10 Things You Didn’t Know about Oliver and Alexander Kent-Braham
Are you familiar with Oliver and Alexander Kent-Braham? You might not have heard of them yet, but there’s every chance that you will. They’re twins and they are the founders of tech insurance company Marshmallow. As it turns out, they are making waves in a big way, seemingly for all the right reasons. If you want to know more about them, here are 10 things that you might find interesting.
1. They want to provide equal access to everyday services
One of the things that is vitally important to them is their desire to provide equal access to every day services to every person. They have always been very keen on the idea of making sure that people have easy access to things like insurance and that they don’t have to jump through all kinds of unnecessary hoops in order to get it. As far as that end of things goes, they have worked tirelessly to simplify the process, provide assistance to those individuals who need it in order to find the best product possible, and make sure that people have access to affordable insurance that is capable of giving them the protection they need as opposed to costing them an arm and a leg every month and then refusing to pay when a claim is issued.
2. They believe that no one should be excluded or written off
Why have they gone to all this trouble? A lot of it comes down to their lifelong belief that no one should ever be excluded or written off because they don’t fit into someone else’s box that defines what a person should be like. They know firsthand what it’s like to experience that and they don’t want anyone else to go through it. That was part of the reason that they formed Marshmallow to begin with.
3. They both love technology
They both profess a love for technology, like many other young people. They also have a strong desire to create stronger, healthier communities and help people who genuinely need help. They decided to combine their love of technology with all of these other desires to make their part of the world a better place and brainstormed to form Marshmallow. For them, it was about seeing a genuine need and then finding a way to fulfill that need through the use of technology.
4. They bounce their ideas off of each other
Of course, they bounce ideas off of each other all the time. Like most twins, they have a tendency to know what each other is thinking before anything is even said. This makes it easy for them to work on a business together because they typically have similar goals. They use their individual strengths to help them achieve those goals, even during the more challenging times.
5. They are all about helping people save money
As far as both twins are concerned, it all comes down to helping people save money when they need it the most. They developed their company to help people who are driving in countries other than the UK save money on car insurance, largely because those individuals often experience insurance costs that are at least 50% more expensive than the most expensive car insurance policies in the UK. It’s important to note that this happens in a lot of third world countries where people are struggling to get by, working long hours for very little money. When people are literally struggling to keep a roof over their head or find food to eat, car insurance should not be their primary concern, nor should it be the thing that costs them more money than anything else every month. That is precisely why the twins developed their company. Their goal is to change all of that, thereby improving the lives of the affected individuals.
6. They won’t back down without a fight
They have also proven that when it counts, they won’t back down without a fight. This was never more obvious than when a large company with seemingly endless resources called Marsh tried to force them out of business before they even got started because they named their company Marshmallow. The bigger company tried to say that they had claimed the word “marshmallow” for their own and therefore, no one else could use it. Of course, this wasn’t the case. It seems like the larger company didn’t want a smaller startup coming along that could potentially take away their business so they were trying to put them out of business before they even got off the ground. Fortunately, the twins fought back and this time, the little guy won.
7. They have convictions and they’re not afraid to stand up for them
Through this particular incident, the twins proved that they have convictions and that they will stand up for them whenever they need to. They spent thousands of pounds of their own money fighting this in court. They had tried to settle with Marsh out of court before, but the company absolutely refused. As a result, the twins went to court and battled it out, winning their case. They said that they did it because it was about the principle of the matter. They weren’t about to let a large conglomerate company push them around, as that is part of the issue that causes people to live in poverty today. That’s the very thing they’re trying to combat, so they weren’t about to back down when they were faced with it directly.
8. They believe in the power of small business
In addition, they proved that they believe in the power of small business. Most people would have been too afraid to take on a giant conglomerate like Marsh, but they took the fight straight to them and they won. They proved that when it’s all said and done, it is possible to win, even when you’re fighting someone that’s much bigger and has a great deal more resources at their disposal.
9. They are proud of their heritage
Being of mixed race, they are fiercely proud of their heritage, as they should well be. However, it is something that they have also had to learn to navigate throughout much of their lifetime. That is precisely why they know what it’s like to be written off before they being given a chance. It’s also why they have the convictions that they have today and why they fight for them when they need to.
10. They hope that their children will have equal opportunities
They both hope that their future children will have equal opportunities so they won’t have to fight as hard to get those same opportunities as the twins have had to. As previously mentioned, they want to make life better for the individuals that need help the most. They hope that somehow, this will eventually translate to people seeing others as human beings as opposed to seeing race, gender or any of the other things that sometimes cause people to be discriminated against.
