Flush with $100M, Policygenius ramps up hiring for Durham HQ with 200+ jobs on offer

DURHAM – “Join Durham’s fastest growing startup,” reads the billboard along 15-501 in big, bold red font.

In case you’re out of the loop, it’s talking about Policygenius, an insuretech startup based out of New York.

And ever since it announced plans late last year to expand into the Bull City – ultimately bringing 370 new jobs with an average starting salary of $72,000 — it’s been desperate to get the word out that it’s open for business — and is hiring.

Yesterday, it got another big boost when it announced a $100 million fundraise.

“We’re really excited about the growth that’s coming with our second headquarters in Durham,” its CEO and founder Jennifer Fitzgerald, told WRAL TechWire, just hours after the announcement. “This new round of funding will help us continue to build out our team there, as well as in New York.”

Jennifer Fitzgerald and Francois de Lame, co-founders of Policygenius (PRNewsfoto/Policygenius)

Back in 2014, Fitzgerald and her partner, Francois de Lame, both former McKinsey consultants, launched the online insurance marketplace to make it easier for people to buy and compare insurance in once place.

Since then, it’s grown by around 200 percent every year.

“We added more than 150 employees last year alone to help accommodate the growth we’ve experienced,” said Nadia Danford, Policygenius’ head of recruiting.

It’s now looking to scale, and has a team of around 25 working out of a temporary space at Durham.ID WeWork. By summer, it plans to be fully settled in its permanent home at 555 Mangum in downtown Durham.

“One of the primary reasons for Policygenius’ move to Durham was access to fantastic talent,” said Danford. “The initial batch of career opportunities includes sales and operations roles — but our goal is to build out a fully-operational office inclusive of all divisions.

She added the startup is in the process of developing partnerships with local schools and organizations in the area, and have even invested in broad advertising in downtown Durham to get the word out.

As far as she sees it, this is just the beginning.

“Policygenius anticipates being quite busy with plans to continue to scale our growth in 2020 and the years to come. We will definitely continue to hire to support those efforts to expand our customer reach while also adding new lines of business,” said Danford.

Policygenius is hosting a even hosting its own meet-and-greet with senior leadership at Van Alen Apartments on Thursday, February 6. RSVP here.