Snejina Zacharia, SF ’13: From MIT Classroom to Insurance Disruptor

Sloanies Talking with Sloanies

Sloanies Talking with Sloanies
Snejina Zacharia, SF ’13: From MIT Classroom to Insurance Disruptor
Jun 02, 2025
MIT Sloan Alumni

In this episode, Snejina Zacharia, SF ’13, a 2013 MIT Sloan Fellow from Bulgaria, transformed a personal insurance frustration into a $500 million business by founding Insurify, the "Kayak of insurance." After a minor car accident during her time at MIT caused her premiums to spike, she discovered the absence of a comprehensive insurance comparison platform and spent over a year convincing risk-averse carriers to join her marketplace. Despite facing significant challenges as a first-time female immigrant founder in a highly regulated industry, Zacharia built Insurify from a three-person team to nearly 200 employees through relentless persistence, strategic fundraising, and operational focus. Her journey exemplifies the MIT entrepreneurial spirit, emphasizing the importance of building the right founding team, maintaining financial discipline, and never giving up despite countless rejections—ultimately creating the largest online insurance comparison platform in the United States.

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Episode Artwork Snejina Zacharia, SF ’13: From MIT Classroom to Insurance Disruptor 32:06 Episode Artwork Raafet Azzouz, SFMBA ’24: Stories, Strategy, and the Strength of the Immigrant Experience 26:23 Episode Artwork A Conversation With Former Dean David Schmittlein 18:56 Episode Artwork Henna Karna, EMBA ’18, on Innovation, AI, and the MIT Sloan Experience 32:20 Episode Artwork A Conversation with Admiral Thad Allen, SF ’89, and Frank Finelli, SM ’86 43:33 Episode Artwork A Conversation with Stephen Boyer, SDM ’08 32:41 Episode Artwork A special conversation with host Christopher Reichert, MOT ’04 39:53 Episode Artwork MBA Impact and Career Evolution: Creative Storytelling, and finding your North Star with Jawad Ahsan, EMBA ’14 26:07 Episode Artwork Talking Intelligent Automation with Ian Barkin, MBA '06 32:26 Episode Artwork Leading with the Right Brain with Yda Bouvier, MBA '98 35:24 Episode Artwork Shawna Young, EMBA ’15, talks about access to advanced learning opportunities for children of color. 30:05 Episode Artwork Creating a sustainable food supply eco-system, with Alexander Borschow, SB ’06, MBA '14 37:41 Episode Artwork A conversation with Roberto Rigobon, PhD ’97, and Juan Pablo Armas, SM ’92 40:13 Episode Artwork Ricard Huguet, MOT ’04 talks about. the lessons and confidence gained from attending MIT Sloan and the lasting value in the community 30:04 Episode Artwork A conversation with Naji Gehchan, EMBA ’22 41:09 Episode Artwork A conversation with Captain Brian Erickson, SFMBA ’21 37:48 Episode Artwork A conversation with Ohad Tzur, MBA ‘12 37:37 Episode Artwork Aditi Javeri Gokhale, SB ’96, MBA ’99 32:17 Episode Artwork Rachel Stevens MBA '15 39:10 Episode Artwork Ken Pucker, SM ’90 43:05 Episode Artwork Jossy Lee, MBA ’12 34:23 Episode Artwork Sunish Gupta, SDM ’12 30:16 Episode Artwork TJ Leonard, MBA ’08 35:30 Episode Artwork Khalid David, MBA ’19 34:20 Episode Artwork Kimmy Paluch, MBA ’11 31:22