Introducing the latest interview in the Luminar Ventures Founder Series—a platform spotlighting the journeys, challenges, and insights of exceptional Nordic entrepreneurs from our portfolio. In this edition, we sit down with Lotta Rauséus, COO and Co-founder of Insurely, to discuss her path from industry frustration to building a leading open finance company, the hurdles along the way, and the enduring value of founder-investor partnerships.
What first motivated you to start Insurely, and what problems were you trying to solve?
Working as a management consultant, I saw how opaque the insurance industry was. Consumers struggled to understand their coverage or if they were paying fair prices. A few big companies held all the power, and digitalization was lagging. We realized that by building infrastructure to access insurance data, we could make the experience much more transparent and accessible for consumers.
How did your background in management consulting help you build Insurely?
As a management consultant you’re trained to solve problems and you get resilient when doing so after long hours and steep learning curves, so I think it sets a strong foundation for you as an entrepreneur. You get used to navigating ambiguity, pace, and pressure—and you’re not afraid of change. Understanding how large financial companies operate—their business models and what drives profitability—was crucial. These companies are now our customers, and speaking their language has helped us implement our technology with big enterprises, despite their slow-moving processes.
Can you expand on Insurely’s funding journey and the specific value Luminar Ventures brought as an investor?
Absolutely. Our funding journey started with a handful of angel investors, but a key turning point was when we met Luminar Ventures. They joined us early on, after following our progress from our initial consumer-focused phase to when we transitioned to a B2B company. Jacob from Luminar has been especially involved—he’s been on our board almost from the start and has acted as both an anchor and advisor throughout our growth.Having Luminar as an early-stage investor made a real difference. They’re very experienced with early-stage companies and understand the unique challenges that come with managing angel investors versus institutional capital. Their professionalism and network helped us bridge the gap to larger funding rounds, and they introduced us to the right later-stage investors as we scaled. For example, after Luminar’s investment, we were able to attract major international investors like Insight Partners, which was crucial for our Series A and subsequent rounds.
What’s unique about Luminar is that they don’t just provide capital—they help founders prepare for the next phase, whether that’s scaling operations, recruiting, or expanding internationally. They’ve played a critical role in helping us grow from a small startup to a company operating in multiple European markets. For us, choosing the right investor was about more than just money; it was about finding a partner who believed in our vision and could actively support us along the way.
How did the traditional insurance industry react to your open insurance approach?
Initially, incumbents in Sweden saw us as a threat and were hesitant to work with us. But as a few companies started collaborating, others followed, recognizing the value of data and transparency. Today, open insurance is still viewed with some skepticism, but more companies are willing to work with us as they see the change is inevitable.What started with insurance has now expanded—we’re driving open finance more broadly, helping partners unlock value across pensions, investments, and other financial products.
Why is data so important in your industry, and how does it empower consumers?
Everything is data today, but it’s often siloed at different banks and insurers. By combining this data, we help consumers and companies gain a clearer understanding of their financial assets—making it easier to aggregate or transfer them, while also enabling better advice and unlocking new customer experiences.. Real-time access is now expected, and the next step is applying AI to provide personalized financial guidance.
As a female founder in fintech, what leadership perspective do you bring?
Fintech is still very male-dominated, but I don’t let that define how I lead. I believe in pushing boundaries, building high-performing teams, and continuously growing as a leader. At the same time, diversity and gender balance are important. I’ve seen firsthand how imbalance affects dynamics—in meetings, hiring processes, decision-making. That is why we actively work on gender balance in hiring and I have that in mind at board level, because I believe diversity drives better outcomes and makes people grow.
I also think we need to keep highlighting female founders—not just to inspire, but to ask why we’re still a minority and start shifting that. If I can contribute, I’d love to. I’ve been focused on building, but maybe I should look into how I can do more here.
What were the biggest technical and operational challenges early on?
Building secure, high-quality integrations for enterprise clients with limited resources was a major early challenge. Large financial institutions have high demands—especially around security, compliance, and reliability—so we had to be enterprise-ready early on. That early investment is now a clear competitive advantage.
At the same time, we faced industry resistance. Big companies are often hesitant to be first, even when they’re curious. In a way, knowing that we unsettle the market drives us even more—it means we’re challenging the status quo and making a real impact.
Can you share a specific use case where Insurely’s technology benefited consumers?
One great example is our work with pension transfers in Sweden. We enable consumers to collect all their pension data in real time, identify what’s movable, and transfer it to platforms like Avanza to save on fees. This helps consumers consolidate their savings and raises awareness about managing their pension savings.
What has been the most challenging part of building Insurely?
The time it takes to build a company and the emotional rollercoaster of ups and downs. Having a strong vision and grit is essential to keep going through tough times and motivate the team.
How do you measure success beyond financial results?
Success is not just about revenue—it’s also about the number of major logos using our technology and the tangible impact, like the amount of data aggregated or capital transferred. Each new partnership brings us closer to our vision of empowering consumers and increasing transparency.
What recent developments or future initiatives are you most excited about?
We’re expanding rapidly in France, where we see strong demand for our products. We’re also investing in AI to improve our platform and exploring new ways for consumers to interact with their data, like using chat to understand and search in insurance coverageExciting new enterprise launches are coming soon as well.
Stay tuned for more inspiring stories from visionary founders within the Luminar Ventures portfolio, published regularly as part of The Founder Series.