ManyPets did not sell a single policy for its first five years. It was founded in 2012. Its first pet insurance went on sale in 2017.
That gap is the story. Steven Mendel and Guy Farley, who run the company as CEO and CTO, did not begin with a product. By their own account in an Octopus Ventures profile, they began by asking thousands of pet owners what was wrong with the insurance they already had. The answer shaped what they built.
I could not verify the period, so read the figures as signals, not facts.
The company was then called Bought By Many, a name that told you the method: group people with the same need, such as owners of pets that mainstream insurers shied away from, and bargain on their behalf. The research pass found no source describing the founders' early lives, schools or birthplaces, so none are claimed here.
Money arrived before revenue. Octopus Ventures invested for the first time in 2016, a year before the first policy, and later led the Series A. Reports put that round at about $9 million in January 2017. Many more followed. By June 2021 a $350 million Series D valued the company at more than $2 billion, according to aggregator data.
The trouble with insurance is that growth costs cash. Claims come before profit. Reported numbers are messy: one summary shows revenue falling 16 percent to GBP 29.6 million for 2024, and a headline mentions a GBP 33 million loss without a clear year. I could not verify the period, so read the figures as signals, not facts.
Still, the company says it covers more than half a million pets worldwide and has added extras: vet video calls, discounts on flea and worming treatment. The Dealroom list used for this ranking values it at $2.4 billion in November 2026.
There is no documented low point in the sources I read, no failed exam, no parent's reaction. What the record does show is patience. Five years of listening before selling, and an investor willing to wait through them.
For a first-time founder the takeaway is practical. Regulated products are slow. If you are going to spend years before the first sale, spend them asking customers what they wish existed, and find the backer who will still be there when you finally launch.