Pelican Ventures

Pelican Ventures

Pelican Ventures was founded by industry operator Jim Stanard, structuring as a private investment fund that targets start-up and early-stage property & casualty insurance businesses. The firm explicitly states a preference for majority ownership and provides staged capital, often acting as the sole outside investor in its deals. The strategy centers on originating and scaling insurance concepts where Pelican's network of reinsurers, brokers, and rating agencies can accelerate market entry. Its portfolio spans cyber underwriting (Trium, the Lloyd's syndicate backed by Pelican and due to begin writing in January 2023) and digital distribution (Nsure.com, a home and auto insurance shopping platform that received a strategic co-investment alongside Echo Venture Fund III). Other disclosed interests include Blackpoint Cyber, a managed-security provider for MSPs that closed a $190 million growth round led by Bain Capital Tech Opportunities with Accel in 2023. Team depth comes from operators rather than traditional allocators. Chairman Bob Deutsch and Operating Partner John Lummis bring carrier-side experience, while Managing Director Jayant Khadilkar and CEO Allan Cohen round out a five-professional group working from Coral Gables. The firm has not disclosed total assets or cumulative deployment; its investment capacity is described as evergreen, with no fund-life pressure. Pelican's recent activity includes placing capital into Ariel Re's $270 million capital raise in 2023, alongside five institutional and family office investors. The structural differentiator is Pelican's posture as a co-builder rather than a passive LP. By taking majority stakes early and installing operating partners inside portfolio companies, the firm functions more like an insurance-focused holding-company builder than a conventional venture fund. This architecture lets Pelican concentrate risk into fewer, deeply-supported positions rather than assembling a broad portfolio of minority bets.