The ‘Startup’ Looking To Grow in a Market of 100 Million Potential Customers
Compara en Casa, a platform co-founded by Lucas Lezcano Velez that compares insurances, operates in Argentina, Brazil, and Mexico. It has 30,000 customers and manages US$ 15 million in policies.
Lucas Lezcano Velez went to London to study and returned to Cordoba as an entrepreneur. The company he co-founded, Compara en Casa, operates in Argentina, Brazil, and Mexico, and aims to expand into other countries in the region.
It is a platform that uses artificial intelligence to easily quote and compare different insurances and also allows contracting them without charging users a commission. Currently, the startup, created in 2010, has 30,000 customers and manages about US$ 15 million in policies. Lezcano Velez is targeting further growth in Latin America, a market with more than 100 million cars.”The company is in a process of consolidating and solidifying the first two operations outside of Argentina. The objective now is to transfer all the technology to these two countries and increase the scale with the same efficiency that we have here. We believe that by the end of 2024 we can have three consolidated operations and another one starting in another market. The market is very big and there is a lot to do,” said the CEO of the company, who has a degree in Business Administration and an MBA in International Management from the University of London, to which he was awarded a scholarship by the British government.
The business idea emerged in the United Kingdom. “When I bought a new car and had to get insurance for the first time, I saw that everyone used an internet company as if it were a Despegar [Largest Latin American travel agency], but with all the insurance companies, as well as other financial products. There I experienced how easy it was to get insurance for my car without knowing anything about the topic and in a totally foreign market for me. I thought that it could be something very good to bring to Argentina. The service simplified the entire buying process in a few clicks and allowed me to compare the market in seconds and effortlessly,” he recounted.Compara en Casa began with an initial investment from its founder and his wife, Laura, until it was able to secure new contributions. “Together with my wife, we put all our savings, about US$ 20,000, to develop a first site. She worked and paid the living expenses, while I was involved in this part-time and also did consulting to contribute to the household. Later I managed to add friends with amounts of US$ 50,000 and US$ 60,000 that helped pay for the development. Finally, the first British investors arrived through an investment club who put in about US$ 500,000. With that, we returned to Cordoba to form a team and push the business,” he said.The growth took time. “It was a tough road and cost more than I expected,” added Lezcano, who often says that nine out of ten startups “die” in the first five years.Compara en Casa received contributions from angel investors, institutions, and a venture capital fund. In total, they raised US$ 9 million in different investment rounds from funds like IDC Ventures, Fuel Ventures, IRSA, and Hipotecario Seguros, among others.
The entrepreneur from Cordoba has a particular vision regarding the dynamics of securing investors. “To raise capital, you have to prepare yourself and the company. You have to understand how investors work, their lexicon and motivations, and you have to have projects with regional or global scale. Raising capital is not an end in itself or a merit, the real merit is in using that capital efficiently and creating sustainable businesses, which is the most difficult thing. The best way to raise capital is not needing it to grow,” he has said.Lezcano believes that the most complicated part of entrepreneurship is being able to assimilate setbacks and move forward. “I think the most difficult thing about this path is the uncertainty of not knowing what will happen next month or next year. If you are wasting your time or building something worthwhile, if you will be able to draw a salary in three months or have a problem making it to the end of the month,” he pointed out.
According to the founder of Compara en Casa, “the most rewarding aspect of entrepreneurship is exploring new paths and knowing that you can change something in the world. To be an entrepreneur or to be part of a small enterprise in some way is to take charge of your life because your work is very correlated with the success of the company and your personal success”, he concluded.
(By Joaquin Aguirre, LV)
Media Contact
Company Name: Comparaencasa
Contact Person: María Laura Hernández
Email: Send Email
Country: Mexico
Website: https://www.comparaencasa.com/mx/
