The Story of Billy: Building the Future of Business Insurance Through Construction Tech DNA

A pen pal letter to a boys’ school in Zimbabwe changed the trajectory of tech founder Nyasha Gutsa‘s life. In a recent episode of Category Visionaries, he shared how this chance encounter eventually led to creating Billy, a company reimagining how businesses handle insurance.

From Construction Site to Software Innovation

When the 2008 recession hit, Nyasha found himself working as a construction laborer – a far cry from his accounting degree. “It wasn’t working in an office,” he recalls. “It was as a laborer, working outside. So just doing manual labor.” This hands-on experience would later prove invaluable as he worked his way up to becoming a project accountant and eventually landing at Procore, a leading construction management platform.

The construction industry’s complexity and resistance to change became apparent during his time at Procore. This insight would later shape Billy’s approach to product development and market strategy.

The Pivot That Changed Everything

Billy’s story isn’t a straight line from idea to execution. The company initially set out to solve construction payment problems, a seemingly obvious opportunity given the industry’s antiquated processes. However, they quickly discovered that what looked like inefficiency was actually serving a purpose.

“Construction companies are less willing to go towards electronic payments, especially for really large amounts,” Nyasha explains. “They prefer checks… because they are able to hold that money as leverage to the person who’s getting paid.”

This realization led to a crucial pivot. While investigating the payment ecosystem, they discovered that contractors needed two key documents to get paid: lien waivers and insurance certificates. This led them to a bigger problem hiding in plain sight.

Finding the Real Problem Worth Solving

“The way in which businesses manage their insurance is still horse and buggy,” Nyasha notes. “If I ask you a question like, hey, how do you manage your insurance? You’re probably going to say, I stored my insurance in Gmail, it’s in a folder, it’s with my mom, or I got a call in Jake from State Farm.”

This insight sparked Billy’s transformation into an insurance workflow platform. Rather than trying to change how construction companies handle payments, they focused on modernizing how businesses manage their insurance documentation and relationships.

Building for Speed and Simplicity

Drawing inspiration from successful enterprise software, Billy prioritized ease of adoption. “I’m a big fan of DocuSign software,” Nyasha shares. “You can go and get up and running with DocuSign in just under five minutes. So this is exactly how we built Billy.”

This philosophy extends to their integration strategy: “The integration with Procore is just as simple as log in with your Pro Corps and you’re integrated and start using the software right away. There’s no logins for the other people that have to submit documents because for contractors, that creates a lot of friction.”

Culture as the Foundation

At the heart of Billy’s approach is a strong belief in culture as a growth driver. “I believe that building a people first company allows you to build a forever business,” Nyasha explains. “If the employee shows up engaged and excited, they’re able to solve problems for us. And if they solve problems for us, it drives business… I have a saying which is culture drives business, and business drives culture.”

The Future of Business Insurance

Looking ahead, Billy’s vision extends far beyond construction insurance workflows. They aim to become “the kayak of business insurance, where you just go and you can compare insurance coverage in a couple of minutes. You can purchase it, you can hire or fire your broker if you want, but all powered by Billy.”

This vision represents a fundamental shift in how businesses interact with insurance – moving from fragmented, manual processes to a unified, digital experience. By starting with the specific needs of construction companies and building outward, Billy is creating a new category in business insurance that could transform how companies across industries manage their coverage.

The story of Billy isn’t just about building a better insurance platform – it’s about recognizing when to pivot, understanding the real problems worth solving, and building a culture that can sustain long-term innovation. For founders navigating their own pivots and transformations, it’s a reminder that sometimes the best opportunities aren’t the most obvious ones.