Australian FinTech company profile #174 – JAVLN
1. Company Name: JAVLN
2. Website: www.javln.com
3. Key Staff & Titles:
- Chief Executive Officer: Dale Smith
- Chief Operating Officer: Nick Sutton
- Chief Financial Officer: James Greenway
- Chief Product Officer: Matt Sealy
- Chief Technology Officer: Peter Zhang
4. Location(s): Auckland, Melbourne, Sydney, Philippines
5. In one sentence, what does your fintech do?: Developed to suit the needs of modern insurance brokers and underwriting agents. JAVLN is a cutting-edge, cloud-based platform that centralises client, policies and claims management in one place, helping clients dramatically boost productivity, sell more policies, and take on more clients.
6. How / why did you start your fintech company?: JAVLN was founded when I saw how inflexible legacy tech systems were holding the insurance industry back. I saw an opportunity for modern software to better serve the insurance profession in improving insurance processes and customer experience, which ultimately drives productivity and profitability.
Brokers and Underwriting Agencies are facing increasing pressure around selling more, ensuring compliance and making informed decisions — all of which can be served if they had better technology to support them. That’s what JAVLN offers, peace of mind when it comes to managing their work in one place!
7. What is the best thing your company has achieved or learnt along the way (this can include awards, capital raising etc)?: What first comes to mind has to be our AUD$6.7 million capital raising round in partnership with Australian pre-IPO fund manager Bombora. We’re particularly proud of this deal as it marks Bombora’s first investment in New Zealand, and it was a clear vote of confidence in JAVLN’s potential, as we were one of the first New Zealand-domiciled start-ups to access the Australian pre-IPO market as a precursor to a future ASX listing.
More recently, we were selected as one of ten winners of the Absolute IT Supreme Scale-Ups award in the 2023 TIN Report. The recognition evaluates the yearly performance of NZ’s 200 largest technology exporters, so I was particularly stoked to see JAVLN included.
8. What’s some advice you’d give to an aspiring start-up?:
Be determined to succeed. Building a start-up has many challenges, so hold onto that determination and grit, as that will push you on.
9. What’s next for your company? And are you looking to expand overseas or stay focussed on Australia?: Our focus is on growing our presence in Australia, with a goal of listing on the ASX. International expansion is definitely on the books — there’s so many brokers who are still stuck in the past with clunky insurance technology, so we’re tenacious about showing them what JAVLN can do for them!
10. What other fintechs or companies do you admire?: Xero and Netsuite. As leaders in their respective industries, they have a strong focus on innovation, are customer-centric, and have a strong track record of success that we want to emulate!
11. What’s the most interesting or funniest moment that’s happened in your company’s lifetime?: Being asked to participate in NIBA’s Great Debate alongside other Aussie insurance leaders — arguing against “The role of an Insurance Broker in 2030 will be remarkably different to what it is today.” The highlight was winning for sure!
