As part of the 'Women at Insurtech' series, we wanted to bring you an interview with Janthana Kaenprakhamroy, Founder and CEO of Tapoly. Janthana Kaenprakhamroy is the founder and CEO of Tapoly. She was named Women's Insurer of the Year at the 2021 Finance Awards, ranked sixth on Forbes' Top 100 Female Founders to watch, and featured on Insurance Business UK's 2021 and 2022 Elite Women List. In order to learn more, we share with you the answers to the questions asked.

- Could you tell us about your duties and responsibilities?

I am the founder and CEO of Tapoly, an award-winning digital management general agency (MGA) that provides a complete commercial line insurance stack specifically for SMBs and freelancers. We also provide a SaaS solution to connect insurers with distribution partners to assist with communication, data transfer and enable automation. We build bespoke, end-to-end platforms that span the entire customer journey, but we can also integrate our APIs into existing systems. My responsibilities range from marketing and sales to operations, finance to investment and personnel management. So no two days are the same.

- What is your difference as a business?

Flexibility is one of the key points of difference we have as a business; This is especially important for freelancers and private sector workers who require certain coverage or work on short contracts who work in multiple different roles. We strive to provide the most flexible cover on demand whenever possible. Bid speed and coverage is also another issue we aim to solve. Traditionally, when purchasing insurance, customers enter their data into one system, and brokers then have to re-enter this data into other non-compliant systems so they can get quotes later. This long process is not suitable for the modern customer's requirements. We have real-time, AI-driven pricing systems so customers can have instant insurance access wherever possible. However, there is still a digital transformation gap in the insurance industry. Having previously worked in another traditional industry resistant to digital transformation, such as investment banking, has proven the pain points of embedding technology into legacy systems and processes. Tapoly serves to solve this problem in the insurance space with our SaaS APIs and end-to-end bespoke systems.

- Which technology are you looking forward to using more?

Of all emerging technologies, AI and big data are most targeted by insurers. It's an essential part of building an end-to-end automated system for the fast-growing residential insurance market where automation is increasing competition.

- What were the highlights of your career before your current role?

I am a former chartered accountant and director of internal audit at investment banks, having previously worked at UBS, Deutsche Bank, JPMorgan and BNP Paribas. This accumulated experience across lines of business and regions has given me tremendous regulatory knowledge of business operations and team management, both regionally and globally. It gave me a very solid foundation for the CEO role I have today.

- What is your highlight in your current job?

Building Tapoly has been my biggest highlight to date. The journey hasn't been easy but it has certainly been the most rewarding. I think I've learned more in the last six years than in the previous 10! I am constantly facing exciting challenges and it takes me out of my comfort zone every day, I believe this is a very positive thing!

- What is your leadership style?

It is extremely important to me to be as inclusive a leader as possible. I am committed to creating space for everyone to shine in my own business and in the wider community. To this end, most of the roles in Tapoly are performed by women and people from different backgrounds. I have mentored women throughout my career and speak regularly at industry events to encourage more people to join the insurance and tech industries. Similarly, I always try to maintain a growth mindset. Owning a business means facing challenges every day, so I'm always learning from those around me and expanding my network. I think it is very important to maintain values ​​that support learning and development, such as reliability, hard work, and being on time. This growth mindset also helps me develop resilience, an especially important skill to have as a leader.

- What exciting plans do you have as an organisation?

I'm always waiting for the next opportunity, so I have lots of plans for the rest of this year and beyond. I am currently most excited about our plans to expand into developing countries and continue to develop our range of insurance products for workers in the underserved gig economy. We have a few incredibly exciting projects that I can't wait to talk about in the coming days.