2023年4月5日

建设保险公司比利今天宣布关闭额外的250万美元由Entrada企业MetaProp,使其总资金670万美元。Nyasha Gutsa和格兰特罗宾斯公司在2020年开始作为一个流行的项目。喜欢结合他的背景建筑产品管理与罗宾斯的十年经验的经营一家建筑企业推出比利,数字化和简化了建设合规管理过程。该公司有两个收入模式:一个SaaS平台,收集、验证和追踪合规文件如营业执照和W9形式的总承包商,开发商和物业经理。第二个模型使用SaaS平台的数据操作提供保险的市场解决方案。到目前为止,比利说,它已被用于修建高速铁路项目,以及住宅和住宅。喜欢和罗宾斯启发推出该公司注意到风险后建筑业是稳步增加。“建筑技术,没有人建立了工作流的保险行业,”古斯塔告诉TechCrunch。“这意味着航空公司没有知名度客户的风险,这是很重要的,因为通常情况下,在一个建筑工地,有每小时两人受伤或死亡。这是一个等待发生的诉讼。 Billy provides them with that visibility.” Robbins added to that, saying Billy hopes to reduce friction and confusion that comes with managing the insurance requirements for a project. “We’re seeing demand surge from general contractors who enjoy automating their entire compliance management systems,” he said. As CEO, Gusta started fundraising for Billy in May 2022 and said he experienced the routine highs and lows that come with pitching. Last year, Black founders raised just 1% of all venture capital funding, a slight dip from the record 1.3% allocated to them in 2021. Gusta himself was not immune to snide remarks from investors. “The process was a little tough,” he recalled. Billy met its lead, Entrada Ventures, through another investor in Gusta and Robbins’ network. Eric Kanowsky, a managing partner at Entrada Ventures, told TechCrunch that the firm invested in Billy because it was attracted to the deep knowledge its team had regarding construction technology. “With this capital infusion, Billy is uniquely positioned to capitalize on this tremendous opportunity and is now capable of moving quickly to scale,” he said. Zachary Aarons, the co-founder of the firm Metaprop, which co-led the round, saw Billy’s value. “When I was working as a project manager on small ground-up construction projects, I spent most of my time dealing with insurance issues,” he told TechCrunch. “Now, thankfully, there is an app for that.” Others in the round include Central Coast Ventures, Gaingels and angel investors Doug Hirsh and Levelset founder Scott Wolfe. Billy plans to use the money to accelerate sales and increase customer retention. It is a licensed digital broker representing more than 30 insurance carriers to help them manage workflow. It just closed a deal to start providing its services to the construction software company Procore. This journey has been one full circle for Gusta. Born in Zimbabwe, he was a childhood pen pal of the late Michael Tyler Fisher , a member of the billionaire Fisher Family real estate dynasty. The family would fly Gusta to New York each summer to spend time with Michael until the boy’s untimely death at age 12. After his death, Gusta kept in touch with the family, and after graduating from high school two years ahead of schedule, the Fisher family offered him a private scholarship in Michael’s honor to work for their construction company. He worked his way up and learned the ins and outs of construction. Then he moved to Procore, where he worked as a senior product manager and was one of few Black employees. There, he helped digitize the process of managing construction finances. Now, the Fisher family uses Billy to power insurance and compliance for one of their Las Vegas properties; it’s also one of the first Black-owned companies to be integrated into Procore. “This moment represents the culmination of a journey that started in Harare, Zimbabwe,” Gusta said. “I hope my stories inspired others to embrace vulnerability and pursue their dreams.”