Meet Theo Grobler | Rider of bikes, Founder & CEO

We had the good fortune of connecting with Theo Grobler and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Theo, we’d love for you to start things off by telling us something about your industry that we and others not in the industry might be unaware of?
Most of the market we serve is blissfully unaware that they their bicycles are probably not adequately covered under their homeowner’s or renter’s insurance because standard policies usually have low coverage limits. We view this market ignorance as our single biggest competitor. Even though we work hard to ensure that our bicycle and e-bike insurance offering is clearly explained on all our touch points, we do a lot of general market education, so people have the information they need on bicycle insurance.

Alright, so for those in our community who might not be familiar with your business, can you tell us more?
I was 18 years old in 1996 and hitch-hiked through 33 states of the USA. Being very entrepreneurial, I already dreamed about having a business in the USA one day.

Fast forward a few years and a few successful and not-so-successful endeavours, my overarching purpose became getting more people to ride bicycles more often. I firmly believe that it has countless benefits for not just the person riding the bike, but also for every other person in the world. Bike riding creates happier, fitter, healthier people. People that are better versions of themselves. In the process of becoming and being better, they ride bikes where they need to go, relieving traffic congestion and causing the environment no harm. Doing that as a job does not feel like work.

For the past 22 years this calling has taken on several different endeavours and ventures. Since 2008 it has mainly been keeping people on bikes. Making sure cyclists and e-bikers have access to adequate insurance engineered explicitly for their passion. If something bad happens with their often expensive equipment, we get them back on their bikes as quickly as possible so they can be better versions of themselves again.

Founded in 2008 in Sydney, Australia, the business has branched out to the USA, UK, New Zealand and South Africa and currently operates under 16 different brands with partners such as Strava, The Direct Line Group, WiggleCRC, as well as brands like Sundays Insurance and Velosure.

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
The state of Colorado is like Disney Land for cyclists and hosts some of the best climbs in the world. So spending time with a good friend will involve lots of bike riding, good coffee and great food all week long.

We would if we could start with the Leadville 100 MTB race. Under 2 hours’ drive from Denver, Leadville hosts an iconic event that has been going on for as long as I can remember. It is an excellent weekend of bike riding.

I would love to tick off some of the huge Colorado climbs: They include:
Pikes Peak
Mount Evans
Grand Mesa
Trail Ridge
Juniper Pass

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
One person who deserves a massive shoutout and a lot of the credit for our success is our co-founder and COO Aryna Edwards. She has been with the business since day one and is masterfully keeping all the many moving parts together. In addition, we are incredibly fortunate to have the support from a unique and entrepreneurial carrier in Tokio Marine. Without them and our excellent working relationship, we would be unable to chase our dream of building a big business in the USA. A book that made a big impression on me is Phil Knight’s incredible journey in Shoe Dog. I have gifted this book to many people.

Website: https://sundaysinsurance.com/

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