As COO at HelixIntel, I inherited a channel partnership for our risk selection, pricing, and management platform designed for insurers. The relationship was open-ended, with stale scope, and no KPI goals driving value for either side. Customers accessed the platform through a freemium model, which meant there was little urgency or commitment from the insurers using it, and the partnership had plateaued well below its potential.
I recommended a hard but necessary recalibration: drop the freemium model entirely and move to a day-zero paid structure where every customer had skin in the game from the start. This was a tough sell internally and with the partner, since it meant asking existing and prospective mutual customers to pay immediately rather than easing in. But it changed the entire dynamic from a hesitant "we'll see" to an active "let's go," because customers who pay up front engage differently than customers who don't.
We rolled out the new model in mid-2025. About 75% of mutual insurance customers agreed to convert to the paid structure, and by September 2026 net revenue retention on renewals was 170%+. The strategic partnership now directly accounts for seven-figure annual recurring revenue, and indirectly much more, turning what had been a loosely defined channel relationship into one of our strategic accounts.
HelixIntel
