Elevator Pitch: Harprem Doowa of Thai SaaS Insurtech Startup Eazy Digital

When we talk about insurance, the first thing that comes to mind is a safety net against life’s unexpected mishaps like health expenses, accidents, and other related risks. Beyond mere financial security, the essence of insurance is fuelled by technological innovation that gave birth to insurance and technology, commonly known as insurtech.

Insurtech reshapes how insurance products are being offered and expands the scope of coverage and risk assessment through intricate data analytics and machine learning algorithms to deliver more personalised policies and detailed risk management insights.

At the forefront of this digital frontier in Bangkok is Harprem Doowa, the CEO of insurtech startup Eazy Digital.

Harprem has been juggling various seed-stage ventures since 2012, with entrepreneurial experiences ranging from online brokering and fintech to e-commerce. Eazy Digital, the brainchild he co-founded with insurance veteran Maethavee Sukul, has been making waves for almost two years now. The company provides a platform that helps insurance companies streamline everything, from their agents and operations to user referrals and engagement.

What made you decide to venture into the insurtech industry?

After departing from my e-commerce startup, Orami, in 2015, I embarked on a quest for a new venture. While I possessed the skills for online sales, I sought to avoid the challenges associated with traditional physical goods, such as logistics and inventory issues.

Consequently, I began exploring opportunities in the realm of digital goods. My criteria included products with a substantial customer base, extended customer lifetimes, and significant basket sizes. The options eventually boiled down to insurance and financial products. I opted for insurance because I observed a lack of innovation by insurance companies in the digital space. My belief was that I could not only gain insights into the products, but also leverage my ability to drive online traffic and facilitate sales.

Can you share with us an overview of Eazy Digital’s features and tools since its founding in 2022?

Our core focus is to build a sales tool tailored to agents and brokers. We started by speaking to agents and drew from our own experiences as brokers over the past seven years. Reflecting on the tools and systems we wished insurance companies had given us to facilitate the sale of their products, we embarked on creating a platform.

The platform enables agents to monitor their sales performance through intuitive dashboards, quickly request quotations and track progress, explore available promotions and campaigns, and much more. A lot of these processes have been around for years, however, are quite manual and our goal is to digitalise and streamline them for greater efficiency.

As an online digital broker, could you explain the role and its significance in the financial market and how it differs from traditional brokerage services?

In contrast to my prior startup, our focus involves developing SaaS software tailored for insurance companies. The platform is designed to help them improve distribution channels through agents and brokers. It's important to note that we don't directly sell any insurance policies; rather, our objective is to become a catalyst for the digital transformation of the broader agent and broker community.

In the present market landscape, a significant majority — over 60% — of sales for the average insurance company are facilitated through agents and brokers. By optimising and elevating the efficiency of this vital group, we aspire to bring about a transformative shift in the entire industry.

What are the main problems in today's digital world that led to the birth of Eazy Digital, and how does the company tackle these issues with its tools?

Just like any other industry, the initial aspect that undergoes digitisation is typically the sales component. In the insurance sector, a similar trend emerged where the first segments of the business to transition online were the sales of insurance policies. This is a common practice for the majority of startups in the industry.

Drawing inspiration from e-commerce once again, I observed that recent startups and companies focused on constructing platforms and enabling digitisation processes. This became the focal point of my efforts. Although there are only a few startups dedicated to developing platforms and systems for insurance companies, this niche demands a specialised approach due to its unique industry requirements.

Unlike e-commerce, the insurance sector is not as glamorous, yet with our comprehensive understanding, we can craft solutions with greater thoughtfulness and insight, setting us apart from traditional tech development houses driven by opportunistic motives.

What are some significant achievements that Eazy Digital has achieved in the insurtech industry so far?

In our short existence, we’ve managed to onboard a strong CTO, close seed fundraising, and close three clients including one of the largest insurance companies in Asia.

With your extensive experience in managing startups, how has this background aided you in successfully managing Eazy Digital?

Firstly, it empowered me to focus on the aspects of the business that allowed me to get moving quickly, especially on securing sales and customers. Gathering insights from these early experiences has been one of my most significant takeaways from overseeing multiple startups. This approach helped me build a structure that was efficient and perfect for attracting funding.

I was able to mitigate risks for investors with a readily accessible data room, implementing proper finance tracking, and refining company structure. Recognising my own weaknesses, I strategically brought on co-founders and team members to diminish dependence on a single key individual.

As someone who has founded various startup companies, what, in your opinion, is the key to your success as a startup CEO?

Speaking to customers yourself and understanding what their needs are comes first.

In my view, the CEO should serve as the sales guy of the company, and I need to be the top salesperson of the company. A crucial aspect of my responsibilities within the company is to secure the necessary funding and maintain a healthy cash flow to sustain its operations. This is paramount for success, as without it, the company would have never even taken off the ground.

What are your plans for Eazy Digital over the next few years?

A shift to becoming a regional platform is one of the biggest moves that we will be making next year. I am committed to steering away from being solely a company confined to one country. It is crucial to demonstrate that the challenges we address extend beyond borders and that our solutions can benefit others as well.

The other approach is to constantly focus on our platform and persistently develop the product using our available resources and team. Despite having numerous ideas, prioritising them becomes challenging due to our limited resources. Determining the features that will most benefit our clients is the key factor in our prioritisation process.

This interview has been edited for clarity. Read more about Harprem Doowa here. Stay updated on Eazy Digital’s latest updates by following them on Facebook.

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