The insurance incubator where it all started
At Insurtech Gateway, we’ve always believed the future of insurance would be radically open and tech-enabled. But as with any bold venture, success hinges on timing. When would the insurance industry be ready to embrace such a shift? One of our first portfolio companies, Nayms, may have been just a little too early. Six years of relentless building, iterating, and navigating regulatory complexity created a powerful product—but the market wasn’t quite ready. That time, however, was far from wasted. Those six years forged a team, a platform, and a vision that are now perfectly placed to seize the moment—launching the world’s on-chain reinsurance company, right on time.
This is the story of an audacious idea, a bold pivot, and a journey that began inside our insurance incubator and is now backed by blockchain giants Ethena, Solana Ventures, and RockawayX.
Back in 2018, Dan Roberts walked through Gateway’s door with a single, searing question:
What role could blockchain play in risk transfer?
Fast-forward to 2025, and that spark has become OnRe—a reinsurance business with over $10 million of deployable capital, cutting-edge compliance infrastructure, and some of the biggest names in crypto cheering them on.
“It’s a full change,” explains Dan. “We’re not just rebranding Nayms—we’ve completely restructured the company: new name, new team, new tech, new investors, and most importantly, a clearer, cleaner proposition.”
Hitting Reset with Rocket Fuel
Let’s be candid: by the end of 2024, Nayms was in a tight spot. As Dan puts it, “We were trying to consolidate our business offering but, Nayms was in a pretty bad position, and Rockaway came in with the willingness to reset everything.”
The result is a fresh start with a smarter, sharper product and a dramatically accelerated development pace. “We built better tech in two months than what we managed in four years,” Dan laughs. “You only move that fast when you’ve learned the hard way what not to build.”
Why OnRe Is Different
What sets OnRe apart from the original Nayms positioning? In short—everything.
While traditional reinsurers operate behind closed doors, OnRe is a tokenised reinsurer—backed by crypto-native capital, but underwriting real-world risks. Investors deploy stable digital assets into a fully compliant reinsurance pool allocated across diversified insurance lines, to generate consistent real-world yield in both bull and bear markets — a return profile not replicable in traditional finance.
“We’re writing real-world lines like property catastrophe, cyber, D&O… but the capital sits transparently on-chain,” says Dan. “Investors receive the ONe token in return, which is composable across DeFi. You get yield from underwriting and utility from the token. The LP token has seen over $5m in secondary liquidity in the first few days of launch”.
One of the most important shifts from Nayms to OnRe was the decision to simplify.
“In the early days, we delegated underwriting authority across multiple small, segregated pools,” Dan reflects. “It fragmented the platform, made onboarding messy, and concentrated risk in ways that held us back.”
That experience led to a fundamental rethink. “Now, with OnRe, we’ve consolidated everything into a single capital pool,” he explains. “It gives us diversification, continuous fundraising capability, and a much cleaner narrative. We’re a reinsurer—and this is your way in. One pool. One token. One strategy.”
The Rock
At Gateway, we don’t just write cheques—we roll up our sleeves. From the buzz of DeFi summer to navigating crypto winters, we’ve stood beside Dan and his team through every thrilling surge forwards and every setback.
“Building a successful venture is a journey filled with highs and lows,” Dan reflects. “And entrepreneurs need partners who are there for both. Insurtech Gateway has been that partner—providing expert guidance during challenges and strategic insight when it’s time to scale.”
Dan credits Gateway with “connecting us to the right underwriters, helping us position with Lloyd’s syndicates, and most importantly, being a rock through turbulent times.”
Big-Name Backers, Bigger Ambitions
OnRe isn’t just a fresh coat of paint. It’s launching with serious momentum and serious firepower:
- Seeded with $10 million of TVL from RockawayX
- sUSDe (Ethena’s stable asset) as its collateral base
- A new liquid token composable across the Solana ecosystem
“These aren’t just cheques,” Dan says. “Ethena, Solana Ventures, and Rockaway each bring unique strengths—asset issuance, blockchain infrastructure, and liquidity. That kind of alignment is rare.”
Last week marked the launch of OnRe’s live, liquid, on-chain reinsurance pool, offering unprecedented access to a once-opaque asset class. But this is just the beginning.
“We’re aiming to build the most transparent reinsurance balance sheet in the world,” says Dan. “And honestly, it’s not a particularly high bar. Most reinsurance financials are quarterly PDFs. We’re building a dashboard you can view in real-time.”
From regulatory-first foundations to cutting-edge token mechanics, OnRe is setting the blueprint for a new kind of reinsurer—liquid, transparent, and accessible. Watch this space. The future of reinsurance is already unfolding.
Advice for Founders: Get stuck in
So what would Dan say to other founders hoping to follow in his footsteps?
“Start small. Join the conversation. Don’t try to do it all at once. If you’re new, come work for someone already building in this space—then go launch your own.”
Dan is refreshingly open about the need for more players in this emerging category. “Honestly, more competition would be a good thing,” he says. “It helps validate the space and raises the bar for everyone.”
For Dan, this is about building a movement, not just a company. “We’ve laid the foundation—regulatory paths, stable asset acceptance, precedent-setting structures. Now it’s time for others to build on top of that. Whether you’re a crypto-native founder or a traditional insurance player, there’s room to contribute.”
And for the incumbents still watching cautiously from the sidelines?
“Open a wallet. Learn how stable assets work. You don’t have to dive in, but you do have to start,” he urges. “Find someone internally who’s hungry to drive innovation.”
Whether you’re launching a new venture or evolving an established one, Dan’s advice is clear: don’t wait for perfect timing—start early, build conviction, and be ready when the world catches up.
From Incubation to Industry Redefinition
As a pre-seed insurance incubator, our mission at Gateway is to find, fund, and fight for the most ambitious ideas in insurance. OnRe is exactly that: ambitious, resilient, and determined to rewrite the rules.
From the day Dan walked through our doors with a fascinating question, to the formation of Nayms, to this bold relaunch as OnRe—it’s been a privilege to be part of the journey.
Get in touch
At Insurtech Gateway we’re passionate about backing founders like Dan, who rip up the rule book and build a new vision from scratch. If you have a bold business idea we can give you funding and support, so get in touch.