officer Heather Johnston. She’s the former founder and CEO of Find My Spot, a Milwaukee-based apartment-hunting service that is no longer operating.
Moonrise’s access to leaders, technology, and other resources at American Family could help the startup get significant numbers of users and employers to sign up early on. Moonrise says its parent company gives it “direct access to millions of potential workers that don’t typically use temporary staffing agencies.” In addition to its individual and family customers, American Family provides insurance coverage to businesses in a variety of industries.
Moonrise is the latest example of American Family investing in, collaborating with, or incubating a technology startup. The insurer launched American Family Ventures in 2010, and has reportedly authorized it to make up to $200 million in investments. One of the venture fund’s best known portfolio companies is Santa Monica, CA-based Ring, which makes Internet-connected doorbells sold by Costco (NASDAQ: [[ticker:COST]]) and other retailers. American Family also partnered with Microsoft (NASDAQ: [[ticker:MSFT]]) in 2014 on a startup accelerator program focused on home automation.
