The Inspire Insurtech Interview’ series is designed to inspire fellow insurtechs. We want to share who they are, what they do, and what we can expect from them in the future.
This month we are talking to Grant Beck, CEO and Co-Founder of BeThere Group. Enjoy!
Tell us BeThere’s brief pitch.
BeThere™ is an Australian Insurtech startup and the first all-in-one reality capture solution, providing virtual tours and associated documentation to insurance companies, restorers, builders and other relevant service providers, as well as clients. Every tour gives you an immersive 3D space with high-resolution images and detail that traditional photos can’t deliver.
BeThere™ can also assist with documenting safety audits, risk identification and workplace emergency response planning. Whether you’re looking for an overview of a catastrophe, a pre-policy documentation scan or a simple audit tool, BeThere™ can support your needs.
So how did BeThere begin?
BeThere was a true beer coaster of an idea. While working on a drone pilot program with a previous insurance employer, I met Simon Wojcik our COO, and we spoke over dinner at a remote pub in Broken Hill on how these types of technology can help insurance incumbents provide clear and concise digital evidence of damage be it pre-existing or event-related.
During our progression from idea to MVP, I was able to pilot the solution on several large Fire scene investigations; and managed to achieve a $250,000 saving from one fraudulent claim and many recoveries claims was aided by the ability to review the entire fire scene long after it been demolished.
How has BeThere evolved since its inception?
BeThere started as 2 men and a camera, and now we have captured 1000’s of spaces for all sorts of industries. From abattoirs to airports and from buildings built-in 2020 to hidden tunnels constructed in 1912.
There is not much BeThere hasn’t been able to capture. In 2019 the rapid growth and success of BeThere earnt both Simon and I to become finales in the Brisbane 2019 Young Entrepreneurs awards. We didn’t take home the win, but to be nominated was an achievement we both were humbled to have received.
Today we are spread across several industries from Real Estate and Childcare to Insurance and Investigations.
What is your team currently working on for 2020, or what have you accomplished recently?
Currently, we are working closely with our partners to push bigger and better than ever in the digital capture space and also other emerging technologies that will help support and train the next generation of the workforce in a post-Covid world. 
Covid shook a lot of us up at the beginning with the uncertainty of what was to come. Still, now with people working from home, business reopening, people are turning to this sort of technology for support to reach people digitally and we see the befits to areas not even we thought possible.
A recent key project piece is about to go live for Open Sydney 2020 with the launch of our St James Tunnels project being released to the public.
This was a dream of Simons to be able to capture an iconic piece of Sydneys History and to spend 9 days underground completing the project was something I don’t think either of us will forget.
How does BeThere give back?
BeThere is an Autusim approved provider and have been providing digital spaces for people who have Autism to being to interact with spaces they will come into contact within a safe and secure environment before being introduced into the real world space. We have seen amazing results in this space and a passion Simon is heavily focused on.
Me personally I’ve been a member of the NSW Rural Fire service for almost 15 Years and most recently spent many weeks on the Gospers Mountain mega-fire helping in a variety of different roles from ground operations to remote area fire fighting and liaising with the community to provide up to date information.
What is BeThere‘s biggest challenge in today’s market?
Adoption – We have found people are scared to make the first step, trail the product, and see the long term benefits. In the current Covid lockdown, we have found people have been forced to adapt to technology, and Insurtech solutions are leading the way in this transition.
We hope that this trend keeps pushing forward for all Insurtechs to be able to showcase our solutions and how they can help all facets of Insurance.
Anything else you’d like to say that we didn’t ask?
BeThere is keen to chat with anyone who thinks this sort of technology could be put to use in their space. Feel free to reach out at Simon@bethere.net.au or Grant@bethere.net.au. Thanks to Insurtech Australia for the ongoing support and look forward to expanding into 2020 and 2021.
In the meantime to have a look at everything BeThere offers head over to https://bethere.net.au/
Thank You.
