ewart. This programme is all about empowering professionals to craft and communicate their authentic professional narratives. KEY TAKEAWAYS          My best experiences are these moments of zen that you probably didn’t realise in the moment that they were. You feel energised. For me, it was when I was when no one confined me to a box & I didn’t care about my title. I got to sit in an amazing time of transformation, above all that, figuring out how to drive business forward using algorithms and AI, 5 years before it generative AI became a thing. As all good ideas do, the idea for Authentic Identity Masterminds happened serendipitously. You, me & Jess were sitting around discussing the misunderstanding of the more experienced you are in your career the less guidance you need, you’ve got it all figured out. I was 45 when I had to totally reinvent myself. I felt that if you work hard & pay your dues you earn it. I’d earned my title, job & income, but in those days I was so into the work I didn’t own my own identity, the one thing that was mine & mine alone. When my favourite role was eliminated I looked at the clock trying not to cry & it took less than 3 minutes for my phone, emails, contact – my whole work identity – had been eliminated. I went to a career coach who asked me how many followers I had on LinkedIn, & I didn’t know. I didn’t go on a wild “connect with me” session, but I started to build an authentic engagement with people who had the same interests as me. We’re not here to tell you how to be on social media. Who you are is not you title or your role, who you are, what you show up for, your purpose & mission is something deeply intrinsic. I like to use all my experience, curiosity & conceptual ability to solve problems that other people can’t solve at scale. I’m a breaker of the status quo, my purpose is to show people that the impossible is possible.   BEST MOMENTS ‘Early on I would work 80 hours, 23 hours a day, & I’m not glamourising that, the body needs rest.’‘I’m much more of a spoken person than a written person, which is where I came up with the Insurance Unplugged Podcast.’‘Don’t think this can’t happen to you, it can.’‘You don’t get to be, discover or emulate who you are & how you show up has to connect to that.’ ABOUT THE GUEST Lisa Wardlaw stands at the forefront of digital innovation in the insurance sector, wielding her expertise to forge new, sustainable revenue streams that bolster competitive advantage. As a seasoned executive, Lisa's mission is to revolutionise business strategies through the power of technology & creative thinking. In an era where digital interaction with customers is paramount, Lisa champions proactive engagement to drive digital customer conversion. She believes that the financial services industry is ripe for genuine transformation, advocating for leaders with bold visions to embrace the tools of tomorrow for radical change. Lisa's passion lies in crafting groundbreaking business strategies that defy convention, utilising emerging technologies such as AI, blockchain, & machine learning to redefine business models. Her liberal arts background fuels her commitment to lifelong learning and continuous improvement, challenging the status quo with a curious mind & innovative approach. LinkedIn Authentic Identity Mastermind London ABOUT THE HOST Sabine is a corporate strategist turned entrepreneur. She is the CEO and Managing Partner of Alchemy Crew, a venture lab that accelerates the curation, validation, & commercialization of new tech business models. Sabine is renowned within the insurance sector for building some of the most renowned tech startup accelerators around the world working with over 30 corporate insurers & accelerating over 100 startup ventures. Sabine is the co-editor of the bestseller The INSURTECH Book, a top 50 Women in Tech, a FinTech and InsurTech Influencer, an investor & multi-award winner.  Twitter LinkedIn Instagram Facebook  TikTok Email Website

On this episode of the Scouting For Growth podcast, Sabine VdL talks about the world of authentic personal & corporate/business branding and their synergies to drive authenticity in 2024. In this episode, she discusses the importance of authenticity in personal branding & how it can make or break your reputation, the role of storytelling in crafting a compelling personal brand narrative, the power of emotional intelligence in shaping your personal brand & fostering meaningful connections, the impact of digital presence on your personal brand & how to manage it effectively, and the art of reinvention & how to evolve your personal brand as you grow & change. KEY TAKEAWAYS As businesses evolve to meet the expectations of the digital era, they look for individuals whose personal brands resonate with their ethos & market positioning. Therefore, it is essential for you to craft a personal brand that not only demonstrates your unique value but also complements the corporate branding you are aligned with. This synergy is increasingly expected by companies as they navigate the complexities of authenticity vs authentication, ensuring that the digital identities of their employees enhance their brand's integrity & public perception. Authenticity is the currency of trust in the digital environment. In an era where digitization has penetrated every aspect of life, your genuine self is what distinguishes you in a sea of curated personas. When you prioritize authenticity, you are choosing to align your digital presence with your true values and beliefs. This alignment not only helps you navigate the digital world more effectively but also ensures that your brand resonates with your audience on a deeper level. A Your personal brand identity needs to resonate with your professional ethos, even in a remote work environment. To do this effectively, focus on the consistency of your online interactions, messages, & visual presence across digital engagement or platforms. Essentially, the experiences you create for others in your digital communications should align with your in-person interactions. This requires a keen understanding of user experience principles to ensure that your personal brand is both approachable & authentic. bring your networking to the 21st century by engaging through social media platforms where industry conversations are happening. Engage & post regularly to ensure your presence grows alongside your brand. Utilize networking to your advantage by joining & fostering growth ecosystems.  BEST MOMENTS ‘Your digital identity is not just a by-product of online interactions but a carefully curated persona that stands for your values, skills, & character. Authenticity in this context means being true to oneself while adapting to the digital modes of expression.’ ‘In the wake of digitization & digitalization, aligning your personal brand with a corporate brand has become more intricate yet crucial.’ ‘Your digital identity is now a cornerstone of personal & professional interactions.’ ‘The virtual landscape heavily influences how you are perceived in both social & professional circles. So, remember to key both of those very much aligned.’   ABOUT THE HOST Sabine is a corporate strategist turned entrepreneur. She is the CEO and Managing Partner of Alchemy Crew, a venture lab that accelerates the curation, validation, & commercialization of new tech business models. Sabine is renowned within the insurance sector for building some of the most renowned tech startup accelerators around the world working with over 30 corporate insurers & accelerating over 100 startup ventures. Sabine is the co-editor of the bestseller The INSURTECH Book, a top 50 Women in Tech, a FinTech and InsurTech Influencer, an investor & multi-award winner.  Twitter LinkedIn Instagram Facebook  TikTok Email Website

On this episode of the Scouting For Growth podcast, Sabine VdL talks to Leandro DalleMule who brings a dynamic perspective shaped by nearly 30 years of driving growth through data and AI. As Global Head of Insurance and General Manager at Planck, Leandro spearheads the most sophisticated generative AI platform serving commercial insurers across four continents. Through the "Scouting for Growth" podcast, Leandro will unveil his playbook for activating cross-industry partnerships and investments to future-proof success. His globetrotting career stands as a testament to the power of bridging geographic and sector divides to drive innovation. KEY TAKEAWAYS We’ve been using large language models since the beginning of the company; they just weren’t very popular because ChatGPT wasn’t around. But now we can now open the black box. It’s very addictive once you ask the chat part of it questions. There are two major pain points we solve with technology: Efficiency is super important for underwriters as margins are very thin in any line. Accuracy is also important, how precisely are you finding the correct information rather than misleading or wrong data. The beauty of the technology is that it can work from multiple sources, bring it all together & make sense of that information.  Before I give an overview of large language models, I always ask: “How many of you have heard of ChatGTP, generative AI?” It’s about 50% in traditional carries (higher in the digital NGA space) surprisingly, or not – insurance isn’t a very innovative space. Then I ask how many have used it & the number drops to about 30%. There’s much more room to grow. Generative AI is the future, it’s coming from all directions, not just insurance, we’ll be seeing more and more natural interaction with technology rather than it being distanced from us.  BEST MOMENTS ‘We went from being a data provider, at the very early stages years ago, to providing a risk & underwriting insights workbench with an AI co-pilot to help underwriters be more productive.’ ‘For anyone that’s used ChatGPT once it’s impressive, it’s surprising the amount of investment in such a short period of time & the adoption, which surpassed the launch of any other product, ever.’ ‘Once people start using AI they understand the power of it.' ‘Talk to your kids, they’ll know.’ ABOUT THE GUEST Leandro DalleMule has nearly 30 years of experience helping businesses in the retail, energy, manufacturing, telecom, and financial services industries achieve sustained increased profitability through data and analytics. Leandro is the global head of insurance for Planck, a leading artificial intelligence data platform for commercial insurers. Previously, he spent six years as the chief data officer for AIG. Prior to AIG, he worked in several senior leadership positions such as the senior director of big data analytics for Citibank and head of marketing analytics for BlackRock. He also worked in Deloitte's advanced analytics practice. Leandro holds a bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering from University of Sao Paulo, Brazil, magna cum laude MBA from the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University, and a graduate certificate in applied mathematics from Columbia University.  He has published several articles on analytics, risk, and economics, the most recent ones for the Harvard Business Review on data strategy and analytics. ABOUT THE HOST Sabine is a corporate strategist turned entrepreneur. She is the CEO and Managing Partner of Alchemy Crew, a venture lab that accelerates the curation, validation, & commercialization of new tech business models. Sabine is renowned within the insurance sector for building some of the most renowned tech startup accelerators around the world working with over 30 corporate insurers & accelerating over 100 startup ventures. Sabine is the co-editor of the bestseller The INSURTECH Book, a top 50 Women in Tech, a FinTech and InsurTech Influencer, an investor & multi-award winner.  Twitter LinkedIn Instagram Facebook  TikTok Email Website

On this episode of the Scouting For Growth podcast, Sabine VdL talks to Alex Taylor, Global Head of Emerging Technology, QBE Ventures at QBE Insurance, who firmly believes that the next decade will expose the insurance industry to the greatest upheaval it has seen since the establishment of Lloyd's of London. In this episode, topics discussed include: the key trends in Corporate Venture Capital (CVC) for 2024, QBE Ventures' approach to scouting for growth, the role of technology in QBE Ventures' growth strategy, & the challenges and opportunities in the insurtech space. KEY TAKEAWAYS I've always been a technologist as far back as I can remember. And it's interesting that when you look at the context behind the applications of technology to a multitude of industries, you start to realise that it's not about the technology, it's about what we can do with the technology. 2023 has been a tough time. And talking to a lot of younger companies, it's a bit of a bloodbath out there. What we're going to see as we go into 2024 is the survivors of that time, the ones that did manage to demonstrate the value that they offer, start to see the light of day. More & more, organisations are appearing that help us to specialise products specifically to the risk that particular organisation represents. The risk that we run here is that if we specialise & personalise too much, then we're essentially not going to be in an environment where we can cover a risk that we know with almost certainty will result in a loss. We need to balance what needs to be created between the ability to utilise data insurance lines & the need to preserve the thing that makes insurance special, which I strongly believe enables the economic environment we operate in. Without insurance, people can't take risk in any arena. Your exposure to ransomware is directly related to an understanding of the backups that you have as an organisation. So you cannot have your access to your data removed if you have an air gap backup that you perform on an hourly basis. If you do get hit as an organisation, you can simply go back to your backup and restore it.  BEST MOMENTS ‘Technology doesn't matter unless it has an application to what you're working on, to something that's meaningful, to something that can deliver results, not just to an organization, but to the customers as well.’‘The whole point of an insurance product is to protect against a risk that yourself can't mitigate directly. We're starting to see a partnership between the identification of a risk, an insurance product, & the resilience against that risk through remediation.’‘There's a lot of blank space that can be exploited in looking at ways to grow products through simplification.’‘As climate change starts to take hold, as our understanding of the historically static nature of physical risk starts to become a lot more dynamic, the value of understanding what may be is starting to become a lot more relevant.’ ABOUT THE GUEST Alex Taylor is a futurist & innovation specialist with over two decades of experience in the insurance and technology industries. As the Global Head of Emerging Technology at QBE Ventures, Alex focuses on identifying disruptors & leading investments into companies that are reshaping the insurance landscape. LinkedIn QBE ABOUT THE HOST Sabine is a corporate strategist turned entrepreneur. She is the CEO and Managing Partner of Alchemy Crew, a venture lab that accelerates the curation, validation, & commercialization of new tech business models. Sabine is renowned within the insurance sector for building some of the most renowned tech startup accelerators around the world working with over 30 corporate insurers & accelerating over 100 startup ventures. Sabine is the co-editor of the bestseller The INSURTECH Book, a top 50 Women in Tech, a FinTech and InsurTech Influencer, an investor & multi-award winner.  Twitter LinkedIn Instagram Facebook  TikTok Email Website    

On this episode of the Scouting For Growth podcast, Sabine VdL talks to Antony Elliott, Global Lead for Digital R&D at Zurich Insurance, who is pivotal in driving the exploration, exploitation, analysis, & early-stage adoption of disruptive technologies, shaping Zurich's digital transformation journey. In this episode they talk about his role at Zurich, the company’s strategic themes for 2024, the future of InsurTech, the challenges of adopting disruptive technolgies, & his advice for young ventures looking to collaborate with Zurich or break into the InsurTech space. KEY TAKEAWAYS I fell into the insurance industry in 1999 & I didn’t know what I wanted to do. I saw a stat that around 80% of British CEOs were cratered accountants, so I thought that seemed like a good qualification to have and applied to the Big 5 & ended up getting a job a PwC thinking I was going to be rich. But, when I got there they told me I’d be working in insurance. I realised that there were lots of things in insurance that needed fixing & could be better, which is why I ended up staying in it & what I’m still trying to do. We’re using computer vision to monitor and assess some of the 5 million commercial buildings we insure around the world to reduce our carbon footprint. We also use it in physiotherapy to make sure people are doing it & doing it correctly to help people to be physically well either with posture & core strength, or to recover from injury quickly. We start by identifying either the problem or the opportunity & we involve a lot of stakeholders, from the most senior down so we can see a consolidated view across the group that this will solve challenges that they care about. We then use our network to find the best startups in those spaces & that they know about out Innovation Championship to apply for it. We choose the top 10-12 and put them into a validation phase to get them to prove how it can create business value for Zurich & the startup.  I see huge potential in the Internet of Things in insurance, we haven’t quite got to the tipping point with it’s value yet. I’d like to see startups working in that space, whether it’s in commercial insurance or more personalised insurance. Taking sensor data to understand the thing we’re insuring & offer risk insights to the customer & to us as underwriters to prevent the claim happening or know about it happening soon is an area with huge potential. BEST MOMENTS ‘I like insurance because I think it plays a really important role in society.’‘I focus on innovation, how new technologies & ideas can create value for Zurich.’‘I expect we’ll see generative AI native startups coming through this year which will create amazing value.’‘Be very clear& concise on what your value proposition is and that it’s a major part of your elevator pitch. You can have the best technology in the world, but if you can’t articulate it in a short period of time it’s very difficult for people to understand that.’ ABOUT THE GUEST Antony Elliott, a seasoned professional with over two decades of experience in the insurance industry, currently serves as the Global Head for Digital R&D at Zurich Insurance. His role is pivotal in driving the exploration, analysis, & early-stage adoption of disruptive technologies, with a focus on their desirability, feasibility, & viability.  LinkedIn  ZIC 2024 ABOUT THE HOST Sabine is a corporate strategist turned entrepreneur. She is the CEO and Managing Partner of Alchemy Crew, a venture lab that accelerates the curation, validation, & commercialization of new tech business models. Sabine is renowned within the insurance sector for building some of the most renowned tech startup accelerators around the world working with over 30 corporate insurers & accelerating over 100 startup ventures. Sabine is the co-editor of the bestseller The INSURTECH Book, a top 50 Women in Tech, a FinTech and InsurTech Influencer, an investor & multi-award winner.  Twitter LinkedIn Instagram Facebook  TikTok Email Website

On this episode of the Scouting For Growth podcast, Sabine VdL dives into her top trends to watch for in 2024. Staying ahead of the curve necessitates a keen understanding of these anticipated trends & Identifying them early will enable us all to strategically plan the year, maximise opportunities for growth & business value. KEY TAKEAWAYS As we approach 2024, I'm noticing specific technologies gaining traction that have the potential to revolutionize industries & create new opportunities for growth. For example, advancements in generative AI, new paradigms in cloud computing, cybersecurity in the age of AI, & sustainability tech trends, these trends are reshaping the landscape of digital innovation. As we look towards 2024, 3 key areas stand out in the changing market dynamics: the continued growth in E-commerce, cutting-edge advancements in healthcare technology, and the significant transformations within the education sector. These areas are critical for businesses seeking expansion and better value in the approaching year. A In 2024, the landscape of work is reshaping significantly, influenced heavily by evolving work models (hybrid & remote working and technologies), technology advancements, and the growing emphasis on employee experience. My focus here is to unpack these core aspects of Workplace Transformation. In 2024, I recognize that to drive growth & business value, one must focus resolutely on the customer. Customer-centric strategies are key, involving enhancements in customer experience & innovative approaches to personalization in marketing. BEST MOMENTS ‘From the integration of generative AI to the importance of customer-centric strategies, the trajectory of market dynamics promises a landscape ripe for innovation and competitive advantage.’‘Anticipating market shifts is crucial in developing customer-centric strategies that drive value.’‘Flexible operational models and technological advancements offer new avenues for growth.’‘Staying current with upcoming trends enables focused strategic planning.’ ABOUT THE HOST Sabine is a corporate strategist turned entrepreneur. She is the CEO and Managing Partner of Alchemy Crew, a venture lab that accelerates the curation, validation, & commercialization of new tech business models. Sabine is renowned within the insurance sector for building some of the most renowned tech startup accelerators around the world working with over 30 corporate insurers & accelerating over 100 startup ventures. Sabine is the co-editor of the bestseller The INSURTECH Book, a top 50 Women in Tech, a FinTech and InsurTech Influencer, an investor & multi-award winner.  Twitter: SabineVdL LinkedIn: Sabine VanderLinden Instagram: sabinevdLofficial Facebook: SabineVdLOfficial TikTok: sabinevdlofficial Email: podcast@sabinevdl.com Website: www.sabinevdl.com

On this episode of the Scouting For Growth podcast, Sabine VdL talks to Tom Kereszti, a seasoned leader with a wealth of experience in starting and scaling companies. Tom has been instrumental in numerous M&A activities, helping startups structure their operations for successful exits. He has also navigated the unique challenges of starting a company independently, as well as within large organizations. His insights will be invaluable for YOU, whether you're an entrepreneur, investor, or corporate leader. KEY TAKEAWAYS Any individual should be able to answer these 3 questions: Who are you? What are you passionate about? What are you good at? If you have clarity on those, you can live your calling instead of having a job or a career. I’m a servant leader and I’m passionate about making companies and people better and I’m pretty good at leading and mentoring. A series of doors open and close through your life. Any time one does you should look at it with discernment and prayer and ask: Is this an opportunity that makes sense? Is it something I should pursue, if I do, what happens in 3-4 years? Leadership is not having a title or a corner office, leadership is your ability to influence others about what you’re representing, that perhaps you have a better idea and other people follow you. The 4 keys that help you influence other people and help them buy in to you are: Who are you? Have a great vision. Have a strategic growth plan. Who’s in your inner circle – you become who your friends are, so surround yourself with people that are uplifting, there to support you, and you should always support them, it’s not a one way street. When you’re in a workforce you have to have relationships. We’re human beings not human doings, but a lot of us get caught up in the human doing stuff and relationships take a back seat. I made the mistake of separating work and weekend life with different sets of friends, as I went along I realised that you have to have relationships at work where you care for them and their families. It creates empathy.  BEST MOMENTS ‘When talking about work life balance, balance is a point in time where nothing moves. When you achieve perfect balance you become stagnant. I’m not sure that’s healthy.’‘Success means different things to different folks… and if you know what that is then you can start working towards it.’‘If I have clarity on who you are and what you stand for, I won’t necessarily follow you, but there’s a change I will because I buy in to you.’‘A team of 10 is manageable. I always find a banker and a lawyer.’ ABOUT THE GUEST Tom Kereszti is a seasoned industry influencer, author, coach, speaker, educator, and mentor with a wealth of international experience. Tom's expertise spans across various sectors, including Mergers and Acquisitions (M&A), where he has been involved in numerous activities, buying companies on behalf of larger organizations. He has also started companies for himself, providing him with a unique perspective on the differences and challenges in starting a company independently versus within a larger organization. https://www.linkedin.com/in/thomaskereszti/ https://www.leadershipdisciples.com/culture-force  ABOUT THE HOST Sabine is a corporate strategist turned entrepreneur. She is the CEO and Managing Partner of Alchemy Crew, a venture lab that accelerates the curation, validation, & commercialization of new tech business models. Sabine is renowned within the insurance sector for building some of the most renowned tech startup accelerators around the world working with over 30 corporate insurers & accelerating over 100 startup ventures. Sabine is the co-editor of the bestseller The INSURTECH Book, a top 50 Women in Tech, a FinTech and InsurTech Influencer, an investor & multi-award winner.  Twitter: SabineVdLLinkedIn: Sabine VanderLindenInstagram: sabinevdLofficialFacebook: SabineVdLOfficialTikTok: sabinevdlofficialEmail: podcast@sabinevdl.comWebsite: www.sabinevdl.com

On this episode of the Scouting For Growth podcast, Sabine VdL talks to Ari Katz, Managing Partner at BEA Ventures and Co-Founder of bolt, now known as bolttech, which metamorphosed into the powerhouse bolttech. On this episode they discuss strategic vision and market positioning, startup acceleration and value creation, data and technology, future outlook and collaborations, and much more. KEY TAKEAWAYS The unique angles that we provide include identifying the companies that we want to look at and validating the market acceptance of their idea/solution. We have hundreds of customers/prospects/partners that we can tap into to see if it’s of interest to them and help take it to the next step.   Areas we’ve seen that have a lot of action or potential is the creation of data and insights and how we can imbed that into our offerings. Another is personal cyber, we are very big in device protection and distribution in 35 countries around the globe, there are similarities between device and cyber protection and awareness of cyber is getting more and more.  There are cases where people don’t want to buy data because they’ve been offered data so many times, they paid for it but didn’t see any returns for 1000s of reasons. There can be cases where you can offer it as a profit share rather than as a service, change the things that you offer even though the product is the same.  Insurance is a data business and has been gathering/analysing/learning from data forever. A successful company is one that is managing to leverage their data and doing proper underwriting, pricing, etc. What we are seeing are all kinds of data companies of all sizes that are not necessarily adapting to new changes and capabilities. We bring all data capabilities into one place where we can enable to carriers on our platform who we work with to leverage the ones they need or want. BEST MOMENTS ‘Typically, young companies need more fundraising (Seed A) and more handholding to improve. This is where our thought of creating an external VC came into play.’‘It’s rare to see a company that hits the right product market feed from the start.’‘We want to help companies to avoid making the same mistakes we did when we were starting out.’‘In Asia there are bigger ecosystems that insurance is part of which is not the case in Europe and the US, big brands have distribution and sell insurance as part of it. I think this will be an area of growth in 2024 in Europe and the US.’ ABOUT THE GUEST Ari Katz is a seasoned entrepreneur with 30 years of experience founding and managing software companies with several successful exists. His track record includes over 20 years of creating pioneering insurance solutions revolutionizing the insurance landscape, solutions designed to meet consumer demands whilst offering a competitive advantage and sustainable commercial growth. https://www.linkedin.com/in/ari-katz-537737/ ABOUT THE HOST Sabine is a corporate strategist turned entrepreneur. She is the CEO and Managing Partner of Alchemy Crew, a venture lab that accelerates the curation, validation, & commercialization of new tech business models. Sabine is renowned within the insurance sector for building some of the most renowned tech startup accelerators around the world working with over 30 corporate insurers & accelerating over 100 startup ventures. Sabine is the co-editor of the bestseller The INSURTECH Book, a top 50 Women in Tech, a FinTech and InsurTech Influencer, an investor & multi-award winner.  Twitter: SabineVdLLinkedIn: Sabine VanderLindenInstagram: sabinevdLofficialFacebook: SabineVdLOfficialTikTok: sabinevdlofficialEmail: podcast@sabinevdl.comWebsite: www.sabinevdl.com