Venture Leader Fintech providing embedded climate insurance coverage for journey and leisure – Venturelab

27.10.2025 09:00, Rita Longobardi

Meet Omar Jerrari, CEO of Poncho. The Fintech startup permits journey suppliers to supply automated climate protection on the level of sale. In November, Omar and the opposite 9 Swiss National Fintech Team members will fly to London on a enterprise improvement and investor roadshow.

Name: Omar Jerrari
Location: Zurich
Nationality: French and Moroccan
Graduated from: Ensimag Grenoble (Maths + Computer Science) and ISFA Lyon (Actuarial Science)
Job title: Founder & CEO
Number of workers: 3
Money raised: CHF 550k

Can you inform us who your product or answer helps, and the way?

At Poncho, we assist journey and leisure companies eradicate the hesitancy and frustration attributable to climate uncertainty. Our promise is easy: if the climate is dangerous, we routinely refund their clients for every affected day. There are not any claims to file — we observe the climate constantly and set off refunds proactively. This means, clients really feel assured reserving upfront, achieve peace of thoughts and stay glad in any climate.

What market are you addressing and what’s the potential of your startup in that market?

We are concentrating on the European journey and leisure market, particularly segments which might be extremely depending on climate—akin to cruising, seashore holidays, {golfing}, snowboarding, and diving. This represents a multi-billion-euro market the place climate uncertainty has a direct influence on buyer satisfaction, reserving confidence, and income potential for operators.

How and the place did you provide you with the concept to your startup?

I got here up with the concept in December 2021 whereas planning a ski weekend with mates in Zermatt. As I used to be reserving, I requested myself: “What if we can’t ski at all because of the weather?” At the time, my job was to develop monetary merchandise that shield insurance coverage corporations towards pure catastrophes. That expertise impressed me to discover creating one thing comparable for vacationers — a easy, automated solution to shield folks towards dangerous climate when reserving their journeys and actions.

 

“Things will never go as planned.”

What do you anticipate from the Venture Leaders roadshow, and the way do you assume it’ll enable you obtain your imaginative and prescient?
It is a superb alternative to attach with buyers forward of our subsequent fundraising spherical, and to trade with friends and consultants within the fintech ecosystem. It’s an opportunity to share new concepts, problem our present technique, and in the end strengthen our path towards reaching our imaginative and prescient.

What are your group’s key achievements thus far?

One of our key achievements has been securing an insurance coverage firm to hold the chance and help our development throughout Europe. This was a crucial and sometimes difficult step to deliver our product to market, because it required convincing a big company accomplice not solely of the potential of a brand new insurance coverage product but in addition of our group’s capabilities and monetary power.

Is there a key precept or worth that guides you as you construct your organization?

A key precept for me is self-discipline—sticking to the objectives and strategy we’ve outlined collectively as a group. It’s usually tempting to divert from the plan within the warmth of motion, however these are hardly ever the perfect circumstances for decision-making. When new conditions come up, we collect the required data and focus on them at our subsequent assembly, guaranteeing the group stays aligned and targeted on the plan.

What is an important lesson you might have realized as a founder?

Things won’t ever go as deliberate. Expecting this helps construct the resilience wanted to maintain pushing towards the objective, whereas additionally staying versatile sufficient to discover completely different approaches alongside the best way.

What is your favourite productiveness hack or device and why?

My most important hack is staying 100% targeted on one process at a time. I do that by disabling all notifications and even utilizing a Chrome extension to cover my LinkedIn feed, so I can work with out distractions.

What was your dream job if you have been a baby?

When I used to be a baby, I dreamed of turning into an architect as a result of I beloved designing and constructing issues. Although I didn’t pursue that path, I discovered the identical pleasure in constructing a startup, the place I nonetheless get to create and produce concepts to life.