Progress

E8: Jon DeWald, on building HelixIntel in Buffalo

Interviewing the builders, doers, and creators powering Buffalo's economic revival.

Deferred maintenance in the U.S. has ballooned to $9.1 trillion, and it's the single biggest driver of rising insurance claims. On this episode of The Series B Podcast, Jon DeWald, founder and CEO of HelixIntel, breaks down how his company is flipping the insurance industry's business model from paying for losses to paying for prevention.

Jon walks us through HelixIntel's new analytics engine, Helix Prevent, and explains why insurers are now subsidizing the software tools that facility and maintenance teams use every day. We also get into Jon's path from Marine Corps veteran to serial founder in the proptech and cleantech space, why he chose to build a national, insurance-facing company out of Buffalo, and what he sees as the connective tissue between Buffalo's cluster of insurtech companies.

In this episode:

  • What Helix Prevent actually does and why insurers are footing the bill
  • The $9.1 trillion deferred maintenance problem 
  • Why HelixIntel chose Buffalo 
  • The role 43North and ACV Auctions played in derisking Buffalo as a startup market
  • What success looks like for HelixIntel five years out