This interview is part of Scaling Enterprise FinTech | The Handbook, launched in partnership with SixThirty Ventures.

1.​ Tell us a bit about yourself and your company.

Zelros is a software editor specialized in artificial intelligence for the insurance industry. After working at AXA Data Innovation Lab and Datarobot I cofounded Zelros together with Damien Philippon and Fabien Vauchelles in 2016. Today Zelros counts 50 employees operating in 3 countries (France, Germany and Italy) and doubling size each year. Our technology is used daily by thousands of advisors and agents from 15+ leading insurers and bancassurers.

2.​ Give us the backstory- how did you get the founding idea, and how did the first sale come about?

Fabien and I had worked formerly at AXA Data Innovation Lab. which was the trailblazer initiative about leveraging data and AI at scale in Europe. Together with Damien, we decided to create Zelros with the vision that algorithms would completely change the world around us. Both in our private and professional lives. Some industries have already been completely disrupted by algorithms. For example Airbnb doesn’t own one single hotel or one single house, but a state-of-the-art platform fueled with state of the art algorithms. Our conviction is that what already happened in a number of industries and will materialize in the insurance industry in the years to come.

3.​ Could you summarize your journey to scale from a sales, go-to-market and business development perspective, perhaps split into 2-3 key phases?

At inception, we made the structuring choice to bootstrap the company, i.e. start generating our first revenues, and finance our early R&D without raising funds. This first phase helped us to create a lean culture, doing more with less, eliminate some directions, and understand the market needs.

Then after 2 years, with our understanding of insurance pains to solve, and first customers trusting our product, it became the good moment to raise a large first round of funding to confirm our vision. It helped us to develop our partner network, launch new product features, and gain market shares.

Two years after, with enough data points and demonstration of our business model, we were able to raise a doubledigit series A.

4.​ Which was the most challenging phase, and what would you have done differently?

The most challenging phase at early phases of a startup, and I believe also at any stage, is to hire and create a best-in-class team. It means having a clear vision of your mission, and of your corporate values, and gather everyone around a compelling project

Things we could have done differently is give even more trust and ownership to the members of the team. You never provide enough confidence to smart people.

5.​ When did you decide to expand to the international/ US market, and how?
From the beginning, we wanted to make Zelros an international company. We started to expand in Germany and Italy in 2020.

In February 2021, we successfully closed a Series A fundraising round of $11M led by Silicon Valley-based ​BGV with new participation from ​ISAI Cap Venture ​and ​Plug and Play​. And we will use the funding to scale operations across Europe and expand into North America, strengthening our ​leadership position ​in the insurtech space. Damien Philippon, co-founder and COO will relocate and launch the company’s Montreal-based North American headquarters in Q3 2021. We also plan to hire five full-time employees at our North American location by the end of the year.