Cloud Insurance Team Story – Year in Review: Growing and Learning Together
At Cloud Insurance, growth has always been a centerpiece of our day-to-day. Whether about our customers, our company, or personally, we believe that learning and developing together is essential to thrive and move forward.
We began 2020 as seven employees looking to grow. By June, the Cloud Insurance family had doubled.
Read about the experiences Tim, Kristine, Uy, and Mariia have had over this year and how they’ve grown this far.
Tim, you’ve just celebrated your 2nd anniversary at Cloud Insurance; that’s huge! How did you end up here in the first place?
Tim: In my first meeting with Axel, our co-founder and CEO, and the team, I was completely in awe! They instantly convinced me that Cloud Insurance could achieve TWD (Total World Dominance). In my previous employment, I experienced all the pain points that we address. I was thrilled by the opportunity to work in a company with a commercial strategy and growth ambitions like Cloud Insurance.
You’ve gone from VP of Commercial to Chief Commercial Officer! What does that entail?
Tim: I see myself as the front desk at Cloud Insurance! Even my phone number is our official company number. I ensure that we win more customers in the market and oversee our newly established Customer Success department. We contribute to making our customers happy and expanding the usage of Cloud Insurance.
Kristine, you joined around the same time as Tim. What brought your attention to Cloud Insurance?
Kristine: My mentor, actually! She told me to check out this young, lean tech startup. And after reading up on it, I was sure that I wanted to become a part of the team. Since there were no open positions, I sent an email with an open application, and luckily got an invitation for a Business Internship interview. Since I was on exchange in Paris at that time, it took a couple of remote video talks, and then I started the day I returned to Norway.
Uy and Mariia! You’ve recently had your one year anniversaries. What do you guys do here, and what initially brought you to Cloud Insurance?
Uy: I work as a Sales Executive and mostly spend my days in meetings with prospects and clients worldwide, constantly acquiring more knowledge and insight into the global insurance industry.
After 13 years in the insurance industry, I wanted new challenges. A friend mentioned to me about a startup that offers a fantastic insurance platform. After a couple of interviews (and a small dose of luck), I got the job.
Mariia: I’m a Digital Marketing Manager, I handle marketing and PR activities, and participate in many other internal initiatives. There’s plenty of things to do and learn about, which is very cool!
In the past, I’ve worked at several digital marketing agencies. It’s been a great experience, which gave me a lot of understanding of different business niches, successful marketing strategies, and the skills to implement those! But at some point, I realized that I dreamed about in-house and B2B tech. So, right before COVID-19, I started looking for companies with friendly teams and big ambitions where I could make a difference, drive change and work remotely. And Cloud Insurance became THE PLACE – these people, atmosphere, and endless opportunities magnetize!
So, what does a typical day look like for you?
Mariia: In the mornings, we usually do check-ins to stay up to date and keep each other accountable. Out of meetings time, I work on delivering my OKRs and oversee the work of marketing teammates. Every day is exciting and diverse. There is a random weekly 1 on 1 coffee chat on Tuesdays where a Slack bot shuffles us into pairs. I just adore these video calls! Wednesdays are call-free to focus on tasks. Then, suddenly, the week is over, and it’s time for our (virtual) Friday after-work beers! I like the flexibility and atmosphere our team creates. Those are top!
Kristine: It varies a lot, which I love! But it could typically be some check-ins with my team members, project work, customer meetings, and internal administrative work. We have a lot of fun at work. It’s a space where I’m able to grow and learn from competent, and experienced people.
Tim: My favorite days start with our company stand-up, turning into “hyggebaro” – a Norwegian term that roughly translates to “coziness barometer,” where all the teams check in on each other’s well-being. From there, we have our weekly commercial team meeting, and at 12, I can enjoy a fantastic lunch with the team on the rooftop terrace. In the afternoon, I chat with our sales guys about prospects that want to proceed with commercial discussions. We analyze their needs and put up a price strategy. I love when the tech and product team runs a demo of all the new features that we just released. It’s so exciting to see our product growing so fast! And just when I think the day is over, Uy’s booked a last-minute meeting with a prospect in the US!
It sounds like a lot of exciting stuff that’s happened this past year. What do you feel has been one of your most significant achievements?
Kristine: I started as a Business Intern, mainly doing market analyses, marketing work, and accounting. Now I’ve transitioned to the project team as a Junior Project Manager, so managing projects and supporting the other PMs has been super exciting. Launching my very first technical project for one of our clients was a massive achievement for me.
Tim: When the pandemic hit and changed our lives back in March 2020, we had to decide how to take on the challenges. We could take a cautious approach, meaning to wait and see when it ends. Or, we could stick with our growth plan and come out of the crisis even stronger. Today I’m delighted that we chose to accelerate and grow. Our product is stronger than ever, our team consists of almost triple as many skilled resources, and we have significantly increased the number of Cloud Insurance users.
These are all incredible things that you should be as proud of as we are. Last but not least, Uy, what do you think makes Cloud Insurance what it is?
Uy: I think the individuals who work in the company make Cloud Insurance for me! We all share a passion for driving this company forward and becoming the best that we possibly can.
