Insurtech startup Wunderite has picked up $3 million in a seed funding round led by Spark Capital, whose portfolio includes Affirm, Coinbase and Plaid.
The mobile-enabled SaaS platform developed by Boston-based Wunderite simplifies and automates the sales and underwriting process for insurance agents, many of whom are small business owners.
“Having worked at my family’s insurance agency, I knew there was an enormous opportunity for agents to natively do business online. I leveraged my agency background and taught myself to code during business school to build a more delightful, efficient way for agents to connect with their customers,” Peter MacDonald, founder and CEO of Wunderite, said in an April 28 news release. “Wunderite shortens the application process, helping agents sell more deals. We are relentlessly focused on improving the customer experience.”
Having worked at my family’s insurance agency, I knew there was an enormous opportunity for agents to natively do business online.
MacDonald founded Wunderite with Joe Schnare in 2018. MacDonald’s family has owned and operated an independent insurance agency on Cape Cod, Massachusetts, for 50 years, while Schnare grew up as part of a family-owned construction business in Worcester, Massachusetts. They met as students at Boston College’s Carroll School of Management. In addition to his business acumen, MacDonald is a self-taught full stack software engineer.
Aside from Boston-based Spark Capital, investors in Wunderite’s seed round include:
- Boston Seed.
- BrokerTech Ventures.
- Heffernan Insurance Brokers.
- Insurance executives John Welper of MarshBerry, Brian Hetherington of The ABD Team and Ty Harris of Openly.
In conjunction with the funding, Spark Capital’s general partner, Alex Finkelstein, has joined Wunderite’s board of directors.
“The days of selling insurance during a round of golf or over drinks are vanishing,” Finkelstein said. “Buyers want to be efficient with their time and only buy what they need. Wunderite is allowing agents to be more valuable partners to their customers by offering a streamlined, data-driven product that helps them clearly understand what their options are. Wunderite allows them to deliver that in a smart and attractive way for promising ROI.”
Data cited by Wunderite indicates nearly 60% of property and casualty insurance policies are sold by independent agents, representing a $400 billion market opportunity for companies like Wunderite. With the $3 million cash infusion, Wunderite plans to expand its workforce from five people to as many as 15 over the next 12 months in order to help capture some of that $400 billion market.
Before the $3 million seed round, Wunderite had collected $130,000 in pre-seed cash. Last year, Wunderite participated in BrokerTech Venture’s first accelerator class and joined Techstars Boston.