The Great Resignation and staffing shortages require changing compensation and performance tracking. Raising $300,000 for the solution – Symphony talent management system.
COMP21, Inc. is a software company providing a talent management solution for the insurance industry since 2009. COMP21 understands multi-generational talent management trends and what is needed to create a culture of ownership based on the needs of both boomers and millennials. Our product is Symphony - a cloud-based SaaS application that has been in the marketplace for 12 years.
Symphony brings an innovative approach to staff performance, compensation, and agency growth engaging science, psychology, and proven business strategies bringing a needed technology tool to an industry ripe for innovation. We are in Round A raising $300,000 plus a line of credit to complete remaining development, increase marketing, and add specialized staffing for scalable growth over the next 5 years.
The market
The talent management system market is expected to grow from $7B in 2021 to a $13B industry in 2028. While more talent management systems will unquestionably enter the insurance space, Symphony is the only TMS currently available to over 50,000 independent and captive insurance agencies.
Our Why?
If technology alone could solve the challenges of business, we would have a world full of successful, profitable businesses. But technology alone is never the answer. Business owners need a sustainable culture of ownership in which "job renters" become "job owners" to attract and retain top talent.
When the vision for Symphony began in 2009, the objective was to transform the insurance industry by making talent management systems as essential as the agency management system - but with a unique philosophy. Symphony is not in the business of beating the competition. Symphony is in the business of empowering owners whose leadership inspires and changes the lives of their staff who inspire loyal, raving fans – the customers.
This is the "Why" for Symphony. The technology simply provides the "delivery van" to achieve our commitment to transforming agencies.
Why Symphony?
The cloud version of our SaaS talent management system launched in 2019 and is fully functioning in 25 agencies ranging in size from one-man shops to our largest agency with over 70 employees and 14 locations.
The background of science and psychology allows Symphony a unique place in talent management systems. Gamification is used to attract, engage and retain Millennials by offering a point-based reward system as well as gaming-based learning. The onboarding process places each agency owner in a community of other agents with their personal Executive Coach. This team meets regularly and because they are part of a community, owners learn and pass on their experience to others. Symphony also utilizes an AI-powered staff coaching and development platform customizing individualized training opportunities for staff based on their personality type, individual performance, and agency standards.
Symphony has been built such that we can easily expand to the banking, automotive, and real estate market as well as other industries looking for a unique talent management solution. Our platform also includes the option to private label and customize Symphony for consultants and associations wanting talent management resources who don't want the expense and work to build an application of their own.
Why now?
The insurance industry is primed for change.
The migration of a boomer workforce to millennials along with the hybrid workplace continues to drive change, especially with boomer agency owners who feel ill-equipped to manage their new workforce.
Technology continues to redefine the meaning of "customer service" and "customer experience" as well as how work gets done in a dynamically changing workplace.
The Great Resignation continues to flood the market with good people who report burnout, limited compensation, and poor feedback. As a result, we have more jobs available than individuals who want to work. Business owners must do something to attract top talent. Symphony gives owners what they need to offer larger compensation plans because a portion of the compensation is variable pay. Symphony also demonstrates that the agency values its staff, listens to what they have to say, and gives real-time feedback for personal growth and performance.
The problem.
Compensation and staff development are the two most talked-about frustrations among agency owners. Key aspects of doing business (such as digital marketing, VOIP, and electronic filing) have changed, yet staff compensation and performance tracking are essentially unchanged, even though they drive over 50% of every revenue dollar spent.
Agencies lose thousands of dollars every year paying for time served rather than performance and profitability earned. This model rewards staff who take longer to fulfill their responsibilities then tries to bribe change with bonuses and incentive pay that do not work.
Many owners are reluctant managers, resulting in a lack of compliance, accountability, and engagement. Staff often feel they don’t have time for change so they keep doing with feels best for their level of comfort.
Staff is locked into a transactional relationship with their job. They become “job renters” because they lack sufficient knowledge of vision, profitability, and operations to see beyond their job.
The solution.
The need is for a unified platform aligning compensation and performance with how each agency does business.
Incentive pay, including bonuses, cannot result in long-term change. The solution is variable compensation for all staff based on individual and corporate accountability that is both objective and measurable – in which everyone understands it is their job to do their job.
The key to creating "job owners" is a focus on the goal to “Manage processes. Lead people.” in which the focus moves from fixing problems to creating habits that increase buy-in with clearly defined consequences that are both positive and negative. Accountability becomes, “Empowering others to live by the consequences of their decisions.”
Staff must have a way to understand how to evaluate their performance as well as understand the performance and profitability of the entire team. The solution is for staff to become a team that understands how their actions impact the entire agency.
Competitive Edge.
Symphony has been in the marketplace for 12 years, establishing the standard for talent management. While agencies have access to resources offering some talent management services, Symphony is the only system dedicated to the insurance industry. Other competitive advantages include:
Flexibility to customize and private-label Symphony for consultants and associations. This offers the opportunity to provide their customers with a talent management solution without the expense and investment of time to create an application from scratch.
Addressing the needs of both boomers and millennials.
Opportunity for agency owners to become part of a community of other owners under the direction of a dedicated Executive Coach. The coach is responsible to stay in contact with their agencies, facilitate regular meetings of their agency owners, and provide support during the onboarding process.
Leveraging cutting-edge technology such as gamification and AI-driven coaching and staff development.
Opportunity to collect data and analytics then monetize in a way that provides agency owners with a day-to-day formula for growth.
Scalability
Our growth plan is to gain a 3% market share of over 50,000 insurance agencies. Gross revenue for Symphony is projected at $6.4M in 2026. We have the staff sourcing, marketing, onboarding, distribution channels, and customer support plans in place to scale for rapid growth.
Other market opportunities
Symphony is designed in a way such that it can be easily customized for private-label versions and for other industries. Private label opportunities include consultants who want to make a talent management system available to their clients that fit in their philosophy and training model. Other market opportunities include:
CPA/accounting
Banking
Auto
Real estate
Investment opportunity
The investment opportunity is for a cash payment of $300,000 in exchange for 90% equity. In addition:
A line of credit will be made available to be drawn upon during 2022 and 2023 as needed. The LOC will be used to complete all remaining development projects as well as increase marketing and add Executive coaches.
The current management team will remain in place for business continuity and succession planning.
The remaining 10% will be purchased on January 1, 2025.