The New York Giants cornerback talks to Boardroom about his new company PorchPals, a platform that provides insurance on packages.
New York Giants cornerback Adoree’ Jackson specializes in the art of theft on NFL game days. The hard-hitting corner matches receivers step for step, using his position to prevent big plays and intercept passes.
The interception is the NFL’s most exciting form of stealing. Yet, theft is never as stimulating when an anticipated package is stolen off your porch during the holiday season. Once the game is over and the locker room clears after a heated divisional rivalry, Jackson and his business partner James Moore decided to tackle theft for Americans through PorchPals, a new take on package insurance during the holiday season.
In a cutthroat world of raising venture capital, Jackson and Moore funded PorchPals through their venture arm, KME Ventures. The product is a digital platform that delivers hard-working Americans package insurance for online orders.
According to Security.org, 19% of American adults – or 49 million consumers – had at least one delivery stolen with a median value of $50.00 leading to November 2021. CNBC states that throughout 2022, an estimated 260 million delivered packages were stolen, according to a report from SafeWise. The estimate was 210 million a year before, demonstrating a surge in a rising issue that occurs more frequently during the holiday season.
With only 5% to 8% of consumers reaching out to the police for stolen packages, Adoree’ and Moore saw a societal problem that needed a solution.
Initially, the plan wasn’t to get into the insurance industry. In fact, the evolution of PorchPals advanced from an earlier concept of a neighborhood ambassador program.
“One of your neighbors (would get) designated as a neighborhood ambassador. That member would then collect packages off your porch or by your doorway. You could either have them move it to your home, and then they could be on the lookout for it, or you could have the package delivered to that ambassador’s home, and then they would collect it for you, and then they would message you, via an app,” said Moore to Boardroom.
However, their original vision quickly changed after acknowledging two significant system flaws; safety, regulations, and laws for home-based businesses. There was virtually no way to guarantee the safety of a package transaction for Home-based businesses must be registered and licensed, creating a neverending puzzle of rules varying by county, city, and state.
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How PorchPals Works
Thus, the current version of what PorchPals today was born. But what exactly is PorchPals, and how does it work?
- Customers pay $15 monthly (or $120 annually) for blanket coverage to insure packages shipped by any retailer using any primary shipper.
- PorchPals covers up to three claims yearly or a pooled value of up to $2,000.
- Policies became available in California on November 28, with plans to expand nationally in early 2023.
Filing a Claim
- Open an account online and head to your PorchPals dashboard.
- Process a claim from your dashboard by answering specific questions about the loss. Describe the package, when it was lost, and proof of invoice or receipt.
- Provide a tracking number from FedEx, UPS, or Amazon and a copy of your ID.
- Claims correspondents respond to the claim in a max window of 72 hours.
- Your account is accredited from the app via an electronic payment of a user’s choice.
For Adoree’, capitalizing on various ventures in his business portfolio was crucial to his business growth. Alongside Moore, who Jackson sees as a well-rounded, knowledgeable businessman, the two were able to connect and dispel a negative stigma on athletes in the business world.
“You know, it’s crazy,” said a passionate Adoree’ to Boardroom. “People have this stigma on athletes. Like, ‘Oh, I was afraid to say this, or they come up and speak to you ’cause I didn’t know.’ But now, having (James around) to bridge that gap is very helpful. We both have the mindset that we don’t want this to be short-term. We want it to be long-term. And then generational.”
Regarding the future direction of PorchPals, Jackson and Moore are keen on servicing their current members. However, with 134 million porches in serviceable areas across the United States, the duo envisions the ability to become a bolt-on service to a larger platform. And with a capital base in London and Canada, the possibility of expanding internationally can be executed when ready.
“It’s just like playing ball,” said Jackson. “Just trying to go 1-0 each week. Everything is a stepping stone and a milestone for us at the end of the day.
‘Just focus on the moment. You can’t think too far ahead. You can’t think too far behind. Having London and Canada (capital) allows us to do more. Pieces are in play, but our focus right now is to the members that we work with in the states, making sure they’re all looked after and taken care of before we go and try to branch out and do different things.”
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