At Accelerant, we’re motivated by our mission to rebuild insurance so it’s fair, transparent, and efficient. We’re often asked what it’s like to work at a global company with an audacious vision, so we’d give a peek behind the scenes through our Employee Perspectives… series. After all, people are at the heart of what we do, and we’re proud to bring together individuals and teams who share our passion for creating an amazing experience and working in an amazing environment. In today’s spotlight, meet Danny Lim, the Director of Corporate Development at Accelerant.
Please introduce yourself, your role at Accelerant, and an interesting fact about you.
Hi there! I’m Danny Lim, Director of Corporate Development at Accelerant. In my role, I drive strategic initiatives to grow and add value to the business so that we can better serve our Members and Risk Capital Partners at Accelerant. If that didn’t clear things up, here’s a second try: I work across the company’s divisions to drive organic and inorganic growth initiatives, be it building subsidiary companies, forming strategic partnerships, raising capital, or driving project management.
Interesting Fact: English is my third language. I first spoke Burmese and some Mandarin as a toddler before I moved to Australia, where I began learning (Australian) English at age 5. I suppose it is also interesting that I grew up in both military-occupied Burma and Australia. I still have family in both, though it is increasingly difficult to visit those in Burma (now called Myanmar, and once again governed by military rule).
What brought you to Accelerant and the world of insurance?
I think meeting the team members at Accelerant was really the main driver in bringing me into the company. Once you get a good feel from a group of intelligent, creative, and impatient (in building a unique service for our customers!) people, everything else falls into place.
Insurance is something that I’ve been exposed to before in past roles: I’ve covered insurance clients whilst at Goldman Sachs and have worked with insurance partners in my time at investment firms too. It has always been a fascinating space that often people don’t have the persistence to try to understand. That is where the beauty lies – it is complex enough for curiosity never to be sated. And at Accelerant, we are trying to re-platform that complexity for the betterment of our customers. How lucky we are to get to come to work every day and solve these puzzles!
What makes the culture at Accelerant unique or different?
Before, I mentioned that impatience was a trait I saw in some of Accelerant’s team members. While typically “impatience” is not a virtue, Accelerant is unique in that we channel impatience to achieve productive outcomes, to move on projects much faster than our competitors, to make decisions quickly and without unnecessary analysis paralysis – we have an “Accelerated” culture. We are simply impatient for positive change to be made.
Another unique piece about Accelerant is that the best ideas are heard and contemplated. The hierarchy and bureaucracy that comes with many company structures do not exist here. Creativity and proactivity are encouraged since we are all firm believers that old approaches are not necessarily the right approaches. There is a default to “why not” at the company, which encourages us to think deeply about why things are a certain way and to challenge if there might be a better method or path.
Can you share a story that best illustrates Accelerant’s values?
“Maximum sustainable effort” is a term we use a lot at Accelerant. When subscribed to as a principle, you put yourself in charge of dictating how much effort you will put into the company that will allow you to run the marathon of building a world-class company. We are encouraged not to sprint marathons, but to put in as much effort as will allow us to be effective in the long run; that amount is different for everyone, and our company culture fully embraces that in the context of our lives outside of work.
Some time ago, I had family and friends from out of town (and out of the country) visiting for a weekend for a baby shower for my wife and my first child. My team also had a deadline the next week to beat. I shared with my team that I would be out of pocket for most of Saturday but would make myself available late Saturday and all of Sunday to help with the effort. “Don’t even try to log on!”, one replied. “I got you, please go do Saturday in full,” said another.
I’ve worked at companies that require a strong work ethic, commitment to long hours, weekends, and holidays, and a “whatever it takes” attitude. Those are still values I hold close, but it is refreshing when framed in the light of “maximum sustainable effort” in the context of each teammate’s unique personal life. Honestly, it makes me proud to put all my sustainable effort into a company like ours.
What advice would you give someone looking to enter the insurance field?
When contemplating a career, many people focus on form over substance. That is, they focus on what looks or sounds the most exciting from the outside, rather than the actual work being executed every single day. It is not prudent to focus simply on how something looks, while not considering what each layer of the onion might bring.
The insurance industry, like Shrek, has layers.
Insurance doesn’t receive as much fanfare as some of the other industries that folks consider, but the subject matter is interesting and complex enough to keep an intelligent mind challenged, sharp, and engaged. I’d argue that looking for this potential for enduring engagement and fascination is more important than hunting for a pursuit that sounds looks or sounds fun from the outside.
Normally the thing that looks shiny will lose its sheen, unless it is something that you continue to find intriguing as you peel back the layers.
My advice: if you’re an intellectually curious person who likes to stretch their mind, do it!
Is there a book, podcast, or figure in the insurance or tech world that inspires you?
Jeff Radke. Just kidding.
I think someone like Eddy Cue at Apple is someone I find exceptional in the tech world. Not a founder, or CEO, but he was crucial in building the services arm of Apple. While not “core” to the offerings of this prolific company, he continues to deliver exceptional leadership in the “everything else” category. That requires guts and persistence.
As for books, I am just starting to read “Underwriters of the United States”. I promise it is not on purpose I ended up reading a book that is insurance-adjacent. I enjoy history and am looking towards applying for my US citizenship soon… so I think it is relevant reading. Hannah Farber recounts how American maritime insurers, being so important to global trade, were crucial in shaping the United States in the early days.
What’s one myth about working in insurance that you’d like to debunk?
That it is boring. To that, I say: only boring people get bored with insurance.
What’s the best piece of advice you’ve ever received?
“Most of the battle is in showing up and trying. You won’t win every time and some days it will feel like you’ve gone backwards, but you’ve got to try. That’s what character is: it’s in the trying.”
This came from one of my first managers as I started my career at Goldman Sachs. I later realized he repurposed a fictional quote from Coach Eric Taylor from “Friday Night Lights”, which made it more fun.
What would you say to someone considering a career in your industry?
Don’t do it! Just kidding. If you find insurance fascinating, you continue to be intrigued by the things you learn about our industry and its various functions, and you can commit to maximum sustainable effort as you learn more, then the path is clear.
