How This Exited Founder Raised $1.5M from 66 Angels to Launch Insurtech Loxa | Jamie Hamer

What does it take to raise $1.5M from 66 angels across 400 meetings?Jamie Hamer, CEO of Loxa and founder of React News (acquired by Green Street), shares the unfiltered reality.From walking away from a £150k salary to making 30 cold calls a day, Jamie is building one of the most ambitious insurtechs in the UK—backed not by VCs, but by a cap table stacked with mission-aligned angels.In this episode of The Everyday Founder, we dive into:- Why angels is better than funds (and how to manage 66 of them)- The litmus test for picking advisors (time and money or nothing)- The playbook for user research that doubles as early sales- Why founder-led sales is still king in early-stage B2B- How to build a team around “total ownership”- What it’s really like to rebrand midstream- And how to “increase the surface area of your luck”If you’re raising, hiring, or selling at the early stage, Jamie’s insights are a masterclass in founder grit and strategic execution.👉 Don’t forget to like, subscribe, and drop your thoughts in the comments.Chapters00:00 – Why advisors must have skin in the game01:20 – Jamie’s journey: from P&G to React News03:30 – Leaving a £150k salary to start up06:00 – The power of user research (The Mom Test in action)08:15 – Building and exiting React News10:20 – Why angels beat VC funding13:00 – How Jamie raised $1.5M from 66 angels15:25 – Managing a cap table of 66 investors18:00 – Co-founders, vesting, and avoiding dead equity21:00 – Hiring playbook: KPIs, probation, and personality tests24:00 – Total ownership as a cultural value27:00 – Founder-led sales: why cold calling still works31:00 – The pain (and lessons) of a rebrand34:00 – Building Loxa: tackling insurtech complexity38:00 – Transparency, trust, and fixing insurance for good42:00 – Increasing the surface area of your luck46:00 – Reflections on skill vs luck in entrepreneurship49:00 – Jamie’s advice to early-stage founders53:00 – Where to follow Jamie and Loxa Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.