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EverQuote Insurance
FormerlyAdHarmonics
IndustryInsurance
Founded2011
FounderSeth Birnbaum
Tomas Revesz
Headquarters
Cambridge, Massachusetts
,
United States
Key people
Seth Birnbaum, Founder & CEO
Tomas Revesz, Founder & CTO
John Tawadros, COO
Websiteeverquote.com

EverQuote is a car insurance comparison website with headquarters in Cambridge, Massachusetts.[1][2] Often referred to as EverQuote.com, it compares rates from over 70 insurance carriers.[3] As of 2016, the company has raised $24.57 million in the two funding rounds.[4][5][6]

History

EverQuote was founded in 2011 by Seth Birnbaum and Tomas Revesz, who met during their graduation at MIT.[7] Originally named AdHarmonics, the company initially started in Cambridge, Massachusetts.[8]

EverQuote was a part of the Cogo Labs incubator program run by the Massachusetts based venture capital firm Link Ventures.[9] In 2013, the company moved to its own office space in Cambridge, Massachusetts. In May 2015, MicroStrategy founder Sanju Bansal and Vestmark CEO John Lunny joined the company as the board of directors, coinciding with the company receiving a $1.57 million in first round funding.[10][11] The funding was used to EverQuote Pro platform to connect agents and carriers with consumers.[12] The company claims to offer quotes by matching similar driving profiles from their existing clients.[13] In October 2016, EverQuote announced that it closed $23 million in Series B funding with investment from Savano Capital Partners, Stratim Capital LLC and Oceanic Partners, and T Capital Partners, bringing the total funding to over $24.57 million.[14]

The Series B funding was used for business expansion and mobile application, EverDrive.[15] The application analyzes the driving habits and provides tips to improve driving by scoring them on speed, turning, braking and phone-usage.[2][16][17]

Truth in advertising controversy

Through the end of 2016, EverQuote ran a far-reaching Internet advertising campaign through several clickbait ad networks that attracted controversy when the juxtaposition of photos and copy in the ads was found by several websites and blogs to be intentionally deceptive and misleading.[18] The ads featured a picture of two female Asian undergraduates of MIT, accompanied by text that strongly implied them to be the two founders of the self-proclaimed "disruptive" startup. In reality, the two women are employed by the company as quantitative analysts, and had been selected arbitrarily to be the face of the campaign.[19] These banners have since been asked to be recalled from rotation by EverQuote in lieu of a new version that uses more factually-worded copy and a picture that depicts one of the two female analysts standing next to a member of the actual corporate leadership. The banner ad in question is still being used as of April 2017. [20]

See also

References

  1. ^ Borchers, Callum (25 May 2015). "EverQuote breaks mold of youthful startup". The Boston Globe.
  2. ^ a b McFarland, Matt (18 August 2016). "Your smartphone knows if you're a good driver". CNNMoney.
  3. ^ Sanchez, Allie (21 October 2016). "EverQuote start-up raises $23m in fresh capital". Insurance Business America.
  4. ^ "Fast-Growing Insurance Matchmaker EverQuote Raises $23 Million". Insurance Journal. 20 October 2016.
  5. ^ Engel, Jeff (20 October 2016). "Insurance Marketplace EverQuote Grabs $23M to Goose $100M+ Business". Xconomy.
  6. ^ Martin, Dylan (20 October 2016). "EverQuote raises $23M as part of its pre-IPO strategy". Boston Business Journal.
  7. ^ "EverQuote breaks mold of youthful startup". BetaBoston. 26 May 2015.
  8. ^ "EverQuote Inc by Chris Nashed Raised $23 Million in Private Equity Funding". Digital Journal.
  9. ^ Shemkus, Sarah (11 November 2015). "The motivational power of ugly sweaters". The Boston Globe.
  10. ^ "EverQuote Inc. Just Filed Form D Announcing $1.57 million Financing". OctaFinance.com. 30 April 2015.
  11. ^ Hofherr, Justine (24 November 2015). "CEO desk: Founders of this fast-growing Cambridge start up don't have time for corner offices". Boston.com.
  12. ^ "EverQuote Announces Integration with Farmers Insurance's SIMS Lead Management Solution". Benzinga. 14 July 2015.
  13. ^ "EverQuote Pro Brings Local Insurance Agents Insights Via Agency Analytics Service". 18 June 2015.
  14. ^ "EverQuote". Crunchbase.com.
  15. ^ Darrow, Barb (14 September 2016). "Distracted Driving Is Now an Epidemic in the U.S." Fortune.
  16. ^ Martin, Dylan (6 April 2016). "This App Will Tell You If You're a Terrible Driver". BostInno.
  17. ^ Salomon, Sanjay (21 July 2016). "Massachusetts drivers beat New Yorkers in a safe-driving competition". Boston.com.
  18. ^ Mann, Sonya. "Startup Advertising's Occasional Collision With The Truth". Mattermark Blog. Mattermark. Retrieved 10 March 2017.
  19. ^ Stendahl, Max. "The women in that viral ad? Not who you think they are". The Business Journals. Boston Business Journal. Retrieved 10 March 2017.
  20. ^ "How 2 Math Grads are Disrupting the Auto Insurance Industry". Reddit. Advance Publications. Retrieved 10 March 2017. a) They're not, b) they don't exist, and c) it's an ad for insurance comparison.
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