88ships® and Bullfrog® Ventures Announce Joint-Venture to Accelerate Innovation in Insurance

PR Newswire

SAN FRANCISCO, Sept. 26, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Today, Silicon Valley-based 88ships®, a white glove company builder and advisory platform for growth-oriented technology companies, and Miami-based Bullfrog Ventures, Latin America´s leading InsurTech Delivery platform, announced they will join forces to create a new joint-venture, 88Bulls. 88Bulls is the first multi-region startup accelerator and early stage venture fund focused on innovative InsurTech startups building transformative products and solutions. 88Bulls' program will focus on scaling InsurTech start-ups internationally through a hands-on and entrepreneurial approach prioritizing business development, strategic finance and operations excellence, and talent development.

88ships and Bullfrog will combine their respective capabilities to create a unique international InsurTech network, connecting the innovative and entrepreneurial startup ecosystem of Silicon Valley with Latin America´s InsurTech hub via Miami, and Europe's insurance hub via London. 88Bulls will leverage this network to offer a unique accelerator program that will provide insurance startups with direct access to customers and business partners globally, corporate and venture investors, and seasoned executives and mentors.

"Startup and venture capital activity in InsurTech has increased rapidly over the past few years and we're excited to partner with Bullfrog to accelerate this growth and introduce more innovation into the existing insurance value chain," said Ralph Leung, CEO and Founder of 88ships. "Our program will focus on gaining traction and scaling through creating successful and profitable partnerships with international insurers."

Complementing the accelerator program, 88Bulls will create an early stage venture fund to invest in its portfolio companies to further fuel their growth. 88Bulls will identify and invest in growth-oriented InsurTech startups with market-ready products, early revenue, and an international business model who are looking to gain larger customers, initiate new partnerships, and scale rapidly.

"Combining our deep insurance expertise with 88ships' company building experience and network in Silicon Valley is a unique proposition for InsurTech startups who want to join a premier accelerator program," said Ana Rojas Matiz, Partner at Bullfrog. "We will also continue to foster diversity and inclusion in our program, consistent with 88Bulls' team of diverse leaders."

InsurTech represents much more of an opportunity than a threat to traditional insurers and 88Bulls' objective is to bring out the best in these two worlds to accelerate innovation in the industry.

For more information about 88ships and Bullfrog ventures, visit www.88ships.com and www.bullfroghq.com, respectively.

About 88ships

88ships® is a boutique, white glove company builder and advisory platform for growth-oriented businesses. We partner with founders of companies from pre-Series A through pre-IPO to co-build, grow and rapidly scale. We also partner with large corporations to design and implement corporate innovation programs, source and incubate startups, and engage with the innovation ecosystem in Silicon Valley. Since inception, we have worked with numerous high growth technology companies across internet (including e-commerce, marketplaces and social networks), FinTech, and consumer tech (including augmented and mixed reality and IoT).

About Bullfrog Ventures

Bullfrog® Ventures is the only Innovations Incubator^TM and consulting firm dedicated to InsurTech, focusing on game-changing opportunities that deliver substantial business growth for the Insurance industry. We take a hands-on approach to ensure success. We partner with clients to ensure our implementations are exactly the capabilities they need to differentiate themselves in their markets. We choose our clients very carefully and we engage only where we see opportunities to truly deliver. That's how we guarantee value and deliver extraordinary reputation to our portfolio.

88SHIPS PRESS CONTACT:
Virve Virtanen+1 (914) 536-3712; [email protected]

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