What defines a successful MGA entrepreneur? John Holm, Executive at MGA Investments at Asta Underwriting Management Ltd, says that perhaps the most important factor often cited for the ideal MGA startup entrepreneur is someone who is good at both insurance underwriting and insurance distribution, as well as having a good grasp of the numbers. However, few are really good at all three, although often one person takes on the entire job alone.
Whilst an Underwriter’s skill makes them ideally placed to assess the profitability of the business they are shown, they are not trained as managers. Brokers, who are also often the main drivers of an MGA startup because of their excellent distribution and selling skills, frequently find that the qualities which make high-achieving brokers are not exactly the same as those of a good CEO.
So, the challenge is to forge together the required mix of attributes, of those capable of making money in the insurance business with the vital managerial skill of running a successful enterprise.
Story of an MGA Startup, Tapoly
We asked Janthana Kaenprakhamroy, CEO at Tapoly, to share her MGA startup story. She knows all about hard work and the importance of being tenacious and dedicating herself to her ambitions.
Although she was born in Thailand and grew up in Sweden, she’s a Londoner at heart. Her values are based on the best principles of both worlds, East and West – work hard, be responsible for oneself, and respect the society that you live in.
When she came to London, she had a suitcase and £300 cash in her pocket, and had to take two jobs to get herself through university. Sixteen years later, she’s created wealth for herself, had a successful career in finance, and is pursuing the dream of becoming an entrepreneur.
Her MGA startup Tapoly offers on-demand insurance services for the sharing economy. The goal is to make sure that everyone in the sharing economy has access to comprehensive insurance solutions. Below, she will share some lessons she has learnt during the journey of establishing an MGA startup.
What is it that defines a successful MGA entrepreneur? John Holm, Executive at MGA Investments at Asta Underwriting Management Ltd, says that perhaps the most important factors often cited for the ideal MGA startup entrepreneur are someone who is good at both insurance underwriting and insurance distribution as well as having a good grasp of the numbers, however few are really good at all three, although often one person does take on the entire job alone.
Whilst an underwriter’s skill makes them ideally placed to assess the profitability of the business they are shown, they are not trained as managers. Brokers, who are also often the main drivers of a MGA startup because of their excellent distribution and selling skills, often find that the qualities that make high achieving brokers are not exactly the same as those of a good CEO.
So the challenge is to forge together the required mix of attributes, of those capable of making money in the insurance business with the vital managerial skill of running a successful enterprise.
Story of an MGA startup Tapoly
We asked Janthana Kaenprakhamroy, CEO at Tapoly, to share her MGA startup story. She knows all about hard work and the importance of being tenacious and dedicating herself to her ambitions.
Although she was born in Thailand and grew up in Sweden, she’s a Londoner at heart. Her values are based on the best principles of both worlds, East and West – work hard, be responsible for oneself, and respect the society that you live in.
When she came to London, she had a suitcase and £300 cash in her pocket, and had to take two jobs to get herself through university. Sixteen years later, she’s created wealth for herself, had a successful career in finance, and is pursuing the dream of becoming an entrepreneur.
Her MGA startup Tapoly offers on-demand insurance services for the sharing economy. The goal is to make sure that everyone in the sharing economy has access to comprehensive insurance solutions. Below, she will share some lessons she has learnt during the journey of establishing an MGA startup.
Based on your experience, what are the main things investors evaluate when deciding whether to invest in an MGA startup?
Generally, investors care about the product and team when considering investing in a startup.
Product
Product-related questions start with: is there a need for such a product? What are the potential customers currently doing to solve their issues? How does the product solve these? What is the route to market? How big are the margins? Is the total addressable market growing? What is the projected market size and growth? Is the IP defensible? Would a market-leading position be defensible?
Team
Regarding the team, the 4 Cs are in question: is the team complete, committed, compatible, and complementary. Can the team deliver on promises, is there a skill or knowledge gap, and have they successfully worked together before?
Most angels and VCs prefer to keep in contact for a while before investing, so they could monitor the growth of KPIs and ensure that the concept has been proven.
Ideal investors are those who can get involved and add value beyond simply capital. This can be through their network, sector knowledge, or their specific skill sets. They should also have a good reputation and ideally be respected by other investors who may want to join as the project progresses. However, the reality of most startups is that seed-stage businesses can’t be too fussy about whom they get money from.
When talking to investors, what are the main things an MGA startup must have in place in order to raise capital?
A new MGA startup would need to demonstrate the following:
- the capacity to underwrite;
- system capabilities;
- a license from the appropriate regulator (in the UK, this is the FCA);
- routes to market.
This can be a chicken and egg situation, because many of us need to raise sufficient funds before securing the above. However, in practice, it involves taking small steps on many fronts at once and continuing until everything falls into place at the same time.
Where would one go to find investors for an MGA startup?
For finding investors, my primary strategy is to reach out to people I already know and ask them to advocate on my behalf of me and the business. I let them be my ambassadors and introduce me to their network. Then those new people can introduce me to more people, and my network grows exponentially. Attending industry-specific events is useful for meeting key influencers and building relationships. Finally, I may also consider using crowdfunding platforms.
What would be your top 3 recommendations when establishing an MGA startup?
My recommendations would be the following.
- Design the products you want to sell and find carriers who will be willing to back you.
- Make sure you are clear on how to bring your product to market and know who your target audience is.
- Get angels and VCs involved as soon as possible so they could track your development.
It may sound straightforward, but in reality, it takes time to validate a concept. It’s even more difficult to get a carrier to back you, as most carriers don’t want to give away their authority to underwrite on day one. At all stages, building relationships is crucial.
The Road to Success of an MGA Startup Tapoly
Since 2017, Janthana has driven Tapoly forward, growing the business to become an award-winning digital MGA for SMEs and freelancers providing a full stack of tailored commercial lines products. Tapoly also builds APIs and end-to-end white-label SaaS solutions to connect insurers with their distribution partners, drive automation, and enhance data sharing capabilities. They have more than 40 global partners, were named winners of Insurance Provider of the Year at the British Small Business Awards 2018 and at the Efma-Accenture Innovation in Insurance Awards 2019.
Most recently, Tapoly was named in the top 20 SaaS companies by TechRound (2021) and have launched a new treatment risk insurance product, in partnership with Peach Pi, that utilises their SaaS platform to give auxiliary health professionals cover tailored to their activities.
Personally, Janthana was listed by Forbes as number 6 of the Top 100 Women Founders to watch, is among the Top Ten Insurtech Female Influencers according to The Insurance Institute, and was named in the Insurance Business UK Elite Women 2021 list.
Tapoly is a very innovative and inspiring MGA. However, they don’t have a relationship with Insly.
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