Executive Summary: Root Insurance is an online insurance service that offers coverage primarily for drivers. The company analyzes a member’s driving patterns to assess risk. Other services offered by Root include homeowners and renters insurance. Root Insurance makes money by charging customers a monthly premium. The company claims that members can save over $900 compared to traditional insurance providers. Founded in 2016 and headquartered in Columbus, Ohio, Root has become one of America’s leading InsurTech…
Executive Summary: FabFitFun is an online subscription service that sends out boxes with predominantly female products on a quarterly basis. Product categories include electronics, cosmetics, fashion, and more. FabFitFun makes money from the box subscriptions, a styling fee for its clothing boxes, as well as by advertising other brands and products. Founded in 2010, FabFitFun initially started out as a website promoting female-related content. The founders expanded into subscription boxes in 2013, which helped them…
Executive Summary: Compass is an online real estate brokerage that connects facilitates home purchases, sales, and rentals on its platform. The company’s agents are equipped with best-in-class technology (such as a dedicated app) to best serve their customers. Compass makes money via the commission it receives for every property sale it mediates. That revenue is then split between Compass and the real estate agent. Furthermore, it generates revenues from referral fees it receives for recommending…
Executive Summary: Dubsmash is a mobile application that allows users to create short videos (so-called ‘Dubs’) using pre-recorded sounds. This may include famous movie extracts or popular songs. Dubsmash makes no money as of today. The company currently focuses its efforts on growing its user base and improving the user experience. Potential, future monetization streams could include sponsored content, premium features, video ads, and more. Founded in 2014, Dubsmash quickly rose to worldwide prominence.…
Executive Summary: Wealthfront is a financial services platform that provides investment, retirement, and cash management products to retail investors. Wealthfront makes money via advisory fees, interest on issued loans, debit card fees, and money invested by its partner bank. Founded in 2008 and headquartered in Palo Alto, California, Wealthfront became one of America’s leading robo-advisors. The company has more than $20 billion in assets under management while having raised a total of $204.5 million. What…
Executive Summary: Postmates is an online courier service platform that connects businesses with customers nearby. The majority of its sales stem from food delivery, but the company also partners with businesses in the supermarket, retail, or alcohol space. Postmates makes money by charging various fees (delivery and service fees, for instance) as well as via its premium subscription (called Unlimited). Founded in 2011 and based in San Francisco, Postmates has become one of America’s most…
Executive Summary: Betterment is a financial services company that offers investment, retirement, and cash management products to private investors as well as companies. Betterment makes money via its Digital and Premium plans, receiving compensation from partner banks, fees on debit card transactions, referral fees by promoting insurance packages, as well as through Betterment for Business and Betterment for Advisors. Founded in 2008 and headquartered in New York, Betterment has become an immediate success with its…
I recently made a 5€ bet with my girlfriend involving a blindfold and two very sweet drinks (no you perv, no kinky shit!). She claimed that she could taste the difference between a Coca Cola and Pepsi while being blindfolded. Well, three rounds and wrong guesses later, that sweet ol’ Coke she claimed to love so much wasn’t that great of a distinctive taste. Which begs the question: why do people perceive and rate comparable…
Executive Summary: KAYAK is a travel-focused search engine that allows customers to compare rates between flights, hotels, car rentals, and more. Users can access KAYAK via its website and mobile apps. KAYAK makes money whenever a user clicks on a booking (CPC), goes on to buy that offer (CPA), and sponsored placements that appear within the search results. Founded in 2004, KAYAK has quickly become one of the world’s leading travel-related search engines. The company…
Executive Summary: Venmo is a digital wallet that lets users transfer money between each other using the company’s app. With Venmo, users can furthermore pay at selected merchants, either online (using the Pay With Venmo feature) or via the company’s debit card. Venmo makes money through fees that it charges merchants on every Pay With Venmo and debit card transaction. Other streams of income include fees on instant transfers as well as affiliate commissions from…
