The state’s first and largest young professionals network, Manchester Young Professionals Network (MYPN), named Bedford-based startup ValChoice the winner of the 2016 New Hampshire Startup Challenge. ValChoice enables consumers to know, for the first time, which insurance companies offer the best value as measured by price, protection and service quality, and which companies will not protect them when they need it most. ValChoice analyzes over 1.5 million financial metrics and data points on auto and home insurance companies to summarize to consumers important information before an accident occurs, which could save individuals their homes, retirement savings, lost wages and more. Over the past nine years the Startup Challenge has awarded more than $500,000 to NH startups.
While working as a senior vice president of marketing and sales for a technology company, Dan Karr was seriously injured on his way to work and became intimately aware of the complexity of insurance claims. Following this experience, Karr left his Silicon Valley career to launch ValChoice.
ValChoice will receive $20,000 in cash in addition to in-kind professional services donated by NH businesses. The prize package includes:
$7,500 in legal services from Cook, Little, Rosenblatt & Manson, accounting services from Howe, Riley & Howe and marketing services from Grapevine Marketing.
$27,500 worth of ad space for one year in Business NH Magazine.
$3,600 one year residency at Alpha Loft.
$1,950 conference pass to the Nantucket Conference, a prestigious invitation-only gathering of emerging and established tech leaders from Boston, New York and throughout the Northeast.
“This award highlights the need for consumers to know if the insurance they are buying is worth the price they pay,” said Karr. “Forbes calls ValChoice ‘Carfax for insurance’ because we let consumers know if they’re getting their money’s worth.”
It was a record-breaking year for the Startup Challenge with the total prize package skyrocketing by over $116,500, the amount of applications doubling and event attendance growing 25 percent across the board. In addition to a first place prize, Franklin-based startup Hidden Collective, an online platform planning to change the way outdoor goods are discovered and sold, took home the second place prize of $1,000. Additionally, event attendees selected Hidden Collective as the “People’s Choice Award” winner of $5,000 presented by People’s United Bank.
Microsoft’s Director of Developer, Student and Startup Evangelism, Steve Ramsay, delivered the keynote speech at the competition’s final event and presented Manchester-based startup Higher Ed Profiles, a data hosting product that provides effortless reporting and query tools for higher education decision makers, with the Microsoft BizSpark Plus award, an in-kind cloud service valued at $120,000 that includes access to free software and tools, support services and access to training courses.
“I work with startups all over the region and see many business pitches, and I’m really impressed with the quality of contestants involved in the NH Startup Challenge and MYPN as an organization,” said Ramsay. “I’m a true believer that, if you’ve got an idea, you should get out there and do something with it. There is nothing but goodness coming out of this competition and we are happy to be able to support the program through Microsoft BizSpark.”
“When MYPN launched the New Hampshire Startup Challenge, the goal was to encourage entrepreneurship and foster innovation throughout the state,” said Timothy Paradis, co-chair of the Startup Challenge. “This year has been a major reminder of how far we’ve come with record-breaking, high-quality applications, recognition from globally-renowned Microsoft and the enthusiasm from our sponsors and supporters. We are so grateful to our generous sponsors, creative applicants, and everyone who remains committed to making New Hampshire a great place to establish and grow a business.”
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