Hartford Business Journal

www.HartfordBusiness.com • December 17, 2018 • Hartford Business Journal 13 among others — have been major sup- porters of the city's insurtech efforts, giving their time and money to the ac- celerator (just over $1 million last year to match CTNext's support). The program gives them access, in close proximity to their doorsteps, to potentially promising technologies that might offer a competitive edge in how they handle customer interac- tions or back-office processes. Jill Frankle, associate vice president of stra- tegic ventures at The Hartford, one of the accelerator's founding partners, said she and her team helped nar- row down the list of candidates for the accelerator, and will offer men- tor support. She's encour- aged by the accelerator's progress thus far, and its value to her company and its peers. The program, Frankle said, "allows us an ef- ficient forum to meet face-to-face with a number of entrepreneurs right here in Hartford. Our engagement and constant exposure to new business models and tech- nologies also helps us continue to drive a culture of innovation within our organization." For insurtech startups that secure pilot proj- ects with insur- ers, secrecy and non-disclosure agreements are often the norm. Several com- panies involved in pilots during and after the 2018 program told the Hartford Busi- ness Journal they weren't permitted to disclose details about their part- ners or arrangements. Asked if The Hartford is doing any pi- lots with accelerator companies, Frankle said yes, but declined to give specifics. That secrecy makes it more difficult to assess the impact the program is having, VanderLinden acknowledges, but she said it's a necessary element of the process. "There is fear," she said. "They are going into a relationship that may not work, that could damage their reputa- tion, data, all this stuff." The reality is, insurers are competi- tive and seeking first-mover advan- tage where they can find it, she said. "They'll talk about it when it's embed- ded in their business, so it would take anybody else time to catch up," she said. Cross pollination While there is a difference between Hartford InsurTech Hub's accelerator and the corpo- rate incentive strategies of the Department of Economic and Community Development and quasi-public Con- necticut Innova- tions (CI), they are working together in some ways. DECD and CI, for example, have awarded $250,000 incentive pack- ages to three in- surtechs that were in the accelerator's inaugural class: Aureus Analytics, Pentation Analyt- ics and Boundlss. Meantime, Au- reus Analytics and another accelera- tor company, Rozie AI, also won fund- ing opportunities at CI's annual Ven- tureClash compe- tition, which draws companies from around the globe that compete for equity invest- ments. And the first- place winner of the inaugural 2016 Venture- Clash, Toronto- based Dream Payments, has won a spot in the InsurTech Hub's 2019 accelera- tor — besting 232 startups that applied for the program. Dream Payments plans to establish a beachhead in Hartford. While the in- surtech accelera- tor is still young, CI CEO Matt McCooe said it's already introducing quality startups to his agency that it might not have otherwise seen. Offering additional financial support to these companies will make it more attractive for them to stay here after the accelerator ends, he said. "They work so hard to get these companies to come to Hartford for a few months, shame on us if they just come and then they all leave," McCooe said. MEET THE STARTUPS With millions raised, Dream Payments seeks help with strategic shift By Matt Pilon mpilon@hartfordbusiness.com W hile most insurtech startups come to Hart- ford seeking connections and later learn of potential funding opportunities from the state, Dream Payments took the opposite tack. The company secured $10 million in financing, including $1.5 million from Connecticut Innovations, the state's quasi-public venture fund, several months after winning the pitch competition VentureClash in 2016, and opened a Stamford office. This summer, it restructured its business model, abandoning sales of its payment-processing services to merchants to focus instead on financial institutions and insurers. It laid off a small number of employees connected to the decision, the Stam- ford Advocate reported in July. In November, Dream Payments won a spot in Hartford InsurTech Hub's 2019 accelerator. CEO Brent Ho-Young said he plans to set up operations in Hartford as his 22-employee company pursues in- surance customers. In an interview, Ho-Young called the accelerator "growth on steroids" for companies targeting the insurance market. "To use the accelerator as a plat- form to connect with insurance car- riers and prototype or develop new products for them is just a phenom- enal opportunity," Ho-Young said. "I think without the accelerator it'd just take a lot longer to get that growth." He said Dream has already landed its first insurance customer. Early next year, that insurer will launch rapid payout functionality for travel insurance claims, enabled by Dream's technology. He said there are other in- surtech accel- erators around the world, but his sense is that Startupboot- camp, which runs the Hartford accelerator, is among the best. Indian startups make Hartford inroads After par- ticipating in the InsurTech Hub's inaugural class, Aureus Analytics and Pentation Analytics have both stuck around the city for the past seven months, with no plans to leave. The India-based companies are hoping to raise capital and secure cus- tomer contracts in the near future. Aureus, which uses AI technology to analyze customer sentiment, is in the midst of a pilot program with Travelers and three other compa- nies outside of Connecticut, and re- cently signed a customer in Texas, according to CEO Anurag Shah. "In 2019, hopefully we look at put- ting it into production," Shah said of his work with Travelers. One of the key lessons he took away from the accelerator was about product messaging. "How do we present it to [potential] customers in a way that makes best use of their time?" Shah said. "Some- times we do a great job at technol- ogy, but converting it to a language a business buyer relates to is the more challenging part." Meanwhile, Pentation, which of- fers analytics software, is working to secure a pilot project with one company and completing a second with another, which it hopes will translate into its first U.S. revenue. Kamal K. Das, chief operations officer of the 35-employee company, said he expects to recruit several hires for its Upward Hartford office downtown in the New Year. Penta- tion is also trying to raise $2 million. Das said InsurTech Hub's men- tors gave key advice on product design, branding and the U.S. market, and he credits the program for helping Pentation make connec- tions with new partners. "The connections we made have brought in leads that we are pursu- ing for closure," Das said. Brent Ho-Young, CEO of Dream Payments, is hoping the Hartford insurance accelerator can quicken his company's recently shifted business model. HBJ PHOTO | MATT PILON (From top) Mayor Bronin; Startupbootcamp's Sabine VanderLinden; CareValidate co- founder Jay Pugliese; and Kevin Stein, CEO of Delos Insurance Solutions.

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