Zipia, a Brazilian startup that connects insurance agents & companies and customers, got a BRL 6.3 million round led by Astella Investimentos. The funds will be used to improve features for the insurance agents and companies, creating more intelligent tools for customer service and follow-up.
Founded in 2020 by Pedro Yue, Simon Birrell, and Daniel Possa, Zipia came about as a spinout of QuinStreet, a Silicon Valley company focused on social media performance marketing. Zipia was born when Yue realized the problems that self-employed professionals and insurance companies are facing in connecting with new customers who, on the other hand, are increasingly looking for this type of service online. The startup then created a solution that helps insurance agents and companies in the customer acquisition and communication and sales process, working as a real-time communication channel between the two parties.
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“There are many consumers on the internet, looking for insurance, health insurance, financial services, and a network of agents whose tools can’t reach these people. We do precisely the digital marketing work, helping them prospect, and we also offer a platform that makes the sales process more efficient,” said Yue.
Zipia currently has about 200 users, including insurance agents and companies, and claims to have already helped customers to handle more than BRL 1 million per month. The main products sold via Zipia’s platform are car insurance and consortiums, but there are also solutions for health, dental, life, home, and travel insurance, among others.
To promote these products, Zipia operates its own media network, besides marketing on social media and partnering with major theme-related websites. The business model works based on a fee charged for each connection made.
According to Astella’s investors, Zipia stands out for its ability to attract more qualified customers in a scalable way.
“It’s easy to do a social media campaign, but it’s hard to do it in a way that reverts to customer acquisition. We go to where we understand that customers may be looking for the product. Also, just doing the marketing campaign is not enough. Many times, after the consumer is reached, there is no easy and efficient access channel to ask questions, understand the complexities of the service, and close the purchase. We help the insurance company and this customer in this whole process,” explained Yue.