This episode of the Danish-language podcast Den Nye Standard welcomes Sophie Bohr Grønbæk, CEO and co-founder of the insurance company Undo. We talk about thinking about insurance in a new way, and about how she has built a different kind of company culture with a leadership style based on being present.
Sophie opens the episode by describing herself as a woman who embraces new, exciting and unpredictable opportunities. That trait is what made her walk away from a career as a molecular biologist and leap into the uncertain life of an entrepreneur instead.
Fundamentally changing the rules of the game
Sophie always wanted to disrupt a market. Which market it was didn’t matter much. It was about finding a gap in a particular market and working from there.
Using her analytical skills, she singled out the insurance industry as the one that needed a new player. This was where they could make a difference. That was the start of Undo. Sophie stresses that they are a tech startup that does insurance, not an insurance company that does tech. So the company is made up of people with a strong urge to build things and an unmistakable flair for tech, and that shows in the internal culture too.
At Undo, culture and leadership are taken very seriously. Sophie explains that one of the company’s core values is being a great place to work for everyone. Undo has always made everything itself, and everything happens in-house. That creates a sense of ownership and products you can stand behind. The customer is at the centre when products are developed, and it has to be easy to see the full picture.
Sophie is a strong advocate of employee development, and she is convinced that it’s what makes her people thrive and want to be an active part of Undo. She makes a point of following them on their journey and helping them reach their full potential.
There’s no mistaking Undo’s growth, and the ambitions are keeping pace. With 11,000 car insurance policies sold this year alone and a growing premium portfolio, Sophie isn’t far off when she predicts that Undo will become a significant player in the insurance industry within the next few years.