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Other existing backers , , and all participated in the latest round, along with new investor .

The investment brings The Zebra’s since its 2012 inception. The Austin-based company last raised $40 million in an Accel-led Series B in September 2017. As part of that funding round, Accel and The Zebra tapped , former president of travel metasearch engine as its new CEO.

“We like to think of The Zebra as the ‘Kayak of Insurance,’” Melnick told me. “We’re basically creating a virtual insurance agency.”

The Zebra started out as a comparison site for people looking for auto insurance. And it’s partners with nine of the 10 top auto insurance carriers in the U.S. Over time, it’s also “naturally” evolved to offer homeowners insurance with the goal of eventually branching out into renters and life insurance.

“Ultimately, as people evolve through their insurance needs, we can be there for them,” said Melnick, who invested in the company’s Series B and C rounds.

Meanwhile, the company says it did not intentionally raise less in its Series C than its Series B but instead aimed to raise just what it needed to keep up with its momentum. (For more on companies that are not trying to grow at all costs, read my story on the increased focus on profitability here.) Also, to read about another company that also took that approach (raising less in its Series C than B), head here.

How it works

The Zebra offers a real-time quote tool that compares more than 100 insurance companies.

Despite being an online company, The Zebra prides itself on offering customer service help via telephone as well in acknowledgement of how “complicated” of a product insurance is.

“If someone gets stuck, we have licensed insurance agents in all 50 states that can talk to them,” he said. “We want to make it as easy and as transparent as possible.” Or, just like a zebra, more “black and white.”

After Melnick joined, The Zebra killed off the lead generation side of its business, going as far as to eliminate any requirements for a user’s phone number to protect the privacy of its users. It also revamped its mobile and desktop platforms. Its headcount has surged from about 50-60 people to close to 200 across its offices in Austin and New York. It also works with a team of developers in Lagos, Nigeria.

“We invested a ton in product management and engineering and became really user-focused,” Melnick said. “We’ve also developed much deeper relationships with carriers.”

The company’s efforts seem to be paying off in the way of growth. The Zebra is that rare transparent startup that actually divulges revenue figures. Last year, Melnick said, the startup saw its revenue surge by nearly 200 percent year over year to nearly $37 million in 2019. The company also says it ended the year with a revenue run rate approaching $60 million, “more than half of which was driven by users coming organically to The Zebra’s website.” Melnick projects revenue to grow “well over” 100 percent in 2020.

The flexibility of The Zebra’s model means it’s “agnostic to a carrier’s business model” Melnick said.

“We can refer people to agencies such as or or we can also work with direct insurance agencies like or insurtech startups such as ,” he added. “We can offer a bigger breadth of product than most places.”

Looking ahead, the startup plans to increase its use of machine learning “to better serve customers and bind more policies in-house.” It also plans to add more customization so it can serve a wider audience.

Investor POV

For Accel Partner John Locke, The Zebra is “the most interesting company in insurtech” and one of the fastest-growing consumer businesses his firm works with globally. Also, Accel believes insurance is one of the most interesting consumer markets in general in tech right now.

“It’s the largest consumer market yet to shift digital,” he said. In fact, he points out that the auto insurance market in the U.S. is expected this year with just an estimated 20.7 percent of insurance being purchased.

“We believe over the next 5 years that will flip to 80/20 digital (versus the other way around), just like all other major consumer markets such as banking and travel,” Locke added.

He believes old-line carriers realize that consumers want to engage online, so will spend more money acquiring customers digitally versus via agents. Locke also believes there’s a “terrific amount of startup energy in the market and very talented entrepreneurs building new, fully digital ‘carriers’ like in auto, in renters and (another Accel company) in life insurance.”

For his part, Silverton Partners’ General Partner Morgan Flager has been impressed with The Zebra’s ability to aggressively scale its business “while maintaining a vibrant culture and identity.”

“They’ve grown revenue and headcount quickly, while maintaining their status as one of Austin’s best places to work because they have stayed true to their values and purpose,” he added.

Note: This story was revised post-publication to change Accel Partners to Accel.

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Founded in 2016, Ethos says its mission is to make “modern, ethical life insurance” accessible to the masses through its proprietary technology.

The company claims it makes getting a life insurance policy “fast, easy and inexpensive” by “turning a process that was once like going to the DMV to more like shopping online.” It also claims to “prioritize people over profit,” which is refreshingly noble. Ethos is licensed in 49 states.

The San Francisco-based startup has attracted a bevy of investors in a relatively short amount of time. Existing investors , , and also participated in the latest round, which brings the company’s to $106.5 million. Ethos raised a $35 million last October that was led by Accel, and an $11.5 million Sequoia-led in June 2018.

Besides some of Silicon Valley’s most prominent VCs, Ethos has also raised capital from , actor Robert Downey Jr.’s , NBA player , Arrive, a subsidiary of , and actor .

So, how does it work exactly? A prospective customer can apply and qualify for a policy in about 10 minutes, CEO and co-founder told Crunchbase News last October, without having to go through medical exams or blood tests—as most people do when applying through more traditional life insurance providers. That’s because the company applies data science and predictive analytics to determine an individual’s life expectancy, he said. He and his former Stanford University grad school roommate, , previously founded secondary life insurance marketplace .

Rapid Growth

GV general partner and Ethos board member noted in a written statement that his firm has been “consistently impressed by the company’s commitment to growth, customer traction, and execution to date.” Indeed, Ethos says it’s quadrupled its revenue since last October (although it would not disclose the exact amount). Additionally, it is “insuring thousands of new families every month” and has “tens of thousands” of customers.  Ethos currently has about 90 employees, compared to 35 at the time of its last raise in October.

“The nice thing  is we have the majority of our money left over from the last round. So raising more money was not something we needed to do,” Colis told Crunchbase News. Rather, he added, it was more about being able to more optimally take advantage of market conditions. As for Austin, Colis said the city offered “great access to talent.”

“In general, there is a similar growth and entrepreneurial mindset going on in the city that is similar to what we see in San Francisco,” he told Crunchbase News. (Ethos joins a bunch of other companies that have either relocated to, or opened a secondary office in, Austin in recent years.)

The company plans to use its latest capital toward “continued momentum, supporting product refinement, technical team hires,” according to Colis.

Ethos is just one of a number of startups working to digitize the insurance industry. Last week, Sophia Kunthara reported that Ohio-based car insurance startup was set to raise $350 million in a funding round that would bring the company’s valuation to $3.65 billion. Like Root, has also gained traction from investors looking to influence the user-led future of policy purchases. Also in July 2018, online small business insurance provider raised $83 million in a led by .

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