Smart people learn from their mistakes, geniuses learn from others: Brent Williams of Benekiva

“We made a big mistake. We configured the platform where—luckily it never saw production because it was caught in testing– but we had where we pointed the system to the wrong logo,” Brent Williams tells Carol, “We owned it. We said ‘This is us, we did this.’” Brent founded Benekiva, a SaaS technology platform that aims to transform the end-to-end insurance claims and servicing experience. Four years ago the startup employed only three people, and today it employs almost 60 people.After noticing the issue of an archaic claims and servicing system and then taking three years to research further, Brent began the journey of designing a platform to innovate it.In this episode, Brent recounts the process he and his co-founders took to get the startup going, prioritizing product development over immediate sales. And they discuss a key part of their growth: speaking at conferences. Carol and Brent discuss his talent strategy, especially with such a high growth rate. And you’ll hear about his number one hobby-- golf. Learn more about Brent Williams and Benekiva.You can find more information on all our episodes at Vertical Elevation, and you can find Carol on LinkedIn, Twitter, and Instagram.