We Wanted To Create Pull Channel Based On Push: Alok Bansal, Co-Founder & CFO, Policybazaar

The Co-founder and CFO of Policybazaar, Alok Bansal addressed the audience on the key highlights of his company since inception and the lessons learnt along the way at the BW Disrupt 40 Under 40 event. Later, he joined in a fireside chat with Salil Kapoor, Independent Director, Simpa Networks. The Policybazaar is an Indian insurance aggregator and a global financial technology startup. The company was founded in the year 2008. It provides an app where customers can seek services from insurance companies. 

Bansal said, “The idea behind starting a company in a complex domain like insurance was to address the specific problems of the industry and also to tap on the opportunities of growth, profit, and scale. We wanted to create a pull channel in an industry that was based on push. So that the customer can directly reach us instead of the distributor.”

He added, “The most important part of the business has always been growth. Unless you have the potential of growth, you will not get investor support. To build a business that is long-term and can outlast you, you need to ensure that the buying process has to be less cumbersome. The data and technology should be used to help customers to avail of the services easily.”

Mentioning about the challenges he said, “Any new venture you will do, will typically give you more excitement and kick. Scale-up is not as exciting as a new business. You always need to build a business on trust. There is always a tussle between loyalty and competence when you hire people. At an early stage, loyalty is very important but at some point that behaviour needs to be changed within the company.”

He concluded by saying, “There is a lot to learn from large companies, but a company like PolicyBazaar. Instead of simply using commercial services, we focus more on using the data and tech services to provide our customers with the best results.”