The UNTOLD Montoux story: THEY SUED US DEAD

A New Zealand insuretech startup thought they’d cracked the US market, until a Fortune 500 incumbent sued them “out of the blue”.

In this episode of Startup Theatre, Serge Van Damme speaks with former Montoux co-CEOs Shelley Cox and Klaas Stijnen about what it’s like to be hit with major IP allegations in the US, how quickly litigation can choke a startup’s ability to sell or raise, and why their realistic options became: fight, sell, or liquidate.

They share the moment they discovered the filing, the impact on customers and staff, the decision to appoint a liquidator in New Zealand, and what’s happening now in the High Court, including the dispute over whether the liquidator can sell assets while proceedings continue.

You’ll also hear practical lessons for founders going into litigious markets: understanding incumbent behaviour, thinking about legal risk as a board-level issue, and why insurance and jurisdiction matter more than most startups assume.

You will hear:

• The moment Shelley found out through an email offering representation, nearly marked it as spam, then googled and saw “FIS versus Montoux” had been filed
• Why a US lawsuit is an incredibly effective way to stifle a startup, regardless of motivation, because defence costs and commercial impact hit at the same time
• What Montoux actually built for life insurers, why actuarial models matter, and what it felt like when they believed they had “cracked it” with major customer momentum
• The three brutal options they had: fight, sell, or liquidate, and why “fight” became financially non-viable fast
• How staff reacted to being implicitly accused of wrongdoing, and what it is like to have no playbook for something this serious
• What liquidation actually means, what a liquidator is required to do, and why the timeline moved so quickly
• The NZ High Court injunction hearing over whether the liquidator can sell assets while the case continues, and why it felt so cold and detached from the humans behind the business
• Hard lessons for founders entering litigious markets: treating legal risk as a board-level topic, reviewing insurance properly, and researching an incumbent’s litigation posture before you enter their space

Startups in the Spotlight: three Kiwi insuretechs going global, PolicyCheck, Simfuni, and Javln.

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This episode discusses allegations and an ongoing legal dispute. We’re sharing the guest’s perspective and our commentary. Any claims mentioned are allegations only, not findings of fact. Nothing in this episode is legal advice, and we’ll avoid speculating on matters before the courts.