TORONTO, ON--(Marketwired - November 29, 2016) - Zensurance, a Toronto-based startup which offers curated commercial insurance packages for startups and small business, has successfully closed a seed round of $1 million dollars, led by Ferst Capital Partners.
"Most small business owners have to fill out and fax 10-page forms, wait weeks and pay by cheque to get insurance. We are very excited to bring transparency and digitization to such an important industry," said Danish Yusuf, CEO of Zensurance.
The company, which plans to use the funding to hire new talent and build its business, was the recent winner of "The Next Big Idea in FinTech" competition, a program launched in partnership with BMO and the Ryerson DMZ. Zensurance was also named one of the Top 20 Innovative Technology Companies of 2016 by the Canadian Innovation Exchange.
"We are a technology company building helping small business customers get the best insurance coverage, purchased at their convenience, at highly competitive rates," said Sultan Mehrabi, CTO of Zensurance.
"We see an enormous opportunity to re-imagine the way in which insurance is distributed to businesses by leveraging technology. Yet innovation in the commercial insurance industry, until now, has been largely unaddressed in Canada. The founding team at Zensurance has the experience, vision and customer focus to address and take a leading role in this transformation and Ferst Capital Partners is thrilled to be part of their journey," said Dominique Ferst, Managing Partner at Ferst Capital Partners.
About Zensurance
Zensurance is Canada's leading online commercial insurance broker. They offer a full range of insurance products to small businesses, with a particular focus on digitizing businesses and technology startups. www.zensurance.ca
About Ferst Capital Partners
Ferst Capital Partners (FCP) is a leading Canadian early-stage FinTech focused venture capital firm. As investors, we provide strategic capital and support to FinTech startups. As a startup studio, we support the next generation of emerging FinTech entrepreneurs who are working hard to improve the financial lives of all Canadians. We focus on how Canadians spend, save, borrow, insure and invest their hard-earned money because we believe these things are important. www.ferstcapital.com
About Portag3 Ventures
Portage3 Ventures is an early-stage investor dedicated to backing innovating financial services companies working to benefit all consumers. Exclusively sponsored by Power Financial Corporation, IGM Financial Inc. and Great West-Lifeco Inc., Portag3 gives new ideas a unique environment to grow. Portag3 makes longer-term commitments, and combined with its industry intelligence is an ideal partner for the ambitious and creative entrepreneur. http://www.p3vc.com/
About Ryerson Futures
Ryerson Futures Inc. (RFI) is an accelerator for early stage companies connected to the Digital Media Zone at Ryerson University. RFI invests in startups and helps bring their products to market through an extensive global network. http://www.ryersonfutures.ca/
Contact Information:
For more information and to schedule interviews, please contact:
Danish Yusuf
CEO and Co-Founder
Zensurance
danish@zensurance.ca
Marko Jelavic
Associate
Ferst Capital Partners
mjelavic@ferstcapital.com