Alan
Jean Charles Samuelian, cofounder and CEO at Alan
- French health tech startup Alan has raised $86.5 million to date, is thought to be raising more, and grew its customers 180% in 2019.
- Alan is a software startup that offers health insurance to employees of major corporations.
- Despite its rapid growth, CEO Jean Charles Samuelian says the firm has managed to preserve its culture and ensured a low staff turnover. He spoke to Business Insider about the firm's positive culture.
- "Things are going fast, we are growing and have money to spend so we have to manage that for our employees and make sure they still feel a sense of belonging," Samuelian told Business Insider in an interview.
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A startup CEO's time is often taken up by hiring, expansion, funding, and keeping the business afloat, but it's just as important to focus on retention and culture.
That's the lesson from Jean Charles Samuelian, bespectacled CEO and cofounder of French health tech startup Alan. Alan is a software startup that offers health insurance online, up against incumbents such as Axa, Allianz, and Generali, and was founded in 2016.
Alan is growing rapidly year on year, increasing customers 180% from 25 to 70 through 2019 and hitting €50 million ($54 million) in annual recurring revenue. The startup has raised $86.5 million to date, and Business Insider understands the firm is raising more.
Samuelian says he's proud that the startup has kept its culture intact through its rapid growth. The firm has lost an average of just three employees per year, despite the growth and significant increase in headcount. In total, it has lost 12 employees over four years.
Samuelian insists on what he calls "distributed ownership" in decision making.
"As a leader, you need people that you trust to make the right decisions and making sure that everyone in the company trusts their neighbor to make the right decision," he told Business Insider in an interview. "Things are going fast, we are growing and have money to spend so we have to manage that for our employees and make sure they still feel a sense of belonging."
The startup operates on a policy of extreme transparency, meaning that staff salaries, compensation, bonuses, and equity shares are fully available to employees. Company decisions are explained in monthly all-hands meetings.
All of this has been key to the company's low churn, Samuelian said.
"People need to feel valued and I think employees stay because we explain decisions to them and care about their mental health."
Employees fill in self-evaluations each week with the intention of better understanding whether their work objectives are in line with the company's objectives. Alan has no meetings of more than three people, with staff encouraged to use online internal tools to communicate ideas and discuss ideas.
When it was founded, Alan became the first licensed health insurance company in France since 1986. Samuelian estimates the French market is alone worth as much as $50 billion.
Part of this year's plan includes further expansion outside of France with Spain and Belgium next on the list, something Samuelian expects to see by the end of 2020. That expansion will see another sizeable cohort, around 80 people, join this year.
"We define our culture within our hiring process and make that clear to candidates, we don't want people who want to work for us because we are a cool startup, we need people who buy into the mission," Samuelian said.
Business Insider understands the startup is in the process of raising funding. When asked Samuelian said "We don't need money but would take it if we found the right partner to help us."