How a European challenger broke into a market controlled by three incumbents — without a CEO on the ground, without brand awareness, and without growth-at-all-costs spend.

For founders and growth leaders entering markets dominated by entrenched incumbents, where trust is the real constraint and speed alone won't win.

Jacob Batist is Head of Growth at Alan in Canada — the first new health insurance company to launch in the country since 1957. Backed by a European parent valued at over 5 billion euros, Alan competes against three companies that hold roughly 80% of policies. Jacob breaks down why their initial blitz strategy failed, the warm-first pivot they made instead, why they target 20–100 employee companies, and how they say no to revenue they're not ready for. Concrete detail: Alan can process claims in as little as 15 minutes and onboard employees same-day.

• Why Alan positions itself as "the neo bank of insurance" and what that means operationally (sign-ups in minutes, claims in 15 minutes, one platform vs. multiple vendors)
• The warm-first pivot: what they tried first, why it failed, and the four credibility levers (events, organic media, partnerships, in-person moments) they replaced it with
• Why 20–100 employee companies are the sweet spot — and how Jacob says no to larger deals that would damage trust
• How to balance European credibility with the local Canadian story without leaning too hard on either

• 00:00 — Cold open and host intro: Canada's silent oligopoly
• 04:28 — The "neo bank of insurance" positioning, in practice
• 09:42 — Why 20–100 employee companies are the sweet spot
• 11:56 — The warm-first pivot: why blitzing failed and what replaced it
• 18:59 — Saying no to revenue you're not ready for
• 21:27 — Lightning round and closing principle

Guest
Jacob Batist — Head of Growth, Alan Canada
Alan
Jacob on LinkedIn

Frank Growth is a podcast about how companies actually grow—real operators, real constraints, real decisions. Hosted by Jason Shafton.

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