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Sarah Sandnes
Co-founder and CTO SafetyWing (YC W18)
Sarah Beyahte Sandnes is a Norwegian-born entrepreneur and technologist who co-founded SafetyWing, a company providing insurance and benefits for digital nomads and remote workers. Born in 1987, she left Norway in 2014 and has since lived in various cities including London, Santiago, Berlin, Nashville, San Francisco, and is currently based in New York City.1
With a background in mathematics and computer science, Sandnes worked as a programmer in both corporate and startup environments before co-founding SafetyWing.4 She holds a B.Sc. in Mathematics, Computer Science and Technology and an M.Sc. in Programming and Networks from the University of Oslo, as well as completing an Entrepreneurship and New Ventures program at the University of California, Berkeley.
As the CTO of SafetyWing, Sandnes is responsible for overseeing the technical aspects of the company, including building the initial backend, choosing technologies, and maintaining the codebase.1 She splits her time between programming and founder tasks, working remotely with her team.1
SafetyWing's mission is to build a global social safety net for online freelancers, entrepreneurs, and remote companies.2 The company started by offering travel medical insurance for digital nomads and has since expanded to provide global health insurance for remote workers and teams.3
Under Sandnes' technical leadership, SafetyWing has raised over $4 million in funding and experienced significant growth, with a reported 20% month-over-month increase without paid advertising.3 Her work aims to make the transition to location independence easier for digital nomads and remote workers by providing comprehensive, affordable, and global insurance solutions.2
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