7 Go-to-Market Lessons from Foxquilt’s Journey in Disrupting Insurance Tech
When conventional wisdom said to focus on a single channel, Foxquilt took a different path. In a recent episode of Category Visionaries, co-founding partner Mark Morissette shared how ignoring this advice and building their own technology stack enabled them to capture opportunities that legacy players couldn’t touch. Here are the key go-to-market lessons from their journey.
- Build Your Core Technology In-House When Serving Regulated Markets
The decision to build rather than buy technology became a crucial differentiator for Foxquilt. “It’s all ours. We’ve never used a third party vendor,” Mark explains. This approach gave them complete control over their product experience and the ability to adapt quickly to regulatory requirements across different markets.
While this path required more upfront investment, it enabled them to create solutions that legacy carriers couldn’t match. As Mark notes, “When you’re not handcuffed to go knock on a vendor’s policy min system or any other vendor’s door, which takes… it’s very expensive to do that. Time consuming. We’re in control.”
- Use Direct-to-Consumer as Your Testing Ground
Before scaling across multiple channels, Foxquilt used their direct-to-consumer channel as a laboratory for product optimization. “Your first lab is getting closest to the customer, direct to consumer,” Mark shares. This approach allowed them to refine their product and gather valuable data before expanding to other channels.
- Don’t Let Limited Capital Force You into Single-Channel Thinking
Despite raising only $25 million CAD, Foxquilt pursued a multi-channel strategy from day one. “What that does is that it makes you lean in on your intellectual capital and you solve problems with limited, smart people and you don’t throw money at it,” Mark explains. This capital constraint forced them to focus on building sustainable advantages rather than pursuing growth at all costs.
- Look for Cross-Border Opportunities That Legacy Players Can’t Service
Foxquilt identified a significant opportunity in cross-border commerce between the US and Canada. “This is one of the largest trading partnerships in the world, US and Canada and SME businesses and mid market businesses trading back and forth. No legacy carrier has created a cross border vehicle, facility or product to support that trade,” Mark points out. This insight led them to build solutions specifically for businesses operating across borders.
- Build Your Team Around Core Capabilities
Rather than hiring generalists, Foxquilt built their team around specific capabilities needed for their market. “We’ve attracted really intelligent people capabilities first from a leadership team to the tech and product and the operators,” Mark explains. This focus on capabilities enabled them to execute their multi-channel strategy effectively.
- Stay Disciplined About Your Original Vision
When Foxquilt started in 2016, they had a clear vision for multi-channel distribution. As Mark recalls, “If you look at our original blueprint, 2016, I still hold the deck quite proudly… we have not pivoted one.” This commitment to their original vision, despite pressure to focus on a single channel, ultimately proved correct.
- Focus on Underwriting Profitability from Day One
Unlike many insurtech companies that prioritized growth over profitability, Foxquilt maintained discipline around underwriting fundamentals. “We’ve always been focused on underwriting profitability since day one,” Mark emphasizes. This approach has led to what he describes as “impeccable” loss ratios while still achieving significant growth.
These lessons challenge the conventional wisdom about focusing on a single channel or raising massive amounts of capital to compete in regulated markets. Instead, they suggest that building core technology in-house and maintaining discipline around fundamentals can create sustainable advantages, even with limited capital.
The company’s approach has led to significant success, with Mark noting they’re now “writing like a couple, almost a couple of million dollars a month in revenue” with over 8,000 clients. For founders building in regulated markets, Foxquilt’s journey offers a blueprint for how to compete effectively against legacy players by maintaining control over core technology and pursuing opportunities that larger competitors can’t effectively serve.