3 intrapreneurs head the new Insurtech gem

22/06/2018

Founded by three Societe Generale Insurance intrapreneurs, Moonshot-Internet is already one of France’s top 20 Insurtechs, according to the rankings established by Usine Digitale, thanks to its contextual insurance that strengthens customer relations.

        



Ultra-targeted contextual insurance
Traditional insurance covers random and uncertain risks such as a car accident, water damage at home or a cancelled trip because of illness. Moonshot-Internet offers an innovative approach by focusing on the client experience and immediacy. For example, you’re going on holiday and the screen indicates that your plane is delayed: with the startup’s solution, in the following minutes you receive a message inviting you to go to the airport’s VIP Lounge at no extra cost. “Our idea is very simple”, says Alexandre Rispal, one of the founders and CEO. “We create new insurance products that provide a response to minor everyday issues thanks to services. This could be lost luggage or a cancelled concert”.

90 days to create a new product
And that’s precisely Moonshot-Internet’s second big idea. It consists not in selling its products to the general public, but in proposing them to commercial partners who can include them in their offers for their own clients. It’s called B2B2C. Who are they targeting? Online stores, payment players, insurers and neobanks that can use them to win over and retain clients. “Not all e-commerce players have the same clout as Amazon when it comes to a product being returned without any questions being asked when there is a dispute. For just a few euros, we can provide them with a positive response when a risk of conflict arises that has nothing to do with the service they are providing. It’s a genuine investment in customer relations”. The possibilities are endless in terms of new insurance products and commercial partners. To identify them, the startup’s teams start from a client issue. If it is technically achievable and if the market response is positive, the solution is marketed for 90 days via an API, a little bit of app that the end client final can incorporate within their own IT platform. Simple, but technically not so basic!

A strong corporate culture
Less than two years after its launch, the Moonshot-Internet team now comprises 14 staff. “The Moonshot-Internet adventure answers my need to be an entrepreneur whilst benefiting from Societe Generale Insurance’s support”, explains Alexandre Rispal. “It is an amazing adventure and you have to know how to grab this opportunity when it arises”. The founders were given free rein to poach talented people from other startups as well as major CAC40 companies. How can applicants be persuaded to come onboard? By the company’s potential and its values. “Over recent months, we have gradually put together a close-knit super dream-team. We all share the same ambition: to make insurance simple, useful and accessible to all”.

Advice for future intrapreneurs
Alexandre has an entrepreneurial hunger that nothing seems able to stop, and he’s very grateful for the support provided by Societe Generale Insurance. “Societe Generale Insurance’s senior management has supported us from the outset. But this means being able to show tangible results within a relatively short timeframe. In less than 24 months we have been able to convince our shareholder of our business model’s pertinence, put our teams together, launch our first developments and sign our first 5 partnerships, one of them with a leading Chinese technological player. To persuade them, we flew to China… in economy class!” Clients are very curious about this hybrid model, as are the Group’s employees. “Lots of them come and ask us for advice so that they too can maybe launch a start-up in the future. My advice is that having a wonderful idea is good, but knowing how to execute it is what really counts”.

100% motivated, 200% committed
Although all this may look straightforward, Alexandre points out that “to succeed, you need real grit and determination, and can’t settle with just working standard office hours. When a door opens, 5 others close, so it’s essential to know how to get back up, dust yourself down and put 200% into it”.And if it was all to do again, he would. “I love my work and this total freedom to write the future. I learn more and more each day from our clients and my colleagues within the Group”.


"When a door opens, 5 others close, so it’s essential to know how to get back up, dust yourself down and put 200% into it" -  Alexandre Rispal, co-founder of Moonshot-Internet

Great prospects… and a lot of work
The startup’s future looks bright, and its founders aren’t leaving anything to chance. “We’re aiming to sign 5 more partnership deals this year, which will enable us to attack the global market in 2019. Today, we need to sign contracts, and we are counting on our colleagues within the Group to help us. Each new contact helps push us closer to success! And who knows, maybe one day they’ll benefit from one of our offers”.

The advantages of intrapreneurship, by Alexandre Rispal

From a startup’s perspective

  • Efficiency at all costs
  • Succeed, whatever it takes
  • Be bold and contact corporate bosses


From a large group’s perspective

  • Benefit from the support of business experts
  • Have financial support
  • Make the IT System secure
  • Be aware of compliance