Harmonee, a startup focused on providing a digital buying platform that will reduce the life insurance application process from weeks to just minutes, recently completed its first initial round of fundraising.
On Oct. 1, Harmonee finished crowdfunding capital on Netcapital, a web platform that allows anyone to invest into startups. For a minimum of $99, founders and North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University graduates Anthony Lewis and Jordan Maness offered equity shares in their company.
Harmonee raised a total of $27,525 from 83 investors, surpassing Netcapital’s $10,000 minimum to receive the funding. The money will go towards finishing the company's demo, rounding out its go-to-market strategy and gaining customer feedback.
Harmonee launched its demo website for potential investors and customers in early September. So far, it is has gained feedback from more than 1,500 people. More than 400 people people have asked to be contacted when the product is released.
With this first round of fundraising completed, Lewis and Maness expect to begin a more traditional round in November with a goal of $1.5 million to $2 million. Their plan is to apply to accelerators as well as venture capital and angel funds.
Lewis and Maness founded Harmonee with the goal of expediting the life insurance application process. The process can be long and complicated, taking weeks. This is a big reason why there are 102 million uninsured and underinsured Americans who know they need – or need more – life insurance, according to the Life Insurance Marketing and Research Association (LIMRA).
Through Harmonee’s website and backend integrations with healthcare systems, customers will be able to share their health data, getting rid of the need for a new physical or blood work, which is often what elongates the process. Customers will also complete a questionnaire about their lifestyle. Harmonee will provide approval and price quotes.
Harmonee plans to partner with established life insurance agencies while retaining its own in-house marketing and sales. It is currently establishing relationships with several insurance carriers. Lewis said that insurance agents have expressed a desire and a need for a product like Harmonee.
Focusing on younger and minority demographics, Harmonee also wants to educate people on life insurance, why it’s needed and the different types of policies.
“I think Covid has brought to the forefront, unfortunately, that families are having to deal with the unexpected, untimely passing of people of all ages,” Lewis said. “I think people are becoming more aware that we want to leave behind legacies and good thoughts and not, in the moment when tragedy is hit, have to scramble and figure out money. That should be the last thing that we have to be concerned about when one of the most tragic things that can happen in your life happens.”
Lewis and Maness want to make policies flexible, so that if a customer buys a 20-year term life insurance policy, they can easily adjust when major life changes – such as a promotion, birth of a child, buying or selling of a house – occur. They also want to engage customers and make them healthier through partnerships and incentives.
Lewis and Maness have completed the Founder Gym accelerator, a minority- and women-focused accelerator focusing on raising capital, and Y-Combinator Startup School, a self-paced course that allows students to learn and gain feedback on their business.
After beginning their next round of fundraising, Lewis and Maness expect to finish building the back end of Harmonee’s technology in early 2022 in order to launch next summer.
Harmonee plans to initially launch in Texas, where Lewis is based and has obtained an insurance license. That insurance license has reciprocity with 25 other states, including North Carolina. After launching in Texas, they expect to expand into the Southeast and then nationally.
“We’re excited about this space because we see it as a way that a lot of people are looking to maintain wealth and pass wealth on,” Lewis said. “We often talk about the American dream of buying a house, but we often don’t have the secondary conversation of ensuring that house or whatever we built is passed on to your children or whoever we see fit.”
