Jane Young and Jeff Cavins were sitting in the base conference room of the Vancouver Hotel in the suburbs, squandering under a fluorescent light, and endless power point, and between them a miserable Styrofoam cup of coffee. Young was on a marketing deal. Kevins was a member of the board. They shared a look that only couples can understand. It said: There could be something better than this. With 40 years of technology companies running under the Kevin Belt and a successful advertising agency career under Young, the two have decided to build a business around their passion to stay out of nature.
When they realized that there are more than 20 million recreational vehicles across the United States, most of which are only used for a few days, they saw an opportunity. They asked themselves: How do we create memorable outdoor experiences and make them available to everyone? The sharing economies of Uber, LAFT, and Airbnb have already laid the groundwork. Why not open it in RVs?
In 2014, Young and Kevins invested their life savings abroad, selling their home and jumping into an Airstream Eddie Bauer trailer. For seven months, the couple traveled across the United States to conduct market research on travelers and RV owners to form the foundation of their company. In June, outsourced ADAR1 raised $90 million in a series of D led by partners, as well as another $30 million in financing from Pacific Western Bank.
In the insuretech business abroad, this money will be used in large part to accelerate the growth of Romley. The same month, the company announced a partnership with Glamping Company Collective Retreats to expand outdoor offers.
Jane Young: When we were on the road, we had to experience that customer for hundreds of days every day. So we were able to pick right here and identify what were the biggest pain points for the tenant and the landlord and start dealing with them first. For example, we understand the most important from an insurance perspective because we can hear the voices of tenants and owners – they consider these issues in many cases with their children.
