Cake
The first digital marketplace for buying and selling insurance books of business -- empowering independent agents to unlock liquidity and grow.
Overview
Cake is an Indianapolis-based insurtech platform that created the first digital marketplace for buying and selling insurance books of business. The company enables independent insurance agents and agencies to buy, sell, and trade their client account portfolios through a transparent, technology-driven platform -- without relying on traditional broker intermediaries.
Founded in 2021 by Adam Bowe, Brook Smith, and John Clemmens, Cake addresses a long-standing gap in the independent agency market: the absence of a modern, accessible channel for agents seeking to monetize or grow their books of business outside traditional private equity routes. The platform targets agencies with annual recurring revenue under USD 1.25M, supporting both whole-book and fractional "slice" transactions. Cake's founders describe its model as a Carvana-like approach to insurance M&A -- built by an independent agent, for independent agents.
In February 2024, Cake secured USD 1.3M in pre-seed funding led by venture capital firm Markd, with participation from strategic partners including 2ndF, Iridium Bloom LLC, 101 Weston Labs, and IIANC (Independent Insurance Agents of North Carolina).
Products & Services
Book of Business Marketplace
A digital platform where agents can list, discover, and transact on insurance books of business and individual account slices.
Key Features
- Transparent, commission-free listing with simple 3% seller fee on deal closure
- Support for whole-book and fractional ("slice") transactions
- Carrier, state, and line-of-business filtering for buyers
- Integration with agency management systems for data upload
Target Users: Independent insurance agents and agencies in the US
ML-Powered Valuation Engine
Proprietary machine learning technology providing instant, accurate valuations of insurance books of business.
Key Features
- Real-time valuation without broker intermediaries
- Data-driven pricing based on portfolio composition and metrics
- Helps agents understand fair market value independently
Target Users: Selling agents and agencies assessing book value
Transaction Services
End-to-end support infrastructure for closing deals on the platform.
Key Features
- In-platform lending to facilitate buyer acquisitions
- Legal documentation assistance for M&A transactions
- Full transaction closing support and guidance
Target Users: Buyers and sellers completing book of business transactions
At a Glance
- Founded
- 2021
- Headquarters
- Indianapolis, Indiana
- Employees
- 1-10
- Funding
- Pre-Seed
Category & Focus
- Category
- Distribution & Sales
- Subcategories
- Book of Business Valuation Agency M&A Digital Marketplace
- Insurance Verticals
- P&C Personal P&C Commercial Life & Annuity
- Target Customers
- Agents/Agencies
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Last updated: 2026-04-09