What’s functionality, futurism, and faith got to do with raising funds? They’re part of a four-part recipe that’s been attracting Unicorn hunters for decades.

The story investors want to hear is one of repeatable success rooted in technical precision. In this industry, that means a product fundamentally changes the economics of underwriting, risk selection, or claims. The volatility we’re seeing in markets is forcing VCs to be more conservative, so what they want now are companies that play well with others.

A Four-Square Foundation

The term four-square comes from construction, and I use it to signify that investors are not just looking at your code or your ideas, they’re looking for a solid structure that they can build on. They know that the future isn’t a platform in isolation. It’s an ecosystem of APIs, machine learning models, and decision tools that combine to create compound value. If you’re building in InsurTech, show how you can be a core utility in that stack. You have to show up with a structure built to grow and withstand the unexpected.