Aug 17, 2016
Today we have our first-ever episode on Insure-tech.
Happily, it also turned out to be one of the most fun, funny and
thought-provoking shows we've ever done. I'm pretty sure it's the
first one where we've talked about the internet of things, and
CRISPR gene research, transportation as a service, and
drones.
My fascinating guest is Caribou Honig, founding partner of
QED
Investors.
QED is a venture fund cofounded by Caribou, Frank Rotman, and
Nigel Morris, who first came together in the early days of Capital
One. They have helped launch some great fintech companies - for
instance LendUp and
DriveFactor.
Caribou's investments span an array of marketing, payments, and
insurance technology companies, particularly where B2C customer
acquisition drives the business success. He developed a passion for
data-driven marketing when he led key marketing initiatives at
Capital One, including responsibility for a $50 mm marketing
budget, managing a 200-person underwriting operation, and cracking
the code on digital credit card originations. Recent investments
led by Caribou include, Remitly, TheMuse,
and KNIP. He also serves on the Advisory Council for the CFSI
Financial Solutions Lab.
As you'll hear in our conversation, moreover, he's a
Renaissance man. He holds a bachelor's degree in Physics and
Philosophy from Harvard University, an MBA from the Darden School
of Business, and a JD from the University of Virginia School of
Law. He and his wife have two children and, what he describes as
two occasionally annoying dogs. Over the years He's taken time off
to be Mr. Mom and to listen to the universe, as he puts it. And of
course, he has an interesting name, which he'll explain in our
discussion.
I reached out to Caribou because I knew he was working in
Insure-Tech, which has been on a slower track than other kinds of
fintech but is starting to gain real traction. Caribou is Chairman
of the InsureTech
Connect, a new conference that's scheduled
for October 5-6 in Las
Vegas.
I found our conversation incredibly interesting, especially
in how insurance is being transformed by types of technology that
have nothing to do with finance -- because its product is usually
about managing risks in the physical world ranging from health to
roofing materials to self-driving cars.
As it turned out, about half of our talk is on insurance, and
half is on his broader thoughts oninnovation, and also on
regulation. He really sparked my own thinking on some of the tough
regulatory issues, like how to resolve the conflicts between
alternative data and fair lending disparate impact, and the pros
and cons of state-based regulation, and his advice to
regulators.
Plus I'm stilling thinking about "parametric insurance" -
skipping the adjudication process and agreeing in advance to let
outside parameters - big data - determine the appropriate claim.
New ideas, everywhere!
Finally, for all you innovators in the audience, note that
Caribou shares an open invitation to bring him interesting
ideas. I know you'll enjoy hearing him.
Vote for my SXSW Panel!
Also, remember to vote to help get my Regulation Innovation
panel selected for SXSW 2017 - it's at http://panelpicker.sxsw.com/vote/67829.
My panelists will be Simple's Josh Reich, Adrienne Harris of the
White House, and CFSI's CEO, Jennifer Tescher. We need your vote -
voting is only open to September 2.
And please plan to come to SX in Austin.
Support Barefoot Innovation!
Don't forget to send in your buck-a-show to support Barefoot
Innovation -- and leave a review on ITunes.
Upcoming Shows
Finally, come back next time. We have fantastic guests coming
up, including Lauren Saunders of the National Consumer Law Center,
Sam Hodges of Funding Circle, Colin Walsh of Varo, and Harvard
professor Brigitte Madrian.
See you soon!