Episode Description

In Episode 6 of Summit Series, Mridul Arora (Partner, Elevation Capital) speaks to Varun Dua (Co-founder, Acko) on the journey of building a tech-first insurance platform.

Acko was founded in 2016 and in a short period of time, the company has launched insurance products across a number of verticals such as auto, health, appliance protection, and travel, and served 70 Mn+ customers. This approach has been well accepted by customers as Acko commands industry-leading NPS scores and has been growing close to 3X YoY, with current premiums run-rate over $150 Mn. Elevation partnered with the company as the first investor in its record (back then) $30 Mn seed round that Acko raised in November 2015. Listen to Varun talk about the difference between a tech-first & digital-first approach, Acko’s brand-building journey, what’s next for the insure-tech giant, and more.

Episode Summary

00:13 - Introduction to Acko and its pathbreaking journey

2:15 - Varun’s insurance background and how Acko came about

9:47 - Thought process around ‘day one’ design choices for Acko

15:35 - What does ‘tech-first’ mean in the context of insurance

27:49 - Acko’s brand building journey

32:04 - Org structure philosophy at Acko; what is centralised and what is not

36:53 - Building a technology company in a regulated space

46:09 - Roadmap for Acko; what opportunities exist in the next 3-6 years