The audio and video are in Spanish. These notes are a translation.
Today I spoke with José Muñiz, CEO and cofounder of Anzen, an insurtech startup that is revolutionizing the sale of business insurance in the United States with artificial intelligence. José was born in a semi-rural area of Mexico City, studied at MIT, and worked at multiple unicorn startups before founding Anzen. In this episode we talked about his personal story, how he decided to sell insurance instead of only building software, the future of work with artificial intelligence, and how to hire world-class engineers in Latin America.
0:00 - From Mexico City to Silicon Valley
José grew up in a rural area with cows and horses, but he learned to program thanks to his parents and to access to the internet.
- How did his childhood influence the way he sees technology and hard work?
- What role did his parents play in his technical training?
- How did the internet allow him to build a community while he was a teenager?
From a young age he obtained scholarships and got into MIT, where he lived through a strong cultural and academic shock.
- What did he learn from the process of adapting to such a competitive environment?
- What emotional skills did he develop in order to navigate situations of uncertainty?
13:00 - From Engineer to Founder: The Story of Anzen
After working at five successful startups, he decided to found Anzen in order to transform commercial insurance.
- What changed when he decided to start his own startup?
- How does he handle the pressure of leading a team in a complex industry?
Anzen does not only sell technology. It also offers the insurance service directly.
- Why did they decide to be insurance agents instead of selling software?
- How does this decision give them access to unique data and a competitive advantage in artificial intelligence?
25:00 - Building with Artificial Intelligence in a Traditional Industry
José explains why artificial intelligence generates more questions than answers among investors and clients.
- What are investors really looking for when they hear “AI”?
- What barriers exist to automating the sale of insurance?
Combining artificial intelligence with humans has allowed them to move faster without sacrificing quality.
- How do they decide which tasks should be automated and which ones they should keep doing with humans?
- Why is measuring “man-hours saved” key for their product?
39:00 - Culture, Hiring, and a Long-Term Vision
José has hired engineers in Mexico with Silicon Valley standards.
- What does he look for in candidates beyond the technical side?
- How does he identify the “founder gene” in young engineers?
He also shares how he evaluates whether an insurance agent can work with artificial intelligence.
- What signals show whether an insurance salesperson adapts to the technology?
- What kind of culture does he foster inside Anzen?
53:00 - The Future of Insurance and Artificial Intelligence
José does not believe that artificial intelligence will completely replace humans in insurance.
- Why will there always be room for human judgment in complex decisions?
- What mistakes does he see in how Silicon Valley imagines the future?
He also shares his motivation to create real opportunities for talent in Latin America.
- How does he recruit and train high-potential engineers in Mexico?
- What responsibility does he feel as a Latin American founder in Silicon Valley?
Episode Mentions
You can find José on LinkedIn
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