5 Counter-Intuitive Go-to-Market Lessons from Parento’s Journey to Redefine InsurTech
When conventional wisdom tells you to narrow your market focus, but your data suggests otherwise, which do you follow? In a recent episode of Category Visionaries, Parento founder Dirk Doebler shared how challenging traditional GTM assumptions led to breakthrough insights in scaling their insurance technology platform.
Here are five key lessons from their journey:
- Look Beyond Traditional Customer Segmentation
While most startups obsess over industry verticals and company size, Parento discovered these traditional metrics weren’t predictive of success. “The things that people think about when they like, oh, what kind of companies they run out or size or industry or demographic makeup really aren’t that impactful for us,” Dirk reveals. Instead, they found success by focusing on a deeper qualifier: genuine commitment to employee wellbeing.
- Adapt Your Message to Your Audience’s Experience
Initially, Parento led with their insurance innovation, particularly when speaking to finance teams. However, they quickly realized this approach wasn’t resonating with their primary audience – HR leaders. As Dirk explains, “We shift our focus more to our cocktail of the overall employee experience and lean it back to probably the bad experience that HR leader had when they were welcoming their kids.”
- Build Category Leadership Through Experience
Rather than competing solely as an insurance provider, Parento positioned themselves at the intersection of insurance and employee experience. This approach yielded remarkable results: “We see over two thirds of parents who are having a kid using our support program… they’re using about 13 hours of support on average.” Their 95 NPS score in an industry notorious for poor customer satisfaction demonstrates the power of this strategic positioning.
- Challenge Customer Misconceptions Head-On
Instead of accepting common market assumptions, Parento actively works to dispel them. “The first is that they think that suddenly, when they offer paid parental leave, everybody didn’t go out and have a kid,” Dirk notes. By directly addressing these misconceptions with data and experience, they’ve been able to overcome significant sales obstacles.
- Focus on Long-Term Vision Over Short-Term Metrics
Despite pressure from investors and market expectations, Parento maintained their focus on building a comprehensive solution. “We are looking to be the go to provider for companies to support not just working parents, but working families,” Dirk shares, emphasizing their commitment to solving deeper problems rather than just selling insurance.
The success of this approach is evident in their adoption metrics: “About 10% of all full time employees that our clients end up using our program in some form.” This level of engagement validates their decision to prioritize comprehensive support over traditional insurance metrics.
For founders navigating their own GTM strategy, Parento’s journey offers a valuable lesson in the importance of questioning conventional wisdom. Sometimes the most effective path to growth isn’t following established playbooks, but rather listening to your market and being willing to evolve your approach based on actual customer behavior and needs.
Their experience also highlights the importance of staying disciplined about your vision, even when faced with conflicting advice. As Dirk cautions about investor input, “Almost all of it is garbage, especially if it’s coming from a fund who doesn’t necessarily stand the category you’re building or your clients, your customers in any way.”
The key takeaway? Success in B2B often requires looking beyond surface-level metrics to understand what truly drives customer adoption and satisfaction. By focusing on these deeper insights rather than traditional segmentation criteria, Parento has built a category-defining company that delivers real value to both employers and employees.
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