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Marshmallow

Accessible, tech-enabled insurance for those who step outside the norm

201-500 employees
  • Fintech
  • B2C
  • Insurance
  • Financial Services
The Featherstone Building, 66 City Road, EC1Y 1BD, 1st Floor

Company mission

To back those who find themselves on a different path, either by choice or by circumstance, helping the exceptions to the rules that others aren’t interested in serving.

Rocket List 2021
Top investors

Some candidates hear
back within 2 weeks

50% female employees

27% employee growth in 12 months

Otta's take

Sam Franklin headshot

Sam Franklin

CEO of Otta

For many ordinary people, insurance can be inaccessibly expensive. Marshmallow solves this problem by using data and technology to offer fairer coverage for car and van owners.

Car insurers generally quotes drivers according to population data, and many drivers are overcharged due to age and demographic. By leveraging data and proprietary technology, Marshmallow can offer more accurate and personalised quotes delivered in minutes, meaning lower fees for drivers. Naturally, this approach has proven popular, with Marshmallow garnering impressive reviews and accolades since it first launched.

The insurtech space is becoming increasingly competitive, and more and more tech companies are moving into the car insurance space, so the company is currently looking to expand into other insurance areas. Marshmallow’s unicorn status is a clear indicator of the company’s ongoing success and scalability, and will help to facilitate this diversification.

For now, the company is focused on helping those outside the norm, such as those who have uprooted their lives and moved to the UK. But in the future, it hopes to expand to any group of people who are unfairly marginalised and whose problems Marshmallow is uniquely positioned to solve.

Benefits

  • Flexible working - Manage your own time and choose where to work from (in the office, at home, or a little bit of both). Just make sure your team is happy too.
  • Ben benefits - Get your hands on your flexible benefits budget with the Ben Mastercard and spend it wherever you want.
  • Competitive bonus scheme - designed to reward and recognise high performance 🌟
  • Private healthcare - We want to support everyone’s wellbeing at Marshmallow, which is why we offer private healthcare insurance with Vitality.

  • Cycle to work scheme - We’re registered under the Cycle-to-Work scheme, so you can buy a new bike tax-free. Lycra shorts optional.
  • Mental wellbeing - We have partnered with Oliva to offer mental health support and make therapy sessions more accessible.
  • Learning and training - Personal budgets for books and training courses to help you grow in your role. Weekly book clubs and learning sessions. Plus 2 days a year - on us! - to further your skillset.
  • Company socials - We give all of our teams monthly budgets to get to know each other better outside of work. Plus we have company-wide socials every two weeks, themed parties, and more.

Company values

  • We have a bias for action - We carry urgency into our every day, knowing that only by making daily progress can we drive long-term growth
  • We are challenging and honest - We optimise for truth and progress, which requires us to never shy away from difficult conversations with each other
  • We take ownership - We take on challenges, and put our hands up when things go wrong
  • We are selfless - We work hard, together and without ego
  • We are bold - To serve our customers best, we experiment relentlessly, make tough decisions and go where others won’t
  • We simplify for success- We don’t overcomplicate or try to be too clever. Less is more

Funding (last 2 of 4 rounds)

Sep 2021

$83m

SERIES B

Nov 2020

$30m

SERIES A

$118.2m

Total funding

This company has top investors

Founders

Previously worked in Growth & Partnerships at Yoti and Leveraged Finance at Investec. Previously founded Reel Money.

David Goaté

(Chief Architect)

Previously Software Architect at Yoti, also worked as a software engineer at Homeseller, Cognitran and IG.

Previously worked in Product at Yoti. Also co-founded Reel Money and was an Analyst at hedge fund QCM.

People progressing

Joined as Software Engineer, being promoted to Technical Team Lead after 10 months.

Diversity & Inclusion at Marshmallow

  • To solve big problems, we need exceptional people from all walks of life. We're creating a culture where everyone feels empowered to bring their unique perspectives and boldest ideas to the table. Belonging - As a community, we foster an environment where everyone feels supported and safe to bring their authentic self to work. Recognition - We recognise and celebrate the differences in our experiences, understanding that our unique contributions help us collectively deliver our best work. Influence - We’re empowered to share our voice and have influence. We value diversity of thought, knowing we are better through our collective perspectives and experiences.

Endorsements

All

Open and honest communication (5)

Challenging work (3)

My opinions are valued (3)

Opportunities to learn (1)

Meaningful work (1)

Nice people (1)

Intelligent people (1)

Hard working team (1)

Thoughtful onboarding (1)

Great work is recognised (1)

Traditional insurance can be really frustrating slow and not very inclusive. I'm so happy to be part of changing this and actually help people

People, HR, Recruitment

Inspiring mission

Nov 2020

I know I am fully trusted by Marshmallow, they want me to always voice my opinion no matter who I'm talking to and then explore and trial out things based on my opinions and beliefs!

People, HR, Recruitment

My opinions are valued

Nov 2020

I honestly feel like I have made friends for life and I will always have people have my back. We champion each other and truly enjoy working together and helping each other solve problems, I could not be any luckier!

People, HR, Recruitment

Nice people

Nov 2020

At Marshmallow information is 'over-shared' and this starts from the CEOs and continues through the organisation. People across the business are aware of the current state of affairs and can ask any questions relating to that.

Data

Open and honest communication

Nov 2020

Insurance is a very competitive business, made more so by customer acquisition on price comparison websites. The problem space is huge and there is a lot of potential to approach projects in an innovative way and not just do things a certain way because that's how they're done in insurance.

Data

Challenging work

Nov 2020

People in the team do work hard, not crazy long hours but efficiently. We try and concentrate our efforts effectively and communicate / align a lot so time isn't wasted. We are given a lot of autonomy to make decisions and this motivates and empowers the team.

Data

Hard working team

Nov 2020

We have weekly company meetings where the CEOs and different teams share what they are working on and the progress of certain projects. Everyone is welcome to have input on this and ask questions. Within my own team, no matter your experience level, everyone is able to give honest feedback and input any ideas that could help the team. Everyone is taken seriously and valued. You could be in the job one week and your opinion would matter and have as much of an impact as someone who had been there much longer.

Operations & Strategy

My opinions are valued

Nov 2020

Open and honest communication is taken seriously here. The CEOs and every team is very open and transparent about every aspect of the business, from financials to expansions. Within each team you are encouraged to give open and honest feedback on ideas, projects and working practices. Meetings are literally designed to ensure this happens.

Operations & Strategy

Open and honest communication

Nov 2020

Marshmallow onboarding was the best I have ever experienced. They provided everything I would need to work from home and more. There were daily check ins and get to know you coffees with people from all across the business. I had a clear training plan and knew what I was doing each day and what I was expected to learn and achieve. There was never a moment where I was unsure who to ask or what to do when I logged in. Everyone is very friendly and welcoming and it really felt like they were excited to have you join.

Operations & Strategy

Thoughtful onboarding

Nov 2020

Every team member is encouraged to 'own' a part of their role, to strategise & develop it. This gives great autonomy to each & every member of staff. Opinions are valued, & change is effected on the back of our suggestions which is immensely gratifying. We are all motivated to become problem solvers, searching for ideal solutions to complex issues.

Operations & Strategy

My opinions are valued

Nov 2020

Everyone from the top down is really communicative. We have weekly breakfast & learn meetings which enable us to get together & keep up to date with all the new developments, of which there are many. Every Friday all teams are given an opportunity to showcase their work, which is invaluable in such a fast-paced ever-evolving environment. We are encouraged to seek feedback from our teammates & provide it back to them in equal measure. There is even a workshop available for 'feedback training' because of the value it provides for growth, bonding & development. Our CEOs expect us to let them know how they can improve as they feel it is a valuable tool for personal & professional growth. What I like is that that there is no sense of 'them & us' - we're all in it together & we collaborate & share knowledge as a means to improve.

Operations & Strategy

Open and honest communication

Nov 2020

The work we do is full-on, but varied & interesting. The company is constantly innovating & as a result, it's growing extremely quickly. Working for a fast-paced start-up means you sometimes have to just roll up your sleeves & get on with it - it's definitely not a place to sit back on your laurels. We're encouraged to implement changes quickly & refine later if necessary. I've been encouraged to take on new tasks in areas that are outside of my comfort zone, but I have enjoyed the challenge & have even surprised myself. That in itself has been immensely rewarding & has given me the confidence to take on more responsibility.

Operations & Strategy

Challenging work

Nov 2020

So many opportunities to try your hand at different things - have worked with people from all over the business (finance, engineering, product, compliance, design, CS) on different projects, meaning I'm learning all the time!

Operations & Strategy

Opportunities to learn

Nov 2020

Nearly all communication takes place openly on Slack for all to see and all meeting notes are kept in public space (outside of 1 to 1s). Senior management openly share our 5 year vision and risks where things may slow us down. The founders also collected feedback from the entire company and then presented the results back in our weekly demo - their strengths, their weaknesses and the mistakes they wanted to reflect on. This has all created an environment where we're incredibly open with our mistakes and honest with our feedback.

Operations & Strategy

Open and honest communication

Nov 2020

Back in 2019, the founders ran workshops to revamp our values and the entire company at the time took part in creating our culture, meaning everyone is really bought into it. The values are spoken about in meetings, training and everyday conversation and especially when making decisions. The feedback from new starters is always that we really live our values and they can see them everyday in the decisions we all make. Living by the values is also an integral part of how performance is measured at Marshmallow.

Operations & Strategy

Clear values

Nov 2020

Being 'open and honest' is literally a company value and it really shows! Important business decisions are shared openly to the whole company, people are comfortable sharing and owning their mistakes, and constructive feedback is exactly that - constructive!

Operations & Strategy

Open and honest communication

Nov 2020

All new product and feature releases are publicised across the company and widely recognised. Same with particularly prominent achievements from members of the customer operations team (EG - getting a high number of positive Trustpilot reviews or dealing with a particularly difficult customer situation')

Operations & Strategy

Great work is recognised

Nov 2020

We almost doubled in size during lockdown - that says it all!

Operations & Strategy

Growing fast

Nov 2020

Autonomy and responsibility to really own and push your area of expertise. You are treated like an adult and to manage your workload which means there is no micromanagement but support available for when you need it!

People, HR, Recruitment

Challenging work

Nov 2020

Marshmallow is disrupting traditional insurance. We are passionate about making insurance more instant, affordable and inclusive for everyone.

People, HR, Recruitment

Meaningful work

Nov 2020

Ambitious, smart, driven and passionate individuals. We are all working towards a common goal and therefore we are always available to support each other to do our best work.

People, HR, Recruitment

Intelligent people

Nov 2020

Jobs (10)

All locations

Software Engineering

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