AUDIO: Parker Conrad Interview #2

Zenefits vs. the Modern Agent; a one-hour conversation with the Zenefits CEO about benefits and hr technology, being a better broker and drinking your milkshakes. 

The broker market is about $18 Billion and I want it all." - Parker Conrad, CEO at Zenefits 

Game on. As any entreprenuer should believe in her/his business potential, Parker Conrad believes his model will transform and dominate two industries bogged in paper and manual processes. Benefits and HR technologies have converged and will change the way some agents operate and there are more than a hundred benefit admin and hr technology firms emerging to compete in this burgeoning space (including my own).

Last month, NCEBC hosted a conversation with the Zenefits CEO this week.  I was proud to moderate the one-hour discussion before an audience of about 200 of the top San Francisco Bay Area benefits brokers; mostly members of the Northern California Employee Benefits Council. This was my second interview with Parker and another opportunity for brokers to hear insights from the fastest growing SaaS startup in history (according to Forbes). With an updated valuation of $4.5 billion since closing another $500 million investment round, the conversation was aimed at understanding the business model and impact of new benefits and hr technology for the small to large employer market segment. 

Here's the full audio from this interview and the Q&A session that followed:

About Michael Lujan

Michael Lujan is Co Founder and Chief Strategy Officer for Limelight Health, a Silicon Valley-based start-up. With venture seed funding from Launchpad Digital Health and a group of private investors, Limelight is a new quoting technology platform for health insurance agents, carriers, general agents and private exchanges. Called QuotePad, the SaaS based technology offers mobile-quoting with open integration with payroll, benefit administration, CRM and other agency tools.

Michael is CAHU President-Elect and Chair for CAHU's new Diversity Task Force, aimed to promote our diverse agent membership and mobilize licensed agents to serve all Californians.

In 2012, Michael helped establish the California Health Benefit Exchange, now known as Covered California. He served as Director of Sales and Marketing for both the individual and small group segments. He was responsible for establishing the initial policies for licensed agents, hired the administrator for SHOP (Pinnacle) and recruited more than 20,000 California agents to get registered. To date, there are nearly 15,000 agents certified with the exchange. A former agent, general agent and Director of Sales for Blue Shield of California, Michael is an outspoken advocate for the agent distribution channel, small business and the uninsured.