Janthana Kaenprakhamroy, Founder and CEO of Tapoly, was born and grew up in Thailand, but migrated to Europe as a teenager. She is a chartered accountant and before becoming an entrepreneur, Janthana worked in investment banking; her last job was as an internal audit director at UBS, and she also had roles at Deutsche Bank and JPMorgan Chase. She had a great deal of experience in the financial sector which proved to be very beneficial when founding Tapoly in 2016 in London.
Is there a story behind Janthana’s business idea?
The idea for Tapoly came to Janthana’s mind in 2016 when she decided to rent out her flat through Airbnb. She needed an insurance policy that would protect her property, her guests, and herself against the risks of doing business while providing the kind of short-term flexibility the sharing economy thrives on, but Janthana couldn’t find one anywhere. As the gig economy grows, Janthana is passionate about ensuring tailored insurance products are readily available online for the 2.2 million freelancers and micro SMEs in the UK, providing cover that encompasses their unique activities at a fair price.
Before founding Tapoly, Janthana trained as a chartered accountant and had a successful career in investment banking, which gave her a good grounding in the financial services sector.
The starting phase can be a challenge
During her financial services career, Janthana gained a good understanding of the financial regulations, risks, and control frameworks required for running a regulated business. Janthana is even an expert in the operational aspects of running a business, which focuses on people, processes, and technology. However, her co-founder Sam and Janthana didn’t have any background in the insurance industry, so they needed to upskill. They did this via accelerator programs.
Additionally, the on-demand insurance concept was not widely understood at the time, so it was a challenge to persuade investors and insurance partners to join them, as they had nothing to compare to them.
Today, there are clear use cases for on-demand insurance, and their concept is better understood, so they have much better discussions with investors and partners.
Tapoly’s history: how did it come to be?
Despite insurance being a logical step from Janthana’s work in Investment Banking and Accountancy, she didn’t expect to be CEO of an Insurtech firm when she moved to London. “However, I am proud to be pushing boundaries in this traditionally male-dominated space. The pivotal moment came when I tried to get insurance for my Airbnb and couldn’t find a suitable cover. I realized there were millions of people facing the same problem and thus Tapoly was born,” says Janthana.
What Tapoly is all about
Tapoly is an award-winning Insurtech providing business insurance for SMEs and Freelancers, as well as insurance technology solutions. They connect insurers with their distribution partners to aid communication, and data transfer and enable automation by building bespoke, end-to-end platforms encompassing the whole customer journey. They also integrate their APIs within existing systems.
“Our platform can reduce insurer operating and claims costs by 40% while connecting participants under one platform for increased automation, collaboration, and cross-selling opportunities,” asserts Janthana.
Janthana’s professional goal for Tapoly is to be an active contributor to the digitalization of traditional industry and lead the way as an innovative disruptor demonstrating the power of AI, ML, and big data in improving the customer experience and the resilience of insurers. Similarly, with the gig economy expanding, they want to ensure that everyone working in this sector is protected and has access to fairly priced insurance cover to give them peace of mind.
Tapoly stands out in their industry because they specialize in helping under-served micro businesses and freelancers who can struggle to get insurance for their profession, due to a lack of flexibility in the products available. Tapoly keeps the customer experience at the heart of everything they do with their aim to deliver a quote in less than 60 seconds online, using AI/ML to help their underwriting and pricing process. At Tapoly, they embrace technology to drive automation; it’s the future and keeps them ahead of the curve.
Currently, Tapoly is expanding its platform in emerging markets and North America. They have teamed up with elite partners in these regions for rapid growth and local knowledge. Tapoly’s platform will bring both operational efficiency and scalability allowing its partners to gain a competitive advantage and economies of scale.
A dynamic and influential woman entrepreneur balances work-life.
“As a leader I need to be careful and thoughtful about what I say and do, be a good role model, and promote virtues and good practice. I’m dynamic, responsible, and truthful; I like to do the right thing and I have a high level of self-awareness,” says Janthana. “Currently, my life is all about my work because I’m one of the founders so am responsible for my company and the people who work and invest in us. But I try to schedule other activities to get balance, like meeting up with friends and going cycling,” she added.
“I think the word that describes me best is entrepreneurial because I have an innovative mindset and I’m great at problem-solving. I love to push my boundaries and take calculated risks, I’m also always prepared for any eventuality,” says Janthana.
Women leaders: Janthana’s inspirational note
According to Janthana, a high level of self-awareness is required to be a successful entrepreneur and business leader. There’s no room for your ego, instead, you need to learn from the people around you and have the ability to self-reflect. Having the good values and habits of a successful leader will help you create a diverse and inclusive team and ultimately create a business that adds value.
The most pressing challenge female entrepreneurs are facing today is the fact that the number of female entrepreneurs still lags far behind the number of male entrepreneurs. “When it came to forging my own career path, I was lucky that I never felt I should not pursue entrepreneurship because of my gender and this is a mindset that I want to instill in the next generation,” asserts Janthana. Still, structural changes need to be made to help women forge these paths they are dreaming of, including increases in funding available, more mentoring, sponsorship opportunities, and better access to education.
Exceptional advice for new enthusiast women
“You cannot become successful without a successful mindset. It all starts in your mind, and this needs to be aligned with your actions. Being able to communicate your messages clearly and concisely will help you share your thoughts and values with your team and stakeholders,” expresses Janthana.
Continue on Success Path
“Our vision is to become one of the largest technology infrastructure providers that allow (re)insurers to tap into alternative markets where technology is the key to product offerings,” asserts Janthana.
Quotes
“Personally, my goal is to be of service and to add value to the society and community that I live in.”
“We would love for Tapoly to be one of the leading platforms for alternative, embedded, and personal insurance markets.”
