An aerial view of repair vehicles at sunset passing near beachfront homes that burned in the Palisades Fire as wildfires cause damage and loss through the LA region on January 15, 2025 in Malibu, California.
Mario Tama | Getty Images
Midway through December, tech entrepreneur Dan Preston debuted insurance startup Stand’s first product focused on protecting property in wildfire zones. He should have had months to work with prospective customers and to market the offering before any catastrophic fires hit the U.S.
In California, Stand’s home state, fire season normally lasts from early summer through October or November. Stand, which Preston co-founded early last year, announced a $30 million financing round and the new product on Dec. 16, a few days before the official start of winter.
But it’s been a winter like no other. Three weeks after Stand’s launch, wildfires ravagedparts of Los Angeles, killing more than two-dozen people, scorching about 41,000 acres due to extreme winds and destroying at least …