NEW YORK, Oct. 27, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Billy, an
end-to-end platform that helps construction companies manage their
insurance, announced today a $3.5
million seed funding round led by MetaProp and Coelius
Capital with participation from Global Village, Shadow Ventures,
Hustle Fund, and Laguna Canyon Group. The round was oversubscribed,
included several pre-seed investors, and brought total funding for
the company to $4.25 million this
year alone. The funding enables billy to hire new talent, scale the
adoption of its insurance management platform, and broaden the
platform's technical capabilities.
Zach Aarons, co-founder and
general partner at MetaProp, a leading global venture capital
firm focused on the PropTech industry, is excited about the team at
billy and believes that the company's unique position in the
PropTech industry is a promising indicator of success. "Billy sits
firmly at the intersection of insurance and construction
technology, two sectors where we have invested extensively over the
past several years," Aarons says. "The team is well-positioned to
bring increased efficiency to the construction sector."
The insurance and construction industries are notoriously
archaic, relying heavily on paper documentation and manual systems
for tracking contractors' insurance compliance, coverage, and
status. Co-founders Nyasha Gutsa and Grant
Robbins have attracted investors with an insurance
management platform that brings much-needed digitization to
construction insurance.
Gutsa, first-time founder and CEO of billy, was born and raised
in Harare, Zimbabwe. At 17, he
earned a scholarship to attend Fordham
University in New York and
has spent the past few years leading software teams at Procore,
WeWork, and Occupier, developing financial software for the
construction and real estate industry. He brings 12 years of
experience in building construction and property technology.
"At MetaProp, we have always endeavored to support talented and
experienced immigrant founders tackling really challenging problems
in antiquated industries," Aarons says.
Robbins, also a first-time founder and CMO of billy, brings 25
years of domain expertise in construction to the team. Newly hired
Vice President of Insurance Amit
Kalra has more than 10 years of experience in the insurance
industry, recently serving as lead underwriter at Attune Insurance.
The team's expertise allows them to help customers better mitigate
risk exposure.
"We are reducing a lot of friction between insureds and their
insurance companies by facilitating the exchange of insurance data
on a single platform," says Gutsa. By applying technology to the
process, billy's platform allows companies to increase from 17%
compliance to 100% compliance within one week. "On a construction
project, there might be as many as 20 different insurance companies
underwriting risk for many different contractors involved. Managing
this process in email, Excel, and project management systems is
inefficient and extremely risky. We are incredibly excited to offer
something that is not only faster and cheaper, but also improves
the overall customer experience of managing insurance."
About billy
Billy is a leading provider of insurance and risk management
software. Thousands of policies are run on billy's platform. Billy
helps construction companies manage third-party liability by
connecting key stakeholders (construction and insurance) on a
single platform that is built specifically for the construction
industry—for the owner, the general contractor, the subcontractor,
and the supplier.
About MetaProp
MetaProp is the world's leading venture capital firm focused on
the PropTech industry. Founded in 2015, MetaProp's investment team
has invested in over 125 technology companies across the real
estate value chain. The firm manages funds for both financial and
strategic real estate investors that represent a pilot- and
test-ready sandbox of 15+ billion square feet across every real
estate asset type and global market.
Media Contact:
Maddie Hirsch
mhirsch@influenceandco.com
+1-773-899-6281
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