Rhino, the insurtech startup incubated by Kairos and co-founded by Kairos CEO Ankur Jain, has today announced the close of a $21 million Series A round led by Kairos and Lakestar.

Rhino was founded in 2017 with the goal of getting back to renters the billions of dollars that are locked up in cash security deposits, all while protecting landlords and their property. As it stands now, landlords usually take one month’s rent to cover any damage that might be done to the apartment during the lease. This is piled on top of first and sometimes last month’s rent, and even at times a broker’s fee of one month’s rent, which adds up to an incredibly steep cost of moving.

Because of certain regulations, this money is held in an individual escrow account and can’t really generate interest, which results in billions of dollars zapped out of the economy and instead sitting dead in some account.

Rhino is looking to give renters the option to pay a small monthly fee (as low as $3) to cover an insurance policy for the landlord. Rhino is itself a managing general agent, allowing the company to both sell and create policy plans for landlords through partnerships with carriers.

Thus far the startup has saved renters upwards of $60 million in 2019, with users in more than 300,000 rental units across the country.

“The greatest challenge is working against legacy and industry norms,” said Rhino CEO and co-founder Paraag Sarva. “That start has begun, but there is a huge amount of inertia behind the status quo and that is far and away what we are most challenged by day in and day out.”

To help speed up the process, Rhino is working alongside policymakers to enact change on a federal level.

Alongside the funding announcement, the company is announcing its new policy proposal that was created in collaboration with federal, state and local government officials. The policy essentially allows for renters to be given a choice when it comes to cash deposits, including allowing residents to cover security deposits in installments or use insurtech products like Rhino to cover deposits.

Rhino says it will be sharing the policy proposal with 2020 presidential candidates on both sides of the aisle.

Rhino is one of a handful of companies that has been incubated by Kairos, a startup studio led by Ankur Jain with the goal of solving the biggest problems faced by everyday Americans. The studio focuses on housing and healthcare, with companies such as Rhino, June Homes, Little Spoon, Cera and a couple of startups still in stealth.

Source: Tech Crunch Startups | Rhino looks to replace renters’ security deposits with a small monthly fee

Meet DataHawk, a French startup that wants to build a sort of App Annie for Amazon listings. The company lets you track products and search results so you can learn more about your competitors and your space.

This sort of product is becoming increasingly relevant as more and more products sold on Amazon are listed directly on Amazon by third-party companies on Amazon’s marketplace.

If you’re selling products on Amazon, chances are that your performance depends on search results. Many customers search for a product and look at the first results. So you want to rank as high as possible on important keywords.

With DataHawk, you can track any keyword and see how the results evolve over time. This way, if your sales drop, now you know why. The platform can help you tweak your listings to rank higher.

You also can track products directly to spot changes in the product title, price, reviews and description. Because DataHawk uses scrapping, you’re not limited to your own products — you can monitor products from your competitors.

You can visualize data from the DataHawk interface or export everything to Excel spreadsheets. You also can receive email alerts.

DataHawk has raised $1.3 million from Axeleo Capital and business angels. The company has 140 clients so far, with 80% of them in the U.S. Clients include PharamaPacks, Pfizer and L’Oréal. It currently tracks 2.6 million products every day.

The company operates as a software-as-a-service with a free plan to try out the service and monthly plans that get more expensive as you track more products and keywords.

Source: Tech Crunch Startups | DataHawk provides e-commerce analytics so you can optimize your listings

If you’ve been to an airport recently, you’ve probably spotted a ton of iconic Away suitcases. The company has built one of the most successful consumer brands in recent years, and it’s just getting started. That’s why I’m excited to announce that Away co-founder and Chief Brand Officer Jen Rubio will join us at TechCrunch Disrupt Berlin.

Away has been around since 2015, long before a ton of direct-to-consumer brands took over Instagram ads. Thanks to this early bet, thoughtful design and amazing branding, Away has managed to sell more than 1 million suitcases.

More recently, the company has started to expand to other travel gear, such as backpacks, weekenders and organizers. Away now even has a handful of brick-and-mortar stores in the U.S. and London.

Earlier this year, the startup raised a $100 million round at a $1.4 billion valuation. Back in 2018, Away even said that it was already profitable.

Jen Rubio has been instrumental to Away’s success. She was the head of social media at Warby Parker when she thought about building Away. And I’m sure she has many tips for the next generation of direct-to-consumer entrepreneurs.

Buy your ticket to Disrupt Berlin to listen to this discussion — and many others. The conference will take place December 11-12.

In addition to panels and fireside chats, like this one, new startups will participate in the Startup Battlefield to compete for the highly coveted Battlefield Cup.

( function() {
var func = function() {
var iframe = document.getElementById(‘wpcom-iframe-8c04370dcd5ec52297bec6ccf0dd3a5b’)
if ( iframe ) {
iframe.onload = function() {
iframe.contentWindow.postMessage( {
‘msg_type’: ‘poll_size’,
‘frame_id’: ‘wpcom-iframe-8c04370dcd5ec52297bec6ccf0dd3a5b’
}, “https://tcprotectedembed.com” );
}
}

// Autosize iframe
var funcSizeResponse = function( e ) {

var origin = document.createElement( ‘a’ );
origin.href = e.origin;

// Verify message origin
if ( ‘tcprotectedembed.com’ !== origin.host )
return;

// Verify message is in a format we expect
if ( ‘object’ !== typeof e.data || undefined === e.data.msg_type )
return;

switch ( e.data.msg_type ) {
case ‘poll_size:response’:
var iframe = document.getElementById( e.data._request.frame_id );

if ( iframe && ” === iframe.width )
iframe.width = ‘100%’;
if ( iframe && ” === iframe.height )
iframe.height = parseInt( e.data.height );

return;
default:
return;
}
}

if ( ‘function’ === typeof window.addEventListener ) {
window.addEventListener( ‘message’, funcSizeResponse, false );
} else if ( ‘function’ === typeof window.attachEvent ) {
window.attachEvent( ‘onmessage’, funcSizeResponse );
}
}
if (document.readyState === ‘complete’) { func.apply(); /* compat for infinite scroll */ }
else if ( document.addEventListener ) { document.addEventListener( ‘DOMContentLoaded’, func, false ); }
else if ( document.attachEvent ) { document.attachEvent( ‘onreadystatechange’, func ); }
} )();

Jen Rubio is the co-founder and Chief Brand Officer of Away, a global lifestyle brand that’s working to transform the entire travel experience. Under her leadership, Away has been named one of Fast Company’s “World’s Most Innovative Companies,” one of TIME’s “50 Most Genius Companies,” one of LinkedIn’s “Top Startups,” and a Forbes “Next Billion Dollar Start-Up.”

Before starting Away, Jen built her career as a branding, creative, and social media expert, redefining how customers and brands connect at companies like Warby Parker and AllSaints. She has been named to Fortune’s 40 Under 40, the Forbes 30 Under 30 list for Marketing and Advertising, Inc.’s 30 under 30 list, and NRF’s People Shaping Retail’s Future list. She lives in New York.

Source: Tech Crunch Startups | Jen Rubio to tell us the secrets behind Away’s success at Disrupt Berlin

Great news for time-strapped early-stage startup founders across Europe and beyond! We’re extending our application deadline to the Startup Battlefield at Disrupt Berlin 2019 on 11-12 December. If you’re ready to launch your startup on a global stage and compete for glory, cash, media attention and investor love, it’s time to act.

Apply to Startup Battlefield before the new deadline window expires on October 4 at 11:59 p.m. PT.

Applying to and participating in a Startup Battlefield is free — no fees, no equity, just good old-fashioned value. You have nothing to lose and much to gain. TechCrunch editors will sift through hundreds of applications and select only 15-20 startups — the best of the best — to step onto the Main Stage at Disrupt Berlin.

Selected founders all receive intensive (and free) pitch coaching from TechCrunch editors. Their expertise will help you prepare your pitch and perfect your demo. During the Battlefield, you’ll have just six minutes to present your case in front of the judges — a panel of technologists and investors — followed by a Q&A.

If you survive to round two, you’ll do it all over again in front of a fresh set of equally smart judges. And while only one outstanding startup will walk away with the coveted Disrupt Cup and the $50,000 prize, all participating teams benefit from massive media and investor exposure. It’s a potentially life-changing opportunity.

All the thrilling action takes place on the Disrupt Main Stage in front of thousands of avid startuppers, journalists and investors. Plus, we record and live-stream the entire event around the world.

So far, Startup Battlefield pitch competitions have launched 857 stellar tech companies, which form our Startup Battlefield alumni community. They’ve collectively raised $8.9 billion and produced 112 exits. You’ll join the ranks of companies like Vurb, Dropbox, Mint, Yammer and many more.

The Startup Battlefield takes place at Disrupt Berlin 2019 on 11-12 December. Don’t be so busy that you miss this extended opportunity to shine a bright spotlight on your startup. Apply to Startup Battlefield before 11:59 p.m. PT on October 4. Come and show the world what you can do!

Need passes to Disrupt Berlin? Buy them here; get the super early-bird price and save up to €600.

Is your company interested in sponsoring or exhibiting at Disrupt Berlin 2019? Contact our sponsorship sales team by filling out this form.

Source: Tech Crunch Startups | Application extension: pitch in Startup Battlefield at Disrupt Berlin