Dawn LeBlanc – Managing Director at Hartford InsurTech Hub

Transcript of: Dawn LeBlanc – Managing Director at Hartford InsurTech Hub

 

Alan Olsen: I’m visiting here today with Dawn LeBlanc she is the managing director of the startup
bootcamp here in Hartford at the insuretech so welcome!

 

Dawn LeBlanc: Thanks Alan.

Alan Olsen: Dawn how did you get to where you are today what led you into this position?

 

Dawn LeBlanc: That’s a great question sometimes I wonder that myself I am a30-year insurance industry all my career mostly within large insurers some within the Hartford region but towards before I moved here I started recruiting new ideas and new technology startups specifically for a large insurer and really find some very interesting new ideas really what I thought were changing from an industry perspective and really wanted to be on that side and see what was out there and see how I could help those companies become larger and navigate their way through large insurers because large insurers can be a little scary in regards to who to go to first what department to talk to how do you get to the right people and so I see myself as a little bit of a translator between the startups and the large insurance carriers.

 

Alan Olsen: So Dawn, when you look at the the world today you see a lot of innovation happening what part of the innovation world makes you the most excited it gives you the greatest in two greatest energy in the health arena?

 

Dawn LeBlanc: I think from a health perspective we work with two major health insurers Aetna and Cigna and I think a lot of it is moving towards more prevention versus reaction and really trying to help people not need the health insurance or not need to actually be cared for is a really great approach and a great investment in everyone’s long-term health startup bootcamp what does that entail yeah so really what we do is we spend a lot of time with companies helping them assess who they want to be who’s their target market where they want to focus from a sales perspective is their value proposition really something interesting to insurers does their business case have a really good fit and once that’s decided we help them make things happen and so on average through our program each company gets about two projects or more with an insurer as well as some investment which is also also helpful to keep the company’s going.

 

Alan Olsen:How many projects are you working with a year?

Dawn LeBlanc: We typically bring in ten we’re going on our third year doing it this this year will actually bring in eleven because our partners couldn’t just choose 10 so we snuck in one more so we’ll have 11 coming in on Monday and then the startup bootcamp will last or roughly how long so it’s a 90 day program this group will graduate their demo day will be on May 10th actually May 12 sorry today’s February 10th for this one May12th and during that time they’ll go through everything have a lot of connections with insurers and then finally have their showcase so done in the in this trying to apply through the startup bootcamp.

 

Alan Olsen: How would an individual go about that if they’re interested?

 

Dawn LeBlanc: We open applications usually around the summer time sometimes June-ish we open up applications so people can apply to the program it’s a pretty competitive process we go from about 355down to a final 11 so you can imagine it’s pretty competitive okay so there so is there a secret sauce that you’re looking for in there and the companies as they apply I get asked that question all the time unfortunately it really depends on what the insurers are looking for the problems they’re looking to solve although there are some times where they’re really interested in something that’s very future or forward-looking but it’s really around what their problems are and that’s kind of how they get selected but also looking for strong founder teams either people who have created businesses before or very energetic about their idea and very passionate about moving that forward I’d say a strong founder team is probably the one secret sauce that we’re always looking for.

 

Alan Olsen: Once again for the listeners, how does a person find you to put applications in?

 

Dawn LeBlanc: They can go to Hartford insuretechhub.com which is is our website for applications and just keep watching for when they open up.

 

Alan Olsen: I’ve been visiting here today with Dawn LeBlanc she is a managing director the Hartford startup boot camp insure tech.

 

Dawn LeBlanc: Thanks so much Alan!

 

Alan Olsen:Thanks for being with us today.

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Alan Olsen, is the Host of the American Dreams Show and the Managing Partner of GROCO.com.  GROCO is a premier family office and tax advisory firm located in the San Francisco Bay area serving clients all over the world and is a proud sponsor of the American Dreams Show.  For more interviews and information about the American Dreams Show, please visit our home page.

Alan Olsen, CPA

 

Alan L. Olsen, CPA, Wikipedia Bio

Hartford InsurTech Hub powered by Startupbootcamp, is an initiative that was conceived of by a diverse set of executives from Hartford-area insurance carriers and other related firms, City of Hartford staff, and several other community stakeholders. Opportunities to help spur increased InsurTech innovation activity in the region were identified by this group, and action against these goals was catalysed by investment from CTNext: Connecticut’s Innovation Ecosystem.

The InsurTech Accelerator is part of Hartford InsurTech Hub, and established to attract new talent and technology to Hartford, one of the world’s leading insurance centers, and will provide entrepreneurs with the support, resources, and industry and investor connections they need to help grow their business.

It will build a culture of innovation leveraging international entrepreneurs in Hartford, and develop a local innovation ecosystem supported by local resources, capabilities and talent, in which insurance technology startups can grow and flourish.

Bio Source: LinkedIn.com

    Dawn LeBlanc on Alan Olsen's American Dreams Radio
    Dawn LeBlanc

    Dawn is the Managing Director at Hartford InsurTech Hub. She has Diversified expertise across insurance/financial products, innovation, marketing, regulatory, actuarial, operations, distribution and technology. Prior to joining Hartford InsurTech Hub she was the Vice President Business Solutions at Prudential Financial. Dawn attended Central Connecticut State University where she received her Bachelor’s in Science in Mathematics/Actuarial.

    Alan Olsen on Alan Olsen's American Dreams Radio
    Alan Olsen

    Alan is managing partner at Greenstein, Rogoff, Olsen & Co., LLP, (GROCO) and is a respected leader in his field. He is also the radio show host to American Dreams. Alan’s CPA firm resides in the San Francisco Bay Area and serves some of the most influential Venture Capitalist in the world. GROCO’s affluent CPA core competency is advising High Net Worth individual clients in tax and financial strategies. Alan is a current member of the Stanford Institute for Economic Policy Research (S.I.E.P.R.) SIEPR’s goal is to improve long-term economic policy. Alan has more than 25 years of experience in public accounting and develops innovative financial strategies for business enterprises. Alan also serves on President Kim Clark’s BYU-Idaho Advancement council. (President Clark lead the Harvard Business School programs for 30 years prior to joining BYU-idaho. As a specialist in income tax, Alan frequently lectures and writes articles about tax issues for professional organizations and community groups. He also teaches accounting as a member of the adjunct faculty at Ohlone College.

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