Investors pour nearly 2M into Lancaster tech firm

New York-based Activate Venture Partners led the investment round, known as a seed investment round. It was joined by Delaware-based Leading Edge Ventures, New York-based MidCap Equity Partners, LLC, State College-based Ben Franklin Technology Partners and other angel investors.

Angel investors provide capital for a business startup, usually in exchange for ownership equity.

BeneFix declined to disclose details beyond the total raised and the investors that participated.

The fundraising process, which lasted about eight months, took longer than expected because of the interest level from investors, company spokeswoman Sarah Veronis said.

"We oversubscribed the round, and that process added a few months to the closing," Veronis said.

BeneFix plans to use the new funds to continue product development and accelerate growth, according to a news release.

BeneFix offers software that pulls up group health plan quotes for insurance brokers to provide to businesses. The company does businessin four states: Pennsylvania, Colorado, New York and New Jersey.

"We're incredibly proud of how far we have come and are excited by the opportunity in front of us," BeneFix founder and CEO Matt Ranauro said in a statement.

The company will seek additional fundraising if capital is required to execute more quickly, Veronis said.

This was the first formal fundraising done by the company. BeneFix was fundedby Ranauro for the first six months after its inception in 2016, according to Veronis.

The startup has been going full speed ahead since then.

Last March, BeneFix was one of 15 startups selected to pitch their products in Silicon Valley to health insurance industry executives, top brokerage firms and angel investors, among others. Veronis said the goal of the presentation was to raise awareness.

Last September, the startup finished in the top nine in the Rise of the Rest competition. Ranauro made a pitch to AOL founder Steve Case for $0,000 in investment funding. It took place during the seed investment round, Veronis said.

BeneFix has 14 employees and has gone from 46 brokers to more than 1,600 brokers using itsplatform in less than a year, according to Veronis.

Investors were not immediately available for comment.View the full article from the Central Penn Business Journal at http://www.cpbj.com/article/201804/CPBJ01/180419984/investors-pour-nearly-2m-into-lancaster-tech-firm. Copyright 2018 BridgeTower Media. All Rights Reserved.

CREDIT: Shelby White