One of the co-founders behind PetFirst Healthcare has a new venture in the works.
It's called Armadillo and it's a new technology startup, led by founders Lansdon Robbins and Matan Slagter, offering affordable, subscription-based home warranty plans designed for a new generation of homeowners.
Robbins, chairman of Armadillo, is a serial entrepreneur with multiple successful exits, including Accent Marketing, Service Net Solutions and most recently, PetFirst. Slagter, CEO of the new entity, is the former head of market disruption at AIG.
PetFirst was acquired last year by MetLife.
Both seasoned insurance executives, Robbins and Slagter identified an opportunity to build a modern home warranty solution that better serves consumers, according to a news release.
"Armadillo's customer-centric mindset guides our innovation," Robbins said in the release. "There is a lot of interest from many different players in home services. What makes this exciting is that there is only 4% penetration in the home warranty industry. We are only scratching the surface of what's possible in building an iconic home warranty brand for a new generation of homeowners."
Armadillo has created a process of repairing or replacing things that break in your home that’s easy, fast and convenient, without cumbersome contracts and large warranty gaps, the release says. An Armadillo home warranty contract is only three pages long and all claims can be filed through the company's online portal.
To bring that tech-equipped vision to fruition, Armadillo brought on Slingshot, one of Louisville's largest software development companies, as its technology partner. The partnership essentially means Slingshot is the technology division of the new startup.
“We knew we didn’t want to bring on developers or a CTO [chief technology officer] on our first day,” Slagter said in the release. “If you get that hire wrong, you could miss hitting key milestones early on when it’s crucial to get your product market fit right.”
Slagter said he and Robbins had a great experience working with Slingshot on another project and knew the company would deliver.
David Galownia, CEO and founder of Slingshot, said his company is excited to partner with a tech-forward startup that has been prioritizing technology to enhance its customer experience from day one.
"In today’s world, consumers have incredibly high expectations for ease of use, speed, convenience and self-service through tech," he said. "Armadillo is investing heavily across their entire business to meet and exceed these expectations and this mindset is embedded in their culture. We cannot wait to see this company grow."
In addition to its tech partnership with Slingshot, Armadillo has partnered with Hornbeam Insurance, a property casualty insurer, to support and back its products.
Armadillo has launched its home warranty solution in 20 markets so far, including Kentucky and Indiana. You can find more info about the company here.
