Starting from experience

Confianza’s confidence in their business model stems from a management team with deep roots in the insurance industry.

By Ellen Linnemann 

Although many startups are launched by people just starting out in business, there’s a unique advantage to starting a company with a team of established experts with decades of industry-specific experience. So when four longtime leaders in the insurance industry, armed with a great idea and nearly a century of combined experience, joined together to form Confianza, they did so with confidence … knowing that the longstanding relationships each had in the industry, combined with a really great product, would be the key factors in their success.

“In the insurance industry, as well as most industries, it’s all about relationships,” says John Chavez, the company’s Chief Operating Officer, noting that existing business relationships have never been more important than they are today, where an established relationship can often be what opens the door to a phone call or meeting.  “Members of our leadership team have not only served in multiple senior executive roles, but have built strong contacts, and relationships, based on decades of knowledge about what is needed, and what adds value, in the insurance industry. It’s this experience that truly makes a difference when offering a new product, and which we believe adds to an improved customer experience and growth for our clients.”

Confianza was created to empower the insurance industry and level the playing field for small to mid-sized companies, while their product is still viable for the largest companies, by offering a highly sophisticated and comprehensive suite of data and analytical products and services designed for the entire lifecycle of an insurance policy from consumer acquisition through service and renewal. The idea came from longtime insurance industry leader John Petricelli (who now serves as Confianza’s Chief Product Officer), who with more than 30 years of experience developing insurance products and numerous high profile roles in the insurance industry, knew that the only way to be successful with an insurance technology product was to surround himself with other people with many years of insurance technology experience with different organization skills than his own.  After building a great data and analytics product, Petricelli then sought out top experts he knew (located in different areas of the country) with many years of experience – including executives, sales leadership and operational strength – to join him in creating, and leading, the company.  After testing the hypothesis surrounding the product in the marketplace, Confianza was launched in 2020 – with, in addition to Petricelli and Chavez, the experienced leadership team comprised of Jeffrey Glazer and Jose Loera.  

“We all have deep roots in the insurance industry and, as a result, all realized the need for the product in the industry,” says Glazer, Confianza’s CEO, who has previously served in numerous CEO roles, including serving as CEO of Activer Solutions, CEO of Insurity and CEO of insurance Solutions at LexisNexis.  “Not only do very few companies have the depth of data and analytics that we have available, but the combined experience of our team, and our insight into the value of our product in the industry, is what makes us truly of value to our clients.”

As Confianza moves into the next phase of its growth, Glazer offers insight to other startups and those considering launching a new business:

• An idea is just an idea… and many people have them.  You must create a product and have an experienced management team in place before launching a company
• Make sure you can deliver what you are offering to the market
• Self-fund, if you can, until you are sure your strategy will be successful.  Money from investors in great, but it comes with a huge set of responsibilities.  “We took the approach less capital is better,” notes Glazer.  “It is important to be extremely cautious about spending money before proving your model works.  In our case, we went to experts in our industry and people who knew us from previous initiatives and asked each of them to invest a small amount of funds.”

Perhaps most importantly, Glazer stresses, is to “surround yourself with a strong management team with diverse skills.” Which is exactly what Confianza did … and which is the key to the company moving – confidently — into the future.