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hyperexponential.comWe meet many exciting companies in our line of work, often earlier than we’d look to invest in their business. Our ethos is always to help however we can, but with the right expectations set. There are, however, the rare occasions when we stumble across such an exciting proposition that the rules need to bend a little.
This is why, when we were introduced to hyperexponential co-founder Amrit Santhirasenan, what began as a routine chat about how we might support his early-stage startup quickly switched to a deal conversation.
“Amrit’s passion, competence, vision and knowledge were obvious and infectious. We discussed the board, the US market, the fundraising climate, financials, and winning customers. The logos they’d won were impressive, and the product was attracting attention from some of the world's biggest insurance companies. Not bad for a 20-person Insurtech firm based out of Peckham.”
When we met, via an introduction from our friends at another firm, hyperexponential already had multiple term sheets in its possession. It appeared we were late to the party and, given the early stage of the business, we figured it would be an easy decision. But after just 30 minutes with Amrit, we had to dutifully ignore the rule book and think differently.
To be clear, there was plenty to love about the team and product. The fundamentals of a great business were in place. They possessed extraordinary domain expertise and used it to create a product that solved a problem they experienced everyday, and the team knew how to articulate their value.
“Pricing decisions directly impact insurer profitability, but most are pricing 21st century risks with 20th century tools. They simply can’t keep up with the pace with which risks are evolving,” says CEO Amrit. “We want to modernize the insurance industry’s approach by providing a system that connects pricing data, risk insights, and underwriting decisions. By empowering insurers to harness even small data sets to assess risks and make more accurate pricing decisions, we hope to unlock opportunities for both insurers and the insured.”
The due diligence was quick, but most importantly it was a two-way endeavour. The hyperexponential team wanted to know as much about us as we wanted to know about them. “Amrit spoke to almost every CEO in our portfolio,” says Laurence.
“The second, and most important thing to me, was their incredibly founder and team centric-ethos. It’s clear from the moment you walk into their office and see the photos of the founders on their wall that they care deeply about this as a fundamental pillar on which they’ve built their business,” continues Amrit. “This was reinforced when I referenced them through other founders (and I am thorough, as they will testify…) – I couldn’t find a negative report, and I tried!”
“A couple of things stood out to me about Laurence, David and Highland when I met them. The first thing was their complete lack of ego, despite the success of everything they’ve achieved so far. There was very little grandstanding, and no ‘do you know who we are’ in any of the engagements – even during the negotiations.”
“This has played out even after the deal closed and the ‘honeymoon period’ elapses. They have demonstrated through every action that they will do what it takes to support the founding team to win. While we are all here to do business, they have provided support and advice to us in a human way that leaves me extremely confident that they care about the people beneath the business too. I trust them, and the biggest indictment of that is that I have never had to hide anything from them in our Board meetings: while this is obviously the best way to run a company, I understand it’s not the default one. I’m grateful for their support and delighted in their show of belief in us from their increased investment.”
As we work closely with the hyperexponential team, we continue to be impressed by their capacity and propensity to learn everything they can. Board meetings are dynamic, close-knit, and like whiteboard strategy sessions as we guide them through their go-to-market strategy, pricing, recruitment and anything else they need. The founders are like sponges for information and a real joy to work with.
Now, we are working together to build out and strengthen the already inspirational leadership team and secure the thriving culture people want to work in. Our investment and partnership with hyperexponential is focused on supporting its international growth and to ensure it reaches its full potential.