Insurtechs.io

In this episode of Industry Voice, Jeff Shi sits down with Andrew Correll and David Perez, the driving forces behind InsurTech ATX — Austin's thriving grassroots insurtech community. They share the origins of InsurTech ATX, which started as a humble meetup in 2016 and has grown into a vibrant, international hub for insurance and tech professionals.

Andrew and David recount how they transitioned into leadership during the pa...

In this engaging episode of Industry Voice, host Jeff Shi sits down with serial entrepreneur and best-selling author Jeff Arnold. The conversation delves deep into Arnold’s dynamic journey through insurance, insurtech, private equity, and even professional sports ownership. Jeff shares how he went from stand-up comedy in North Hollywood to building and exiting multiple tech and insurance ventures, including RightSure, Lender Bridge...

In this insightful episode, Jeff Shi is joined by Michael Blankenship, Partner at Winston & Strawn and Managing Partner of the Houston office, to unpack the current and future landscape of IPOs, SPACs, and M&A within the insurtech and broader insurance industry. Michael brings nearly two decades of legal and capital markets expertise to the conversation, offering founders, executives, and investors practical guidance on pub...

In this powerhouse episode of Insurance VC, PE, and MA, host Jeff Shi is joined by Michael Mensch and Colby Allen from Agency Brokerage Consultants to explore the complex, ever-evolving landscape of mergers and acquisitions in the independent insurance agency space. With over 500 transactions under their belt, Mike and Colby share insights that are invaluable for any agency owner thinking about growth, preparing for an exit, or und...

In this powerful episode, host Jeff Shi sits down with Tracy Lownsberry to unpack his evolution from a captive insurance agent to the founder of the largest social media community for annuity professionals. Tracy shares how his early experiences shaped a deeper commitment to transparency, education-based sales, and doing business the right way. He dives into building Annuity Giants Agents Academy, a subscription-based training mode...

In this episode of Insurance VC, PE, and M&A, Jeff Shi sits down with industry icon Kelly Drouillard to unpack the complexities of insurance M&A, lending strategies, and agency growth. With over 30 years of experience spanning carrier, reinsurance, and capital markets, Kelly brings a deep well of insight into insurance transactions. She breaks down the agency ownership lifecycle—from growth and optimization to perpetuation—...

In this episode, host Jeff Shi welcomes Shawn Fitzgerald and Stephen Turnbull, the dynamic duo behind the Scratch Agency podcast. Together, they share their journey of launching their own scratch agencies in New York and how their similar-but-different paths led to the creation of a podcast that has grown into a vibrant community for independent insurance agents.

They dive deep into their reasons for documenting their journey, t...

In this episode, host Jeff Shi sits down with Flow Flood co-founders Abbe (A.B.) Sulton and Michael Pallas to explore their unique path from insurance distribution to building a flood-focused insurtech MGA. The conversation dives deep into their early days running a retail agency during the 2008 financial crisis, discovering market inefficiencies in residential flood, and evolving into a full-stack digital MGA with multiple binding...

In this thought-provoking episode, Jeff sits down with Rory Yates, Group Vice President of Corporate Strategy at EIS, to explore his dynamic journey from a tech-savvy athlete to a global leader in insurance transformation. Rory opens up about growing up in poverty, using sports to earn an education in the U.S., and his pivot from launching one of the first internet banks in the UK to helping reshape the global insurance landscape.

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In this episode of Founders Journey, Jeff sits down with Roman Stepanenko, founder of Record Linker and co-founder of RiskMatch. Roman shares his fascinating transition from software developer to insurtech entrepreneur, starting with the creation of RiskMatch and continuing with his latest venture, Record Linker.

They dive deep into the overlooked and often painful world of insurance data conversions and governance. Roman breaks...

In this episode of Founders Journey, Jeff sits down with Whitney Olson, co-founder and CEO of Melon Local, to unpack the story of how a boutique digital marketing agency became a trusted partner for some of the nation's top insurance agents. Whitney is joined by Senior Director of Paid Search, Megan, and Senior Director of Business Development, Katie Olson, to share how Melon Local turned a living-room startup into a 70-person team...

In this powerful episode, Jeff sits down with insurtech trailblazer Denise Garth, Chief Strategy Officer at Majesco. With over three decades of experience in both business and IT across insurance carriers, vendors, and global industry organizations, Denise brings unmatched insight into the evolution of the insurtech landscape. From launching Majesco's now top-ranked podcast to being one of the earliest voices championing digita...

In this episode of Industry Voice, we sit down with Steve Mohr, a seasoned insurance technology entrepreneur and founder of The Insurance Index. Steve takes us through his multi-decade journey in the insurance and insurtech space, from starting out as a producer in Florida’s non-standard auto market, to building revolutionary agency management tools, and now leading lead generation and distribution efforts for NowCerts through his ...

In this episode of Industry Voice, host Jeff Shi sits down with Jeff Pireu, Vice President of Strategic Partnerships at First Choice, a MarshBerry company. With over 30 years in the insurance industry—spanning claims, sales, and executive leadership roles at Nationwide—Jeff shares his journey from carrier-side leadership to the forefront of agency distribution. The conversation dives into the complexities of building scalable strat...

In this episode, host Jeff Shi sits down with Patrick Tullius, Managing Director at INS Capital Group, to dive deep into the evolving world of insurance distribution, insurtech innovation, and the critical role of MGAs in bridging the gap between carriers and cutting-edge technologies. Patrick brings his extensive experience in investment banking and his unique perspective on raising capital, building programs, and aligning incenti...

In this episode, we sit down with Daniel Metcalf, co-founder of Smart Harbor, to explore the complete lifecycle of building and exiting an insurtech business. Daniel shares the origin story of Smart Harbor, a company born out of the belief that independent insurance agents needed modern digital tools to compete with direct writers. He talks about the company's evolution from its startup days to a strategic acquisition by Vertafore,...

In this episode of Insurtechs.io, host Jeff Shi is joined by Theresa Blissing and Michael Waitze to unpack the dynamic evolution of embedded insurance, the strategic role of risk carriers, and what drives the next generation of insurtech innovation. The conversation dives deep into how customer-centricity is reshaping product development, the differences between U.S. and Asia-Pacific markets, and the broader implications of trust, ...

In this episode, Jeff Shi sits down with Bobby Touran, the two-time founder and CEO behind leading insurtech startups Pathpoint and Rainbow. Bobby shares his journey from building software-driven companies to founding two specialized underwriting and distribution platforms within the commercial insurance space. Hear how Bobby transitioned from the world of engineering-led startups into surplus lines brokerage and eventually launche...

In this episode, we dive into the future of underwriting transformation with Steve Reeves, Chief Insurance Officer at Voxel, and Mico Sutika, VP of Sales. Hosted by Jeff Shi, this conversation explores how Voxel is applying advanced AI and machine learning technologies to solve long-standing inefficiencies in commercial underwriting. From automating data ingestion to surfacing high-quality leads and improving the underwriter experi...