How dacadoo’s startup agility got a risk-averse industry moving

Start-ups provide an experimental counterpoint to industry inertia – but they must nurture resilience

From the start of its journey, dacadoo had a unique proposition but its experimental approach contrasted sharply with that of the established players in the insurance industry, and it took time to convince them of the benefits. Ohnemus dreamt up the dacadoo health score, the patented solution at the core of its business model, while on a skiing holiday. Ohnemus felt that his health had improved during the trip but was frustrated by the lack of data with which to track the improvement. Leading a small team, and with the help of Professor Laurence Jacobs, an MIT-trained researcher and analyst, Ohnemus developed the health score as a tool for guiding users to improve their lifestyles and reduce health risks.

While dacadoo’s health score offered clear benefits, the insurance industry was slow to see its applicability and recognize its potential. The use case for the technology required established insurance companies to think outside the box. dacadoo used a gamified platform which encouraged its users to develop healthier habits by offering them rewards, leading to lower levels of costly interventions and lower claims costs for insurers. Without the unnecessary barrier of brokers and agents, dacadoo’s platform brought insurance companies closer to their customers.

At first, however, the established risk-averse nature of the industry won out, and the team received little recognition from insurance companies. The startup, however, had the resilience and belief to continue to strive for industry buy-in. Using conferences and customer calls, dacadoo continued to reach out to skeptical customers.

Eventually, Ohnemus and his team succeeded in growing their client base through engaging in project work, offering their innovative solution to insurance companies as a white-label product. The business would eventually move towards a Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) model, but these pilot projects offered the industry the opportunity to explore, experiment with, and discover for themselves the value of dacadoo’s offering.