2019 Startups to Watch: RiskGenius partnership carries KC software firm to next level
January 14, 2019 | Elyssa Bezner
Editor’s note: Startland selected 12 Kansas City firms to spotlight for its annual Startups to Watch list. The following is one of 2019’s companies. Click here to view the full, ranked list of Startups to Watch.
RiskGenius’ elevator pitch: Software firm that helps people understand their insurance policy language and policy data faster.
RiskGenius’s recent partnership with insurance carrier QBE Insurance Group in 2018 sent a signal to the industry to look at the startup’s disruptive solutions, said Chris Cheatham.
Founders: Chris Cheatham, Doug Reiser
Founding year: 2012
Amount raised to date: $5 million
Noteworthy investors: Flyover Capital, QBE Ventures, Mid America Angels
Programs completed: Pipeline, Plug and Play
Current employee count: 19
“[We’re getting] a lot of inbound interest,” said the founder. “We’ve got to have a lot more traction in terms of number of proof of concepts and the number of implementations going into this year.”
Employing the software firm’s products at QBE has prepared the team for what implementation of a new technology at a large insurance company takes, he added.
“Our operations team has worked closely with the QBE team to manage people and processes as they switch over to a new insurance forms library, and we now realize these types of close working relationships are vital to the success of launching RiskGenius within any company,” said Cheatham.
The RiskGenius team is not short on industry experience, said Cheatham, noting the secret behind properly applied AI programs does not lie in the algorithms themselves.
“It’s how you then deploy those algorithms to fix a problem,” he said. “Everyone here has just studied the insurance industry. We’ve had thousands of demos with insurance professionals at this point and understand their workflows.”
Manually rifling through 300 pages of documents per policy may take faster employees a matter of hours, but some companies might have as many as 35,000 policies in place, he explained, noting the AI and machine learning solution allows information to pinpointed immediately.
“You can find it, get to it, review it, and be on your way,” said Cheatham.
2019 will include the rolling out of a new policy checking tool, as well as see the startup continuing to foster implementations of the products at different carriers, he said, noting a main focus is on delivering on RiskGenius’ promises.
“It’s not testing products and making sure things work [anymore,]” he added. “It’s execution and making sure people are happy with the software.”
1) Bungii
2) ShotTracker
3) RiskGenius
4) Metactive
5) Pepper IoT
6) Signal Kit
7) Life Equals
8) Bellwethr
9) Homebase.ai
10) Tea-Biotics Kombucha
11) SquareOffs
12) Zohr
Featured Business
2019 Startups to Watch
stats here
Related Posts on Startland News
Her red sauce is dynamite but Ragazza’s owner gives the chef title to her Italian heritage
Family is baked into the core of Laura Norris’ restaurants, she shared, from the Italian recipes served at Ragazza in Westport to the brother-sister duo running the new Enzo Wine Bar and Bistro together in the River Market. She opened Ragazza, which now sits at the corner of 43rd and Main streets, in 2013 and…
How a ‘City Hall Swiftie committee’ is bringing joy (and business) to NKC as concert tour hits Arrowhead
The street lights are pointing in an arrowhead, leading Taylor Swift fans to North Kansas City where they can walk the iconic “Cornelia Street.” In June, North Kansas City Mayor Bryant DeLong announced that Swift Street in NKC was to be temporarily renamed Swift Street (Taylor’s Version) in honor of the artist coming July 7-8…
Former Independence mayor named interim executive director for LGBT Chamber
An interim leader was announced Thursday as the Mid-America LGBT Chamber of Commerce forms a search committee tasked with identifying the next full-time executive director for the Kansas City-based business advocacy group. Eileen Weir, who served as mayor of Independence, Missouri, from 2014 to 2022, takes on the interim role July 11 after the announcement…
Fund Me, KC: Grocery store on Troost needs to bag community support to open, bringing fresh food east
Startland News is continuing its “Fund Me, KC” series to highlight area entrepreneurs’ efforts to accelerate their businesses or lend a helping hand to others. This is an opportunity for business owners and innovators — like Kortney Lee who is attempting to expand the footprint of Community Groceries — to share their crowdfunding stories and potentially…