Betsy Tong is the CEO & Co-Founder of Honistly.
Tell us about your company. What inspired you to start it?
Our goal is to build an alternative one-stop financial services brand starting with the car and eventually protecting the stuff people every day. Today people spend $44B on warranties to protect their things. We started in the $17B auto sector and see a major opportunity to reach the digital generation with a modern service experience. My co-founders and I launched a traditional brokerage and did $8.7M in sales in less than a year. The market insight we developed showed we could build a better mousetrap and appeal to the digital generation car owner.
Who are your cofounders and what makes you a great team?
Collectively we have decades of experience in online demand generation for major brands, building global warranty operations and risk management. Our expertise allows us to bring a new perspective to an old industry.
How is your company making a difference?
We provide smarter ways to manage everyday emergency expenses.
What are some of the challenges you have faced?
The industry has a bad reputation. It is a powerful thing to just say we pay claims.
What is your biggest win?
We have done the hard work of building an integrated, licensed warranty provider. This includes getting licensed in 30 states, integrating backend marketing automation tools with the front end online experience.
Who is your role model?
Rohre Titcomb
What do you wish you had known before starting your company?
How great the experience is. The experience is harder than anything I have done before, but the freedom and the knowledge that it is on us is liberating.
What is your CEO superpower?
Making ideas grow into big businesses.
