The Insurance Growth Lab

Andy Jenks is a General Partner at Drive Capital, a Columbus-based venture capital firm focused on investing in world-class technology companies outside of Silicon Valley.   Before Drive, Andy was a 3-time founder at Formation Data Systems, Discovery Mining, and Infinite Research. Both Discovery Mining and Infinite Research were successfully acquired. In this episode, you’ll learn: Experiences fro...

Ayden Syal is the Co-Founder and CEO of MOGL, a leading athlete influencer marketplace and NIL software provider that streamlines partnerships between brands and athlete influencers.  Prior to starting MOGL, Ayden worked at Morgan Stanley, Lexington Partners, and IHS Markit (now S&P Global). Ayden has been named to the Sports Business Journal New Voices Under 30 list, The Marquis "Who's Who in...

Tim Robinson is the CEO of AgencyBloc. AgencyBloc is the leading Insurance Industry Growth Platform serving the health, benefits, and senior insurance space. Prior to AgencyBloc, Tim was the COO of WorkWave, COO of FMG Suite, and COO of Cii. All of those companies are private equity portfolio companies.  In this episode, you’ll learn: How to conduct a daily leadership team huddle  The lifecycle of...

Rick Fox is the Chief Revenue Officer of Brightway Insurance. Brightway is one of the largest insurance distribution companies in the U.S., with over 300 franchises in 32 states.  Prior to joining Brightway, Rick was the Head of Agency Sales at Vertafore, a leading insurance software company, and previously served as the President of Agency Revolution, an agency automation and marketing consultanc...

Will Zell is the co-founder and Executive Chair of AssetWatch, founder of Vessel, and founding partner of the Ohio Angel Collective.  Will has been building and investing in companies since 2006, focusing on venture capital and technology startups since 2012.  In this episode, you’ll learn: How to design your life How to navigate the entrepreneurial journey  The role of a long-term vision and stra...

Matt Wyckhouse is the Founder and CEO of Finite State. Finite State is the leading provider of software risk management solutions for connected devices and software supply chains. Prior to Finite State, Matt was the founder and CTO of Battelle’s Cyber Innovations Business Unit, where he oversaw dozens of intelligence and national security Programs.  In this episode, you’ll learn: How to keep your...

Grace Nikae is the Founder of Kizuna, a company that helps high-performing startups, subject matter experts, and thought leaders elevate their brand and content strategies across digital platforms. Before founding Kizuna, Grace was an international concert pianist, educator, and fiction author.  In this episode, you’ll learn: The power of community  How to build brand advocates  How to approach a...

Tarek is the Founder and CEO of Cuddles, a cloud-based business management platform that is modernizing the pet industry.  Before Cuddles, Tarek was the CEO of HealthySmiles Pet Dental, President of FetchMyVet, and Co-Founder of WashMyWhip.  In this episode, you’ll learn: How to create a feedback culture  The dangers of concentration risk How to evaluate a potential market  How great people force...

Alex Levin is the Co-Founder and CEO of Regal, a leading cloud contact center specializing in customer engagement. Having secured $42M in funding from Emergence Capital, Regal has attracted over 200 high-consideration consumer services and product companies, including AAA, Angie's List, and SoFi.  Before Regal, Alex was the SVP of Growth at Handy, where he was an early employee and grew with the c...

Greg Kallman is the Founder of FanAmp, the community hub for all things Formula 1. FanAmp connects fans around the world with each other and their favorite motorsport creators, track guides, and daily news.  Before launching FanAmp, Greg spent 12 years advising C-Suite executives and cross-functional teams in the US, Europe, and Asia at Boston Consulting Group (BCG) and J.P. Morgan.  In this episo...

Alex Harris is the co-founder of Fiat Growth, the Fintech market’s leading growth consultancy, and the co-founder and general partner of Fiat Ventures. Prior to founding Fiat Growth, Alex led Paid Growth and Partnerships at Chime, leading them from Series A to becoming a Unicorn at Series D. Chime is the largest neobank in the US with nearly 20M+ members and was most recently valued at $25B. In th...

Taylor Crane is the Founder of Fractional Jobs. Fractional Jobs is the job board for startups to reach and recruit fractional talent. These are part-time leaders embedded into startups to help them scale Before Fractional Jobs, Taylor founded Clubs Poker, which he started in 2020 and sold in 2023.  In this episode, you’ll learn: How to turn a problem into a business  The pros and cons of taking Ve...

Paul Monasterio is the CEO and Co-Founder of Kalepa. Kalepa's AI-powered Copilot workbench empowers underwriters to write more profitable business faster. Kalepa was recognized as one of the most innovative insurtechs in the world as part of FinTech Global’s Insurtech 100 in 2022 and 2023. Before founding Kalepa, Paul was an executive at Facebook, Mastercard, and Applied Predictive Technologies. P...

Alex Frommeyer is the co-founder and CEO of Beam Benefits, a digitally-led employee benefits company that offers dental, vision, life, disability, and supplemental health coverage. The company simplifies and modernizes the $100+ billion ancillary benefits industry through its intuitive online platform, self-service tools, AI-powered underwriting, and thoughtful coverage for improved overall wellne...

Sam Rose is the Founder and CEO of Mvnifest, a full-stack product agency and 3PL.  Before Mvnifest, Sam founded the award-winning kitchenware brand GIR, which she led as CEO until its acquisition by Pattern Brands in 2021. In this episode, you’ll learn: The power of storytelling  The Best Day Ever Problem  What a boundaryless life looks like How to work with friends and family  The benefits of wor...

Joe Emison is the Co-Founder and CTO of Branch Insurance. Branch is an insurance carrier that makes it simple to bundle home and auto insurance. Branch was listed on GlassDoor’s Best Places to Work in 2022 and 2023.  Before Branch, Joe founded BuildFax (acquired by Verisk), Spaceful (acquired by DMGT), and BluePrince (acquired by Harris Computer). Joe is also an author and released his new book "S...

Omid Bakhshandeh is the Co-Founder of Verneek. Verneek’s mission is to build the most helpful AI, enabling anyone to interact with any environment using intelligent conversational interfaces with deep domain expertise.  Omid has two decades of experience in the research and development of AI systems, having founded and successfully led various AI teams. He received his Ph. D. in AI with a focus on...

Sam Jacobs is the Founder and CEO of Pavilion, the essential community-powered learning platform for CEOs, GTM leaders, and their teams. Today, over 10,000 people are paid subscribers to the Pavilion community. Before Pavilion, Sam spent 15 years as a senior revenue leader at VC-backed companies in the New York area, including Gerson Lehrman Group, Axial, Livestream/Vimeo, The Muse, and Behavox. I...

Jason Molnar is the Co-Founder and Chief Strategy Officer of Infinity Labs. Infinity Labs is a technology company that delivers innovative solutions in various domains.  Jason is a decorated U.S. Army combat veteran. He serves on the board of directors of Operation Socrates, a non-profit organization that supports veterans and their families, and on the board of directors for the Ohio Veterans Col...

Robin Dimond is the Founder and CEO of Fifth & Cor. Fifth & Cor is at the intersection of strategy, innovation, and creativity. They’re an Innovation and Immersive Marketing company harnessing the best tools to support brands, consumers, and communities.  Robin brings over 18 years of marketing experience. She also aspires to uplift communities by sitting on multiple school boards and acti...

Rachel is the Founder & CEO of Geosite. Geosite is a Y Combinator-backed start-up working to build the geospatial marketplace. Their platform sources, visualizes, and analyzes the relevant geospatial data so their customers can make informed business decisions.  Rachel is also completing her Ph. D. in Mechanical Engineering at Stanford and was listed on the Forbes Top 30 under 30 list.  In thi...

Amy Volas is the Founder and CEO of Avenue Talent Partners, where they help grow early-stage startups through some of their most valuable assets, executive revenue leaders. Amy is a titan in the sales community. She's sold more than 100 million in revenue throughout her sales career. She's a LinkedIn insider and top sales voice, founder, strategic advisor, and LP at Stage 2 Capital.  In this episo...

Travis is the Co-founder and CRO of Vouch. Vouch is the insurance company for the technology industry. Since 2019, Vouch has underwritten billions in risk on behalf of over 4,000 clients, backed by A-rated reinsurers and $165M from Ribbit, YC, Redpoint, and others. Previously, he helped Nationwide Insurance launch Nationwide Ventures before joining Silicon Valley Bank’s Venture Capital group, wher...

Devin Bostick is the founder and former CEO of LuckyTruck. LuckyTruck makes commercial insurance easy for trucking companies to buy and manage commercial trucking insurance through an all-in-one digital platform.  Devin is also an active pre-seed investor through his investment fund, Paracosm Ventures, and teaches entrepreneurial design at the University of Colorado Boulder.  In this episode, you’...

Lissy Alden is the Founder of MYNDY, a research-based mental fitness platform that offers a practical approach to mental fitness which is simple, self-directed, and focused on helping professionals get unstuck, make progress, and feel more focused and energized - daily.  Before building MYNDY, Lissy partnered with some of the world’s largest corporations, including JPMorgan, American Express, Char...