Episode #204 of The VentureFizz Podcast features Ty Harris - CEO & Co-Founder of Openly.
Imagine that you’ve worked your way into an executive leadership position with one of the top insurance companies where you are overseeing an organization of hundreds of people generating billions of dollars, yet you realize that you are a builder and there’s an opportunity to build a company around an idea.
So what do you do? Do you stay at the safety net of the Fortune 500 company or do you take the risk and start something from scratch?
If Ty is a guest on our podcast, you probably know the decision he made and it is a decision that is taking off. Openly is reinventing home insurance with a different approach with an emphasis on tech, an improved customer service experience, and a very smart sales model where they are partnering with independent insurance agents.
The company announced $40M in funding back in December and this is fresh off the heels of announcing $15M just 6 months prior.
In this episode of our podcast, we cover:
- Ty’s experience at MIT and how he got involved in competitive ballroom dancing.
- His career progression at Liberty Mutual where he was most recently EVP and Chief Product Officer.
- How he thought through the decision to move on and start a company.
- All of the details on Openly and how they are disrupting the insurance industry.
- What the future holds for Openly, including their growth and hiring plans.
- Advice for senior level executives on the decision of taking a risk to start a company.
- And so much more.
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Keith Cline is the Founder of VentureFizz. Follow him on Twitter: @kcline6.
