What if the fastest way to grow your agency wasn’t hiring more people, but removing friction?

In this episode of The Rodney Mattos Show, Rodney Mattos Sr. sits down with Andy Neary to break down how artificial intelligence is quietly transforming independent insurance agencies and why those who embrace it early are building a massive competitive advantage.

This isn’t an AI hype episode. It’s a real-world, operator-to-operator conversation about how agencies are moving from 30% to 50%+ EBITDA by redesigning how work actually moves through their business.

Rodney shares how Apeironix was born inside Triforta as an internal solution to eliminate manual work, reduce errors, and restore momentum across renewals, policy verification, commissions, and submissions. What started as a fix for internal pain points has evolved into an automation layer helping agencies compress workflows that once took hours into minutes, without replacing people.

You’ll hear how independent agencies can:

• Reach 50% EBITDA without adding headcount
• Eliminate repetitive admin work that drains teams
• Create operational predictability buyers and private equity reward
• Turn automation into a valuation multiplier, not just a cost saver
• Use AI to amplify their best people, not replace them

Rodney also explains the Mirror Effect, the async automation breakthrough behind Apeironix, and why motion, not effort, is now the true measure of progress.

If you’re an agency owner thinking about scale, sustainability, or exit and you’re tired of grinding harder for thinner margins, this episode will change how you think about AI, operations, and enterprise value.

Episode Highlights

• Why automation is now existential for agencies
• The math behind EBITDA expansion with AI
• How efficiency directly drives valuation
• The Mirror Effect: AI that mirrors human judgment
• Why automating between systems matters more than tools

Learn More & Connect

Explore Apeironix and the automation layer built specifically for insurance agencies:👉 https://apeironix.com

If this episode resonated, share it with another agency owner and subscribe to The Rodney Mattos Show for more conversations about building smarter, more valuable insurance businesses.

Insurance won’t fix itself. We will.

If you’re an employer staring down another renewal and feeling that familiar knot in your stomach, this episode is for you.

In Episode 8 of Blueprints for Better Benefits, Rodney Mattos Jr. and Rodney Mattos Sr. go straight at the thing that stops most leaders from taking control of their health plan: fear. Not abstract fear. The real kind, felt by CFOs who need predictability, HR teams who are already stretched thin, and CEOs who want to protect their people without gambling the business.

This episode is a reset. A reframe. A reality check. Because fully insured may feel safe… but for many employers, it’s quietly draining budgets year after year, with less transparency, less control, and fewer options than you’ve been led to believe.

Together, we unpack the Top 10 fears employers have about self-funding, and we dismantle them with real-world experience, proven strategy, and a few stories from the frontlines that hit close to home.

Episode Highlights

• Why employer fear around self-funding is often learned helplessness from years on the fully insured treadmill
• The #1 concern: “What if claims blow up our budget?”, and how captives cap risk and define maximum exposure
• Catastrophic claims explained: stop-loss insurance and why those claims exist in fully insured plans too (you just don’t see them)
• “We don’t have claims expertise”, why you don’t need it when you have the right quarterback and infrastructure
• Predictability & cash flow: how captives' smooth volatility while keeping costs stable month-to-month
• HR workload: why the right self-funded model can mean less friction, not more
• Legal/ERISA fears: what employers already carry today, and how compliant vendors and oversight reduce liability
• The “career-risk” fear: how leadership teams gain confidence with actuarial modeling, board-ready education, and proof
• Myth-busting: why captives aren’t a trend or discount program, they’re a Fortune 100-level strategy made accessible to midsize employers
• Real savings story: how a mining employer uncovered and reclaimed $1.5M in waste and reinvested it back into their people

What You’ll Take Away

This isn’t a hype episode. It’s a field guide for leaders who want clarity.

Self-funding isn’t a silver bullet. But it is a smarter, more transparent, more human strategy, when designed correctly, protected correctly, and managed intentionally.

And the truth is simple: The only thing scarier than making a change… is staying put while costs keep rising and control keeps shrinking.

Learn More & Connect

📩 hello@triforta.com

🌐⁠⁠https://www.triforta.com/education⁠⁠

🔗LinkedIn: @Triforta-partners

We are Triforta.

And this is how employers take control, reduce volatility, and finally sleep at night.

What if there was a benefits strategy that wasn’t too rigid… and wasn’t too risky…but just right?

In Segment 7 of Blueprints for Better Benefits, we introduce GuidedEdge®, Triforta’s proprietary alternative funding methodology designed for employers who feel trapped between high-cost fully insured plans and the perceived risk of full self-funding.

GuidedEdge is the bridge, combining the predictability of fully insured, the flexibility of self-funding, and the upside participation of more advanced risk models, without the long runway or governance lift of a captive.

If you’ve ever said:

• “Fully insured is too expensive”
• “Self-funding feels like too big of a leap”
• “We want transparency without sleepless nights”

This episode was built for you.

Episode Highlights

• Why GuidedEdge is known as the “Goldilocks” option, not too hot, not too cold
• How GuidedEdge compresses implementation timelines to 3–4 weeks
• The role of advanced stop-loss and shared-risk layers in stabilizing cost
• Real-world results: 148+ GuidedEdge clients, $10M in claims paid, $4M+ in underwriting profit returned
• How fewer than 8% of U.S. employers are using strategies like this today
• Where GuidedEdge fits on the funding spectrum (fully insured → self-funded → captive)
• How utilization data reveals the “bell curve of opportunity” inside every plan
• Why monetizing low utilizers while protecting against high-cost claims changes everything
• Side-by-side plan comparisons showing real savings with no network disruption

Who GuidedEdge Is Built For

• Employers with 20+ enrolled employees
• Organizations facing abnormal or double-digit renewals
• CFOs and HR leaders seeking claims transparency and predictability
• Employers who want flexibility without catastrophic risk exposure
• Physician groups, school districts, construction, mining, and mid-market employers
• Leadership teams ready to rethink how healthcare dollars actually work

Key Takeaway

Most employers don’t need an all-or-nothing solution.

GuidedEdge proves there is a middle path, one that:

• Lowers costs
• Improves transparency
• Limits downside risk
• Shares upside savings
• Preserves employee experience

It’s not an insurance product. It’s a strategy, designed, governed, and supported by Triforta’s team of actuaries, analysts, and benefit strategists.

Learn More & Connect

📩 hello@triforta.com

🌐⁠https://www.triforta.com/education⁠

🔗LinkedIn: @Triforta-partners

We are Triforta.

And this is how employers take control, reduce volatility, and finally sleep at night.

GuidedEdge isn’t about taking a bigger risk. It’s about taking a smarter one.