
(1) Insider knowledge
My background was vital to understanding how the industry worked, the buttons to push with the different players and who we needed to be talking to at different stages in our journey. For example, the challenge of persuading underwriters to sell products on a monthly basis rather than through 12-month contracts goes against the grain. It was important to take that into consideration in how we were framing our pitch to the big insurers.(2) Know your customer
To be a disruptor we had to realise that equally important alongside insider knowledge was having the outsider perspective that comes from [Shearer’s] background in advertising. This experience means he sees things from the customer’s side and can challenge the historical way of doing things. If potential partners fall back on old arguments, he is great at explaining why that view is outdated.(3) Aim for the big fish
(4) Don’t scrimp on the research
When you do get in front of the right person, make sure you’re ready with research to backup your ideas. We compiled a mixture of quantitative and qualitative studies of our target audience, as well as secondary research on the size of the potential market. To be classed as a disruptor we had to demonstrate that the way customers want to do business has changed and make the case for an offering that would take them into new markets.(5) Make it as easy as possible
The easier we made it for the big players to work with us, the greater our chance of success. For Digital Risks that meant building full back-end software to sell our products to the customer, rather than relying on existing legacy insurance systems available on the market. All we needed potential partners to do was underwrite our products, and we would do the rest. So, less resource investment and risk for them – and fewer reasons to say no!(6) Don’t burn your bridges
As we’ve grown, we’ve constantly looked for ways to collaborate with others rather than working against them. We now have a number of brokers selling Digital Risks products, which helps us to broaden our potential market, while giving them access to products that better suit technology and media companies. So, it’s a win-win! Ben Rose is co-founder and insurance director at Digital RisksShare this story