Who this is
Julian Teicke is a Berlin founder. At 23, as an intern at Groupon, he was thrown in at the deep end when his boss burned out, suddenly leading 20 field sales reps responsible for two million in monthly revenue. He then brought the Groupon model to Switzerland with DeinDeal, won a million customers there and sold the company. In 2015 he founded wefox: first a digital B2C insurance broker, then a platform for brokers, then its own insurer, later expanding through acquisitions in Italy and the Netherlands. During his time wefox raised around one billion, grew to 800 million in revenue and 1,500 employees, before Julian was pushed out by the board. Today he is building The Delta in Berlin-Neukölln: a venture studio, a campus and personal growth programmes for founders.
Episodes
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FAQ
Who is Julian Teicke?
Julian Teicke is the founder of wefox and The Delta. Before that he worked at Groupon and brought the Groupon model to Switzerland with DeinDeal, which he sold. He founded wefox in 2015 and grew it to 800 million in revenue and 1,500 employees. Today he is building The Delta in Berlin-Neukölln, a venture studio with a campus. To the episode →
How much money did wefox raise?
Around one billion in total. Julian's rule was to double the largest insurtech round ever raised at each stage worldwide: 30 million in the Series A, 240 million in the Series B, 650 million in the Series C in 2021. In 2022 came 400 million at a 4.5 billion valuation, though with a 2x liquidation preference. To the episode →
Why did Julian Teicke leave wefox?
From 2022 interest rates rose, the in-house insurer had higher loss ratios than expected and needed more and more capital. Ahead of the planned IPO, independent members joined the board, later followed by a new chairman. According to Julian, the chairman prepared his exit behind the scenes. Julian describes it as having his baby torn from his arms. To the episode →
What is The Delta?
The Delta is Julian's current company in Berlin-Neukölln. At its core is a venture studio, surrounded by a campus with events and hackathons, a services unit for tech and product, and personal growth programmes with coaches. The name comes from a model that runs from alpha (comfort zone) via beta (irritation) and gamma (chaos) to delta, a new awakening. To the episode →
What startup opportunity does Julian Teicke see right now?
Julian compares the situation to the early days of the internet: every industry can be rethought right now. You can look at any sector and build a vertical AI solution that massively increases efficiency, customer satisfaction and productivity. AI-native companies have a big advantage over corporates and over startups founded before AI. To the episode →
Quotes
„Also es ist nicht der Druck, es ist nicht die Drohung. Sondern es ist die Connection.““It's not the pressure, it's not the threat. It's the connection.”
„… ich habe aber auch gleichzeitig bewiesen: die Zielsetzung ist das Wichtigste.““But at the same time I proved that setting the goal is what matters most.”
„Sondern es ist immer eine Absage, in der gesagt wird, ich glaube nicht an das, was du mir erzählt hast. Ich glaube nicht an dich.““It's always a rejection that says: I don't believe what you told me. I don't believe in you.”
„Mit viel Geld kommt viel Druck.““A lot of money brings a lot of pressure.”
„Und das ist eben nicht Performance aus Wunde, sondern es ist eben Performance aus Präsenz.““And that's not performance from the wound, it's performance from presence.”