Zinc Platform: Part Functioning, Part Forward Looking

NYC-based insurance startup Zinc Platform has recently announced its partnership with Distortion Bros, a Montara, CA-based online guitar shop “founded with a passion for getting loud and a deep admiration for modern instrument craftsmanship.” This partnership allows Distortion Bros to sell product insurance against loss, theft and damage at the POS using Zinc’s technology. Have a look:

Specifically, in this case, coverage is underwritten by Hanover:

Zinc was established in 2016 by Rafael Telahun and Sam Li to offer a cross-selling insurance platform for several lines of business including: product, and pet. It is backed by Titan Partners and BoxGroup; to name two. BTW, cofounder Rafael Telahun is also the cofounder of Titan Partners. And, it operates both a B2B2C model (example: Distortion Bros) and a D2C model, look here:

Sounds good, right? Maybe.

According to the startup’s site, it has a partnership in place with Trupanion. Further, it highlights three testimonials from three brands: Yomaira Animal Care, Germanton Groomers and First Pet Supply; brands, we found no record of.

BTW, if you look closely, the background photo behind Yomaira Animal Care is actually of the offices of Seville Veterinary Hospital.

Last, the startup uses a stock photo on its testimonial page:

As evident by this:

And this:

Looks like the case of a startup that has managed to secure testimonials on a product that has yet to launch; that, or the case of an outdated website.

PS. Trupanion and Seville Veterinary Hospital didn’t respond to our request for comment.