Daylight Automation founders Ryan Kimber (left) and Art Harrison (right).SUPPLIED
The best ideas are often born out of hardship. Ryan Kimber, founder and chief executive officer of Daylight Automation (formerly FormHero), knows this all too well.
When his mother-in-law passed away in 2015, the IT leader experienced the burden, redundancy and complexity of completing the paperwork required to settle the affairs of a loved one. Fortunately, Mr. Kimber was introduced to a service that would make this painful process much easier.
The service provider interviewed family members and created a comprehensive report of his mother-in-law’s financial and legal matters. Once completed, the company mailed a binder with filled-out paperwork and pre-addressed, postage-paid envelopes that he could use to notify all relevant parties.
This non-invasive, human approach to obtaining data and completing complex documentation had an indelible impact on Mr. Kimber.
“After a loss like this, it’s surprising how long the mundane little pieces of life follow you,” he says. “During such a difficult time, it was comforting to simply have a conversation and know that someone else would do the legwork.”
Mr. Kimber knew there was a better and easier way to collect, digitize and share data quickly. And so, Daylight was born.
Data that informs and delights
When Mr. Kimber started Daylight in 2016 with his childhood friend and fellow software-as-a-service (SaaS) marketing leader, Art Harrison, their goal was simple: to make capturing information and exchanging data as simple as a conversation. Over time, the Daylight platform evolved to address the need for scaling workflow automation and rapidly digitizing processes, making them easier and more intuitive.
Today, Daylight’s low-code platform allows enterprise teams to rapidly build and deploy custom digital solutions and automate at scale. With Daylight, organizations can create personalized self-service touchpoints and digitize paper-based workflows in harmony with the existing IT landscape and without writing any code.
“Across the enterprise space, there’s a huge push for digital transformation surrounding the customer experience,” Mr. Kimber says. “But enterprises can’t just rip and replace their technology,” he adds. “The low-code element of the Daylight platform allows enterprises to work with their legacy processes and systems and build new custom digital solutions in days.”
Expanding the company’s footprint
From 2020 to 2021, Daylight grew from 26 to 80-plus employees and is on track to grow even further. The company has also onboarded leading global organizations as clients, including Shoppers Drug Mart, BMO Financial Group and Allianz.
In Mr. Kimber’s view, Daylight’s rapid growth is a testament to the need for easy-to-use technology designed to solve complex processes and data challenges that are often overlooked.
“Improving how customer information is collected and exchanged has traditionally been complex, costly and time-consuming for internal groups to accomplish,” he adds. He says that Daylight has “changed the paradigm” and believes the demand for Daylight is proof that there’s a bigger market for the platform.
Currently, the company is expanding into new markets and geographies to capitalize on this growing need.
“Right now, we’re accelerating everything from building our team to go-to-market planning and execution as we expand our footprint across North America,” Mr. Kimber says.
Looking ahead, Mr. Kimber says his focus is to run a business that has good fundamentals and is growing because it brings value to its employees and customers.
“Whether someone is dealing with the loss of a loved one, filing an insurance claim, or completing mortgage paperwork for their new home, he says, “we know we’ve done our job if we can make that person’s life easier.”
Advertising feature produced by Globe Content Studio with DAYLIGHT AUTOMATION. The Globe’s editorial department was not involved.