From 7 Agencies to $350M: How ALKEME Is Building the Insurance Brokerage of the Future

Curtis Barton started ALKEME in the middle of COVID with seven agencies and $25 million in combined revenue. Five years later, it is a $350M+ brokerage operating in 35 states with over 85 acquisitions and backing from GCP Capital and Apollo S3.In Episode 160 of InsurTechTalk, Curtis breaks down the consolidation playbook in a way most people in the industry are not willing to say out loud — why most rollups are overleveraged, why organic growth is being faked through producer poaching, and why the brokerage model is being fundamentally rewritten by AI whether legacy players want it to or not.In this episode:1. The founding story: how Curtis convinced 6 P&C shops and a wealth management firm to build something together instead of selling out2. The integration playbook: signed bilateral roadmaps, day-one absolutes, and why disruption is the devil if you move too fast3. Why most consolidators are more leveraged than they report — PIK instruments, share class waterfalls, and the organic growth illusion4. AI governance at scale: how Alkeme built a BI team that deploys employee ideas the same day within a governed framework5. The prompt-based brokerage: querying the entire network like ChatGPT to find carriers, specialists, and introduction emails in seconds6. Why the AMS duopoly is more vulnerable than it looks7. Cybersecurity as a first-order M&A problem nobody talks about publicly8. The "NIL of the insurance producer world" — and why producer poaching is inflating organic growth numbers across the industry🔗 Learn more about Alkeme: https://www.alkeme.com/🔗 Connect with Curtis on LinkedInInsurTechTalk is the podcast for insurance professionals, InsurTech founders, and anyone who wants a no-BS look at where the industry is headed.🔔 Subscribe for new episodes every week.#insurtech , #insurancebrokerage, #mergersandacquisitions , #insurtechtalk , #insurance , #organicgrowth , #aiininsurance , #insuranceinnovation , #Alkeme, #privateequity , #InsuranceTechnology, #Consolidation, #InsurancePodcast, #Brokerage, #CurtisBarton