Off Course Consulting, a leading strategy consulting firm with expertise in the insurtech and insurance industry across the US and Europe, has announced a strategic partnership with Global Leader Group, a renowned professional development and management consultancy firm operating in the US and UK.
The partnership brings together two prominent organisations recognised for guiding businesses toward success through strategic advisory services and business development.
The collaboration is also is spearheaded by two female leaders, combining their wealth of experience and shared commitment to empowering organisations in today’s dynamic business landscape. Alexis Cierra Vaughn, a multi-line insurance industry expert and founder of Off Course Consulting, partners with Elizabeth Oates, co-founder and former global HSBC executive in CRM and customer innovation at Global Leader Group.
Key services and initiatives of the partnership include:
- Building and Scaling Innovation: Establishing or expanding innovation hubs, insurtech/fintech labs, and corporate venture capital arms.
- Growing the Team and Culture: Guiding clients in team structuring, talent identification, and leadership development, as well as developing partnership integration strategies for insurtechs and carriers.
- Creating Change: Advising clients on innovation strategies, customer experience and design, as well as internal and external change and implementation.
- Startup Executive Roundtable: An 8-week virtual program dedicated to supporting startup founders and executives, covering various leadership and organizational processes, and culminating in a 3-year strategic plan for participants.
“As a first time leader, you wear many hats and often get burned out. Not everyone is lucky enough to have a great support system that can give you effective feedback on your strategies.”
Alexis Cierra Vaughn
Off Course Consulting is known for providing innovative solutions in the insurtech, fintech, and insurance strategy consulting industry, helping organisations realign their strategies for success. With a reputation for excellence and reliability, the firm offers strategic advisory services to the insurance and insurtech industries.
Global Leader Group has built a solid reputation as a trusted advisor to businesses worldwide, offering strategic guidance and actionable insights to help companies navigate challenges and achieve sustainable success.
Alexis Cierra Vaughn, founder and CEO of Off Course, told Insurtech Insights: “Most innovation labs/hubs are created to support the Founders. As a former Startup Insurtech Executive, I thought of some of the early struggles myself and my colleagues faced when building out a brand new division within a startup. As a first time leader, you wear many hats and often get burned out. Not everyone is lucky enough to have a great support system that can give you effective feedback on your strategies.”
She continued: “Often times it’s a trial and error game of putting the right pieces in the puzzle to help you scale effectively, that includes: hiring the right talent, building your own job descriptions with the appropriate salary attached (not the random numbers we pulled out of the sky), building processes for the organisation, and so much more.”
There is a need for more innovation education
Regarding the current position of the marketplace and the need for more innovation training, she explained: “There should be more focus on how to effectively build and scale innovation, especially creating change during implementation, growing the team and culture while having humans at that centre. We should drive innovation that doesn’t eliminate roles since we are already facing a talent gap crisis. Innovation should help streamline, not eliminate. There should also be more focus on including distribution colleagues in the conversation around innovation to make sure that we are developing solutions that actually make a difference in their daily workflow.”
Vaughn also pointed to the fact that startups require specific support mechanisms to succeed, and their ability to innovate makes them valuable drivers within the marketplace. She said: “Startups are facing challenges such as lack of expertise and planning, that will lead to scaling properly. Yes, there is a risk when joining a startup but they need to hire more employees and leaders who actually have the expertise in the verticals or fields that they develop products for. If your buyers are agents and brokers, you should hire someone who understands that particular language and their needs.”
Addressing industry pain points
She continued: “They can give you great insight into what to expect on every new development you think is amazing but may not move the needle for the agent or broker’s actual pain points. Also, it’s important for startups to plan for your exit from the start. You do not want to find yourself behind, doing expense management later because you didn’t plan effectively from the beginning.”
Elizabeth Oates, co-founder of Global Leader Group, also commented on the partnership, saying: “We are excited to work with Off Course Consulting to drive innovation and growth for our clients. Together, we will leverage our combined expertise and resources to empower organizations to thrive in an ever-changing business environment.”
The partnership between Off Course Consulting and Global Leader Group offers hope and opportunity for the insurance and insurtech industries. Vaughn added: “It’s important to plan past the pitch deck and plan to become a corporation. You may begin as a startup, but if you’re successful, you’ll end as a corporate company.”
