Dr Robin Kiera: What is attention hacking?

from Scouting for Growth · host Sabine VdL

In this episode, Sabine VdL interviews Robin Kiera, the most renowned European FinTech and InsurTech influencer. He set up Digital Scouting in 2017 as a platform that now has 400,000 followers, which is not insignificant in this industry. Robin is a thought leader, an entrepreneur, and a senior leader who has worked in finance for years and gives practical tools and techniques around lessons to learn in the FinTech and InsurTech sectors. KEY TAKEAWAYS Life can be ironic. I don’t like marketing agencies' guys, and I really despise consultants! I started as an insurance sales agent, from the ground up, on commission for selling insurance policies on the streets of Hamburg. I always said that between me and the CEO of Allianz are 27 different levels of hierarchy; between me and the one below me was just the street. I saw a huge gap between what insurance can be: helping people, protecting them against risks in our lives, and the reality of selling insurance, which didn’t have a lot to do with the desire and the demand of the buyer. At the beginning of the month, we had a list of clients to call, but the lists didn't include any information about their situations. We were not on our clients' minds; they were going to banks and building societies. When I founded Digital Scouting years later, and we were crushing it on social media, we found our clients were standing in line. I remember thinking this was quite a different way to sell than I had been doing previously. We started a blog with thought leadership pieces, attended conferences around the world, and brought ideas back home from entrepreneurial start-ups so we could sell our policies like an iPhone or other Apple products. We have very good, brilliant people working in the insurance industry. But it seems to me that most insurance ecosystems – in countries like Germany, France, Britain, and the US – have nothing in common, no exchange, yet there are so many interesting use cases in Britain, France, and the US that I really wanted to get to know what’s going on. I wanted to see the international trends. That’s what made me want to bring these great ideas back to Germany. When I announced that I was leaving Allianz to join an online gaming company that had been around for only 3 years, people were calling the company doctor to see if I was feeling OK. How could I leave that security? Sometimes you lull yourself into a false sense of security. Once I decided to start my own business, I just had to do it because you can still go back to great stable and corporate jobs in this industry or another sector. I don’t want to regret anything when I lay my head on the pillow for the last time. BEST MOMENTS Everybody says: “We don’t sell products, we consult”. Yeah, alright, let’s talk at the end of the year.’ ‘People tell me “Robin, you’re the rebel of the industry”.’ ‘I think everybody likes frictionless transactions, not just Generations Y and Z. And their tolerance when it comes to incompetence and friction is certainly getting lower, which I think is just right.’ ‘There were no downs in building my business; we always grew organically. Any downs were brought about by my own stupid mistakes, like keeping a bad tax advisor for too long... things like that.’ ABOUT THE GUEST Dr. Robin Kiera is the Founder and CEO of Digital Scouting, a consulting and marketing agency based in Germany. Robin is an author, renowned speaker, entrepreneur, and top-ranked insurance and finance influencer. He started Digital Scouting as an after-work hobby that grew into a multimedia B2C, B2B, and B2B2C consulting and marketing agency – supporting entrepreneurs, c-suite executives, and start-ups in their digital transformations, market entry, and in hacking the attention of customers and partners through digital media. Before being recognized as the “Attention Hacker” in the insurance and finance industry, he was labeled the “Rebel of Industry,” radically exposing the elephant in the room through targeted topics he tackled in his on-stage rants, videos, and blogs. Being genuine in his contributions, he was recognized in top industry rankings and supported by more than 140,000 followers when he started generating 16 million in monthly reach. ABOUT THE HOST Sabine VanderLinden is a corporate strategist turned entrepreneur and the CEO of Alchemy Crew Ventures. She leads venture-client labs that help Fortune 500 companies adopt and scale cutting-edge technologies from global tech ventures. A builder of accelerators, investor, and co-editor of the bestseller The INSURTECH Book, Sabine is known for asking the uncomfortable questions—about AI governance, risk, and trust. On Scouting for Growth, she decodes how real growth happens—where capital, collaboration, and courage meet. If this episode sparked your thinking, follow Sabine VanderLinden on LinkedIn, Twitter, and Instagram for more insights. And if you’re interested in sponsoring the podcast, reach out to the team at [email protected]

What this episode covers

If you have to chase customers, you’ve already lost their attention. In this episode of Scouting for Growth, Sabine VanderLinden speaks with Dr. Robin Kiera, founder of Digital Scouting and one of Europe’s most recognized FinTech and InsurTech influencers, about what the industry still gets wrong about selling. Robin’s career started on the streets of Hamburg, selling insurance policies on commission. Between him and the CEO of Allianz were 27 layers of hierarchy. Between him and the customer? Just the pavement. That experience exposed a painful truth: there was a huge gap between what insurance could be — protection, purpose, support — and what it often felt like in reality: transactional selling disconnected from real customer needs. Fast forward to 2017. Robin launches Digital Scouting as an after-work hobby. No cold calls. No purchased lead lists. Just thought leadership, blogs, conference insights, and relentless content sharing across borders. The result? A 400,000-strong audience and clients standing in line. The shift was simple but profound: move from pushing products to attracting attention. Robin argues that friction tolerance is collapsing. It’s not just Gen Z. Everyone expects seamless, intuitive experiences. Insurance ecosystems in Germany, France, the UK, and the US often operate in silos, despite powerful use cases emerging globally. Robin made it his mission to bridge those gaps — scouting innovation internationally and bringing ideas home. His career pivot shocked many. Leaving a stable corporate role at Allianz to join a young gaming company triggered concern among peers. But security can be misleading. In his view, entrepreneurship carries risk — yet so does stagnation. The lesson? You can always return to corporate life. You cannot reclaim missed opportunity. Robin also challenges the industry’s self-image. Many claim to “consult” rather than sell. But outcomes matter. At the end of the year, revenue reveals the truth. Building Digital Scouting wasn’t without mistakes — but growth was organic. Credibility was earned, not bought. Authenticity, consistency, and global curiosity fueled expansion. This episode is essential listening for: Insurance leaders struggling with digital engagement Startups seeking authentic audience building Executives navigating career reinvention Marketing teams rethinking thought leadership strategy Because in a digital economy, attention precedes transaction. And the insurers who learn to educate, inspire, and engage — rather than interrupt — will own the future. The question is not whether insurance needs better marketing. It’s whether it’s ready to earn attention instead of demanding it.