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Hiro

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Protect your home with smart technology. Get amazing perks and discounts when you do.

149%
 - 
Funded 22 Jan 2021
£1,200,001 target
£2,061,747 from 645 investors
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Business overview

Location London, United Kingdom
Social media
Website www.gethiro.com
Sectors Finance & Payments Digital B2C
Company number 12787431
Incorporation date 3 Aug 2020
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Investment summary

Type Equity
Valuation (pre-money) £5.5M
Equity offered 24.63%
Tax relief N/A
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Business highlights

  • Expert team already built & sold a multi-award-winning insurtech
  • Reduces claims, increases lifetime value AND benefits customers
  • Backed by VC and veteran angels from within the industry
  • Partnerships with over 30 leading smart device manufacturers
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Key features

  • Secondary Market
  • Nominee investment min. £12.72 +
  • Direct investment min. £20,000.00 +

Idea

Introduction

We're Hiro, and we're everything your old insurer isn't.

At $6.9 trillion, insurance is the single largest industry in the world. The UK alone is worth £175bn - but the majority of customers are dissatisfied. Only 1 person in 10 trusts their insurer, and 7 in 10 think their insurer actively tries to cheat them. Customers are crying out for fresh, innovative providers like Hiro.

Old home insurance is passive: it does nothing until the damage is already done.

Hiro is always a step ahead, working with you to actively prevent that damage in the first place. It gives you access to smart technology to protect your property and rewards you for taking care of your home.

Old insurance locks you into lengthy contracts written in baffling legal jargon.

Hiro insurance is on-demand - start and end whenever you like; no cancellation fees, no admin fees, no nonsense. It's tech-first, more like Netflix or Uber than home insurance. It lives in your mobile and speaks your language.

Ready for better?

Substantial accomplishments to date

This isn't our first insurtech venture - we previously built multi-award-winning start-up Neos, which was snapped up by the UK's largest home insurer in 2018.

Since starting Hiro in 2020, we've built out our whole technology stack from scratch, in-house - backend, pricing models, APIs, mobile apps. Owning the whole tech stack means we can innovate at lightspeed compared to old insurers.

We've achieved Appointed Representative status, registered with the FCA and secured underwriting capacity from a leading European insurer - meaning we've cleared most of the difficult regulatory and operational hurdles to bring an insurance product to market.

Before even building the product, we signed up close to 5,000 potential customers to our waiting list.

We have partnerships with 30+ leading device manufacturers, which are in varying states of development. In most cases we've already secured discounted products and the right to use their marketing collateral. In a few cases they've even agreed to help us co-market to their audience.

Our platform, mobile apps, feature sets and designs have been validated through an intensive insiders programme.

We're backed by a VC and several veteran angels.

We've been featured in dozens of publications including tier-one outlets like Forbes, the Guardian and the Evening Standard.

And we've only been building Hiro for nine months - imagine where we could be in 5 or 10 years.

Monetisation strategy

We will primarily earn revenue through the sale of insurance products. As an insurance intermediary (currently an Appointed Representative and working towards MGA status) we earn a percentage commission of every policy we sell. This is recurring revenue as well - the average retention in UK home insurance lines is 62% (2.6 years), although we do expect that with a differentiated, personalised, reward-focussed model we can exceed this quite considerably.

The members-only marketplace will represent a second revenue stream - equipping homeowners with the best tech to protect their homes at extremely aggressive prices, while still earning a small commission on every sale. In the future, we plan to offer add-ons and professional services like home emergency, repair, maintenance and "home health check" service subscriptions.

Further detail is provided in the main investment deck materials.

Use of proceeds

These funds represent what is required to bring Hiro to market in early 2021.

Research & Development. As a tech-first company, our ambition is to be the most technologically-advanced insurer in the world. We will continue to invest extensively in developing our tech stack, pricing algorithms, apps, bots, ML and other intellectual property. This means software developers, product managers, QA, DevOps, data scientists.

Legal & Compliance. Financial products come with compliance overheads that need to be administered. We will also incur costs related to filing for protection of our intellectual property. Compliance officers, Legal Counsel.

Marketing. We need talented creatives, copywriters, search and display ad experts to help us explain what Hiro is and why it's better than old insurance.

Operations. Insurance products are complex and a host of roles need to be taken care of - Ops managers, customer service, claims, HR, bookkeeping, office admin.

Further detail is given in the pack.

Investor perks

£10 - £999
- Limited-edition RFID blocking card
- Collectable “It’s not 1999” T-shirt
- Invitation to exclusive investor events

£1,000 - £4,999
- All of the above, PLUS
- An invitation to the Hiro Insiders programme - be the first to experience new features and have your say on the next generation of insurance!

£5,000 - £19,999
- All of the above, PLUS
- Special investor pricing on the first year of your Hiro insurance (*eligibility criteria apply)
AMA with the team (virtual session)

£20k +
- All of the above, PLUS
- Special investor pricing on your Hiro insurance for as long as you remain an investor (*eligibility criteria apply)
- Lunch or dinner with the team (COVID-permitting)

Frequently Asked Questions & Live Chat

By popular request, we've created a page where you can find answers to some of the most frequent questions from investors like you. You can also chat live with the team if there's anything you'd like to discuss. Head to https://gethiro.com and check it out! You'll need the password to access the page: ItsNot1999!

Key Information

Share classes

The business has two share classes. Ordinary and Series Seed Shares. Series Seed shares have a 1x non-participating preference and anti-dilution rights.

Seedrs investors will be receiving Ordinary shares as part of this raise.

Corporate structure

It's Not 1999 Ltd has two 100% owned subsidiaries:

It's Not 1998 Ltd is the FCA-registered (non-VAT registered) entity that will be selling the insurance policies

It's Not 1997 Ltd is VAT-registered and is responsible for the technology development

Founders interests

Hero Labs:

Krystian Zajac is obligated to spend 20hrs a week working on the business. This makes up 25% of an average working week.

Dan Knight is the Company Secretary and spends circa 1 hr every 2 months on the business.

Hero Labs' main product is Sonic (www.hero-labs.com). It is a leak stopping solution that Hiro wants to use to bring down the loss ratio (the biggest peril being water escape - constituting circa 30% of all claims paid out).
The founders regard the relationship with the Sonic project as being of significant benefit to the business.

Kei Studios:

This is a creative marketing studio of which Krystian Zajac owns 65% of the shareholding. No time is spent by Krystian on the running of the business. The company is run by a seasoned management team. Krystian attends the occasional board meeting.

Kei Studios helps Hiro on an arms-length-basis with marketing when it comes to creative content. Kei charges their real costs + 20% for all of their services making it the most cost-effective resource possible.

Andrew Lucas International:

Krystian Zajac is a shareholder in the company but no time is spent on the running of the business. The company is run by a seasoned management team. Krystian attends the occasional board meeting.

P&B Perspective:

This is Krystian Zajac's 'professional services' company. This is a family business (a limited company) that is used to bill for his management services, including his services as the board member of Hiro.

Please note, of the two founders of the business Krystian Zajac and Dan Knight are both full time on Hiro.

EIS eligibility

The business has applied to HMRC and is working with them to secure Advanced Assurance. The firm belief is this investment should be EIS-compliant based on securing Advanced Assurance for previous, highly similar ventures, but investors should be aware it is not yet secured and at the discretion of HMRC.

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Only shareholders can access this page

If you successfully purchase a share lot of this business, you will be granted access.

Buy shares

Only shareholders can access this page

If you successfully purchase a share lot of this business, you will be granted access.

Buy shares

Only shareholders can access this page

If you successfully purchase a share lot of this business, you will be granted access.

Buy shares

Investing involves risks, including loss of capital, illiquidity, lack of dividends and dilution, and should be done only as part of a diversified portfolio. Please read the Risk Warnings before investing. Investments should only be made by investors who understand these risks. Tax treatment depends on individual circumstances and is subject to change in future.

This campaign for Hiro has been approved by Seedrs Limited (trading as Republic Europe) ("Republic Europe", "us" or "we"), as of 14 January 2021 as a financial promotion. Republic Europe is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority with firm reference number 550317. In approving this campaign, Republic Europe has concluded that the information, taken as a whole, is "fair, clear and not misleading." This means that for factual statements we have reviewed evidence of their accuracy, and that for aspirational statements we believe they are phrased appropriately in light of their speculative nature. You should note that in the case of factual statements, the evidence we review is provided by the business, and we do not audit it, which means that we may not be able to identify forged or altered evidence. You should further note that in the case of aspirational statements, the nature of the type of businesses presented on the Republic Europe platform is such that they are likely to have high ambitions, and we may approve statements that convey those ambitions even where we do not believe, or we do not have a view on whether it is likely, that they will be fully realised. The pre-money valuation and investment sought in the campaign are those set by the business: they are not reviewed or established by us, and the valuation is not an independent view of what the business is worth. Given the nature and type of businesses presented on the Republic Europe platform, it is possible that the business has very little cash remaining prior to receiving this investment, and the investment sought may be necessary for the business's on-going existence.

Republic Europe does not make investment recommendations to you. No communications from Republic Europe, through this website or any other medium, should be construed as an investment recommendation. Further, nothing on this website shall be considered an offer to sell, or a solicitation of an offer to buy, any security to any person in any jurisdiction to whom or in which such offer, solicitation or sale is unlawful. Republic Europe does not provide legal, financial or tax advice of any kind. If you have any questions with respect to legal, financial or tax matters relevant to your interactions with Republic Europe, you should consult a professional adviser.

Tax Relief (SEIS)

This business is eligible for SEIS relief - providing qualifying investors with income tax relief of 50% of their investment and certain other tax reliefs. Tax treatment depends on individual circumstances and is subject to change in future. Click to learn more.

Tax Relief (EIS)

This business is eligible for EIS relief - providing qualifying investors with income tax relief of 30% of their investment and certain other tax reliefs. Tax treatment depends on individual circumstances and is subject to change in future. Click to learn more.

Valuation (pre-money)

Valuation rounded from £5,489,642

This is the fully-diluted pre-money valuation of the business (i.e. before the new investment comes in and including issued options and other equity interests). In contrast, the post-money valuation is based on inclusion of the new investment in the value.

It is calculated as the pre-money valuation plus the amount of new investment. e.g. If Company A is ascribed a pre-money valuation of £1,200,000 by prospective investors investing £300,000, its post-money valuation is £1,500,000.

The investee business is responsible for setting its own valuation, it has not been prescribed by Seedrs.

Pitch type

Investing in a regular equity campaign is the simplest and most common way to invest in a startup. You decide which business you want to invest in, and if the campaign hits its funding target then you will become one of their shareholders. As the company becomes more valuable, so do your shares; allowing you the opportunity to share in the future success of the business.

Learn more about pitch type on Seedrs

Equity Offered

The equity offered is the percentage of the company’s shares being issued in return for the amount of investment raised.

When the amount raised is less than 100%, the equity offered is based on the target raise. Once the company has raised over 100% it is based on the total raised.

In some scenarios, entrepreneurs may accept additional direct investment after closing their Seedrs campaign. Provided this is within 6 months of the closing and on the same terms, we do not typically offer pre-emption rights on that extra investment (where you have the opportunity to invest again to maintain your percentage shareholding).

Learn more about investing and pre-emption rights.

Nominee investment

This shows if you are able to choose, when making an investment, that you be represented by, and your shareholding be managed by, the Nominee investment.

Find out more

Custodian

If you invest in this Campaign, Seedrs will act as Custodian rather than provide our standard nominee service. This is due to the fact that the business is not directly involved in the share sale and Seedrs will not benefit from any rights under a shareholder agreement. As a result, Seedrs will handle administrative tasks as we do normally, but you will not have information or voting rights, updates from the business, preemption on future fundraising, or ongoing support about business trading activity.

Learn more about Custodian here

Secondary market

This shows if the business has opted-in or opted-out of allowing its shares to be bought and sold on the secondary market.

Find out more

Direct investment

This is an option to invest and hold shares 'directly' in the company (rather than via the Nominee investment). This option is only available to those investing over the threshold amount, which is determined by the fundraising company.

If you choose to hold your shares directly, you will be responsible for any contractual or administrative arrangements with the company you are investing in.

Find out more

Payment options

We are not able to accept card payments for investments into this sector. You can pay for your investment by creating a bank transfer, using funds in your investment account or create a Pay by Bank payment. Your investment will only be completed once the funds have reached our account.

Business Involvement

This Campaign offers shares for sale in business that is not directly involved in this Campaign or the sale. As a result, the Campaign and post-investment experience, including investor rights, will differ from a business-led campaign on Seedrs. Most notably, the business will not engage with investors in the discussion forums both during and after the sale or provide any updates to investors.

Learn more here

Payment options

We are not able to accept Pay by Bank payments for investments into this sector. You can pay for your investment with a card payment, by creating a bank transfer or by using funds in your investment account. Your investment will only be completed once the funds have reached our account.

Drawdowns

This campaign offers the ability to pay for an investment by drawdowns.

Security Token

A security token is a digital asset that represents ownership or other rights. It is a digital form of traditional investments. In the future, you may be able to trade your investment through compatible exchanges.

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None of the information in constitutes part of the campaign and it has not been approved or reviewed by Seedrs.

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