The American insurance and healthcare industries have long existed as complicated ecosystems, influenced by hierarchy upon hierarchy of regulation, changing consumer requirements, and changing technologies. Amid this environment, several entrepreneurs have recently appeared, not just by engaging in the system, but by trying to redesign its basis. The early 2000s saw a turning point for these industries, with the Affordable Care Act adding to the demand for specialized service providers knowledgeable in both the policy arena and the consumer interface. The outcome was a boom in third-party consulting and technology-based agency support services. In this larger context, Krishen Iyer started his journey, eventually establishing a multi-faceted presence in health insurance and advisory services throughout the United States.
Krishen Iyer’s initial foray into the insurance sector started in 2002, immediately after graduating from San Diego State University. Starting up IHS Insurance Services, Iyer began with a modest staff, but soon developed the firm into a 45-employee call center operation. His initial concentration was on streamlining Medicare-associated products and providing efficient brokerage assistance. When the sales process for insurance was significantly reliant upon old lead-generation methods, Iyer insisted on customized consumer interaction and mechanization, differentiating his team in a competitive marketplace. By spotting early inefficiencies, he set IHS on a course of consistent expansion throughout the 2000s.
In 2007, Iyer moved to a new business: Name My Premium. The site departed from a service-based agency to a tech-enabled, scalable insurance brokerage model. The company focused on national expansion, and in 2015, it was featured on the Inc. 5000 list of America’s fastest-growing private companies. The list at the time was a gauge of up-and-coming businesses with sustained three-year revenue growth. Name My Premium later transformed into Managed Benefits Services, still providing health insurance products in several states. Through building marketing infrastructure and backend systems for partner agencies, Iyer developed a franchise-like environment that provided uniform training, analytics, and compliance tools.
In June 2020, Iyer started MAIS Consulting during the accelerated changes in the healthcare regulatory landscape and consumer behavior influenced by the COVID-19 pandemic. Whereas his other ventures had been sales operations, MAIS was a strategy firm. It focused on offering health insurance agencies consulting services in contracting, analytics, and lead generation. This was a developing industry trend where brokerages traditionally needed assistance with bringing on technologies and maximizing efficiency. Over 65% of U.S. insurance agencies mentioned technology integration and data handling as key pain areas in a 2022 report by McKinsey. MAIS positioned itself to fill the void.
In addition to strategic support, MAIS Consulting offered clients guidance on navigating Medicare, Obamacare, and association-based or union-affiliated health plans. As an extension of Iyer’s personal trajectory—beginning in college as a benefits and marketing specialist—the firm built upon over two decades of operational insight. Having grown his business from a two-person startup in San Diego to a national footprint, Iyer emphasized modular growth and decentralized support systems.Â
Operating in more than 23 states, MAIS Consulting also assisted clients in understanding Medicare guideline changes and ACA releases. Iyer’s consulting approach prioritized decentralized support by employing data to customize solutions for particular geographic and demographic markets. The strategy appealed to mid-sized agencies that wanted to grow without investing in internal infrastructure, which needed a large capital outlay. Without a one-size-fits-all approach, Iyer enabled such agencies to maintain their local brand while gaining national-level strategic guidance.
Iyer changed direction once more in 2023, launching KIV Capital. The firm funds Medicare-related distribution platforms and centers, using predictive modeling and artificial intelligence to drive the best customer acquisition and retention. The move was a departure from advisory functions to investing and capital allocation. KIV Capital’s business model represents a broader trend towards hybrid fintech-healthtech models, where capital deployment is attached to algorithmic projections. In 2024, the company had partnered with several startups targeting machine learning solutions for healthcare brokerage.
Besides his entrepreneurial roles, Iyer has been in advisory positions for firms such as Kolor Marketing, a lead optimization and branding company. These positions highlight his presence in ancillary industries that flow into the insurance pipeline, including digital advertising and customer behavior analytics. His inter-sector involvement has kept him a frequent figure in discussions regarding tech-enabled insurance growth and operational transformation.
In 2013, while working in the health insurance industry, Iyer made a brief foray into the legal marijuana sector by investing in a cooperative. Due to the shifting regulatory landscape at the time, he ultimately chose to withdraw after a period of scrutiny and fines. Reflecting on the experience, Iyer notes that, “You don’t always have perfect timing. I might have been a year or two ahead of how this natural plant is perceived and invested in.” He adds, “I’m an investor, not a lawyer, so I decided to stick to what I know best, though long-term, it could’ve been an amazing investment.” His perspective underscores his willingness to take calculated risks, even in emerging markets that eventually gain mainstream acceptance.
Iyer’s professional path also mirrors the larger development of the health insurance market across two decades, especially how agencies and brokers respond to a post-2020, regulatory-dominated, consumer-focused climate. As the virtual interface and compliance become increasingly important, his business endeavors show how providers can stay abreast by providing more than mere policies, systems, insights, and responsive strategies.
Throughout his career, Iyer has shown interest in developing business modularly—creating smaller, flexible units that can expand through integration instead of raw size. There is only so much this strategy can do, especially in markets as heavily regulated as health insurance. Yet it has enabled him to stay adaptive and nimble in an arena where the most prominent players have difficulty being agile.
Krishen Iyer’s path from IHS Insurance Services to KIV Capital embodies a specific type of entrepreneurial action that succeeds based on gaps in the market rather than raw disruption. It illustrates how innovation manifests as more effective support systems and not necessarily radical overthrow, even in a highly regulated and often unyielding business sector. His journey provides insight into how operators and strategists can expand influence not by taking on the system itself, but by seeing its weaknesses and providing practical, scalable solutions.
Disclaimer: The information provided in this article is for general informational purposes only. It should not be construed as professional advice or guidance. Readers are encouraged to seek professional advice before making any decisions based on the information provided.
