Conversation
Highlights

• Traditional industries are often seen as resistant to technological change, but Jon DeWald’s approach with Helix Intel reveals a different story. In a recent Category Visionaries episode, Jon shared how his company achieved remarkable growth by creating aligned incentives across multiple stakeholders in the property and equipment management space.

  Finding the Right Distribution Channel While many startups struggle with customer acquisition costs, Jon’s team discovered a powerful go-to-market strategy through insurance companies. “We provide solutions for insurers who then in turn provide our solutions to the customers that they insure,” Jon explains. This B2B2C approach has proven remarkably efficient, enabling rapid scaling while maintaining reasonable burn rates.

  The results speak for themselves: “So far this year, we’ve added over 100,000 buildings onto our platform,” compared to approximately 15,000 the previous year. This dramatic growth stems from deeply embedding into the insurance industry’s processes and understanding their unique challenges.

  The Power of Strategic Corporate Partnerships Rather than pursuing traditional venture capital, Jon opted for strategic corporate partnerships. “I’m a big fan of corporate venture capital… you have folks who are very sophisticated in capital allocation, but also bring value creation for the startup,” he shares. This approach led to backing from Munich Reventures, the world’s largest reinsurance company.

  Understanding Industry Pain Points Jon identified a critical shift in the insurance industry: claims are increasing and outpacing premiums. This creates an opportunity for technology solutions that can help prevent problems before they become claims. “Insurers are really driving towards helping properties understand what they have and then potentially paying for some or all of a problem before it becomes a claim,” Jon explains.

  The Importance of Industry-Specific Communication One of the biggest challenges was learning to communicate effectively with different stakeholders. “It is a different language, and you probably say that about every industry,” Jon notes. “The way I think about it… they speak utility, right? Insurer speak insure property. Speak property. And having the ability to understand and communicate value to each one of them is instrumental.”

  Building the Right Team Jon emphasizes the importance of understanding team members’ core strengths: “This is my first traditional software business, and I’ve had to learn quite a bit about product development, product management, software development.” He credits much of their success to bringing in the right talent and being willing to learn from them.

  The Future Vision Looking ahead, Jon sees an opportunity to connect multiple ecosystems: “We’re building operating software that brings multiple ecosystems together under one platform.” This vision extends beyond just property management to include insurers, utilities, manufacturers, distributors, and contractors.

  For B2B founders targeting traditional industries, Jon’s experience offers valuable lessons in finding efficient distribution channels, aligning stakeholder incentives, and building strategic partnerships. Success often comes not from disrupting existing players, but from creating aligned incentives that enable collaboration across the ecosystem.

  As Jon puts it, “We’re in this unique space where we don’t compete with anyone. We’re really a new business model and a new ecosystem that collaborates.” This collaborative approach, combined with deep industry understanding and strategic partnerships, provides a blueprint for founders looking to transform traditional industries while maintaining capital efficiency and sustainable growth.