King Price Insurance’s CEO Gideon Galloway, who built an insurance company in South Africa worth over $226 million in six years, talks investments, industry trends and how self-driving cars will change the entire car insurance landscape. 

Why insurance? 
I have a passion for insurance, especially as the business model is massively scalable if done correctly. Also, the industry was ripe for change. In my opinion, it’s dominated by fat cats who don’t realize clients have become more discerning. Car values depreciate every month, so why don’t all insurers decrease car insurance premiums monthly? All insurers pay out the insured value if something happens to a car (under comprehensive insurance), so why charge more? I decided to take the greed out of the equation and rather offer insurance that makes sense.
How does your business model work? 
The insurance industry is incredibly cut-throat and there’s heavy competition from bigger companies. We realized early on we needed to carve a niche market approach for ourselves based on what consumers really want, which is more cash in their pockets. So, we hit the market with our decreasing premium model. Our competitors didn’t expect us to last longer than three months. More than six years later, we are not just surviving, but thriving.
What are the emerging trends in the insurance industry? 
We’re keeping our eye on a number of trends…Wearable tech, advances in mobile tech, self-service and on-demand insurance, ever-smarter fraud tools, telematics, cyber security… Looking further into the future, the number of individuals who own cars will decline sharply. And, self-driving cars will change the entire car insurance landscape.
What’s the craziest insurance scam/claim you have come across?
The craziest one, by far, has to be the Evel Knievel [an American stunt performer] scam, as we call it. A Jaguar owner was struggling to sell his car, so he hired a rogue stuntman to write it off for him. He just gave him the keys, popped a helmet on his head, and told him to roll it. Which was a great plan until the point where the stuntman lost control, crashed into a concrete fence, was impaled through the chest, and died on the scene…
What is your investment philosophy? 
I back the jockey, not the horse. When a potential business investment comes my way, I look at who’s going to run it. Is the leadership sound? And team? Is it a culture-driven venture? What are the values that underpin the organization? If the values don’t align with ours, it’s an immediate no-go.
 <a href="https://www.forbesafrica.com/personal-finance/2018/10/31/from-rock-n-roll-to-corporate-speaker-and-entrepreneur/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">READ MORE: From Rock ‘n’ Roll To Corporate Speaker and Entrepreneur</a>
What is your most prized investment? 
King Price. To make my vision a reality, I used all my investments and the income from all the companies I’d built over the years. I invested every cent and lost a lot in the process. All my savings were gone and I had two kids and a wife to take care of but I never heard God telling me to stop, and so I didn’t.
Your most regrettable financial decision and lessons learned? 
The decision: not doing proper background checks on potential partners. The lesson: It’s quick and easy to give money away but it’s infinitely more difficult to get it back, even when the long arm of the law gets involved.
Your biggest investment blunder? 
That one time I invested in a gaming app that got 14 downloads…
What is the most valued item in your home? 
What I treasure most in the world – my family.
What personal assets/valuables have you insured?
All of the big important assets, but it’s also not wise to over-insure. Many people spend too much on life insurance, as an example.
The most expensive item you lost that you wish was insured? 
My six-pack.
Sum up the principles that you live by?
Two words – give back. This is a life lesson I learned long before King Price.

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King Price CEO On Why He Invested On Insurance

From rock ‘n’ roll roadie to corporate speaker and entrepreneur, Richard Mulholland has run Missing Link, a presentation firm in South Africa, for 21 years. The self-described hobbyist talks finance, investments and expensive tattoos.

How does your company generate profit?
Different entities do it in different ways; Missing Link is a service organization where we basically sell our brain for the pound, whereas TalkDrawer and The Sales Department have a subscription and retainer model respectively. Exploring different business models intrigues me; it’s something I believe all entrepreneurs should embark on. You won’t be killed off by a better business; you’ll be killed off by a better business model.
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What is your investment philosophy? 
I know my weaknesses and this is one. As such I have a set-it-and-forget-it mentality. I find smart people that I like with diversified philosophies and leave them to it. The obvious exception to that is when we invest in starting new businesses.
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What is your most prized investment? 
I hate to be a cliché, but I timed crypto pretty well and have been pretty lucky there. My most prized investment would have to be starting a business though, that has certainly reaped the biggest dividend.
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What advice would you give someone interested in investing? 
In spite of what you’re told, unless you are super rich and have money to blow, investing isn’t a hobby. Find someone smarter than you to do it. Or, if you’re like me, find diverse, smart people and share the investment love.
<a href="http://www.forbesafrica.com/investment/2018/10/02/investing-in-memories-not-material/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">READ MORE: Investing In Memories, Not Material</a>
Legacy or innovation? Which would you invest in and why? 
Again, diversity is key. All that is old is not bad, and all that is new isn’t great.
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Your biggest investment blunder? 
I’ve invested in businesses as a complete outsider, and not given the love and support that they needed at the beginning to get traction. That has never worked… and I never seem to learn.
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What do you spend most of your money on? 
Of late, board games and electric skateboards.
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What is the most expensive item in your wardrobe? 
A motorcycle riding jacket.
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How much were you earning as a rock n’ roll roadie? 
R400 ($27) per week, or R600 ($40) per week while on tour.
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What is the most you spent on a tattoo? 
About R15,000 ($1,000) for a tattoo on my back.
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Would you invest in longevity (prolonging your life) and why/not? 
Only in so far as staying healthy.
 
What is the most interesting thing you have invested in? 
Other people’s businesses. Troop Travel is one I’m quite enamoured with at the moment.

Tag: Me And My Money

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King Price CEO On Why He Invested On Insurance

From Rock ‘n’ Roll To Corporate Speaker and Entrepreneur