Why We Started Sphere Group — And What We're Building
Read Time: 4 min
Every company starts with a problem worth solving. Ours started with a disruption that nobody saw coming.
A group of experienced P&C agency owners were abruptly released from their captive contracts. Overnight, the foundation they'd built their businesses on was pulled out from under them. Each of them had to figure out their next move — independently, and quickly.
They did their due diligence. Some considered taking their book to another captive company. Others looked at going fully independent. Some explored aggregators, clusters, and networks. The options were there, but none of them felt quite right. Every path came with tradeoffs — lost carrier relationships, unfavorable splits, restrictive contracts, or a lack of the support structure they'd grown used to.
In the middle of that process, Sam — Sphere Group's founder — saw something the others hadn't quite named yet. The problem wasn't the options themselves. The problem was that none of the existing options were actually built for the agent who bets on themselves. The agent who's motivated to grow, willing to do the work, and just needs the right foundation to do it on.
So instead of choosing from the existing options, Sam built a new one.
That decision is why Sphere Group exists.
What We Saw in the Market
The independent insurance agency channel is full of talented, hardworking agents who are leaving money on the table — not because they lack ability, but because the infrastructure they're working within wasn't designed with their interests in mind.
Networks that charge entry fees to join. Commission structures that start low and promise improvement that never quite arrives. Exit provisions that make it nearly impossible to leave. Profitability bonuses retained at the network level. Carrier appointments that evaporate the moment you try to move on.
These aren't edge cases. They're common. And agents put up with them because the alternative — building direct carrier relationships from scratch — feels impossible, especially early in a career.
We looked at that dynamic and asked a simple question: what would a network look like if it was built entirely around the agent's interests?
What We Built
We started with the economics — because we knew that if the numbers weren't right, nothing else would matter. Agents deserve to keep what they earn. They deserve compensation that reflects the work they put in, without arbitrary tiers to climb or bonuses that quietly disappear into someone else's revenue.
But honestly, the economics were just the beginning.
What we really set out to build was something the industry hadn't seen enough of — a network that actually gives a damn about the people in it. One that treats agents like partners, not production units. One that invests in their growth, stands behind them when things get hard, and gets out of the way when they don't need us.
Sphere Group was built for the agent who bets on themselves. The one who shows up early, works the book, builds the relationships, and refuses to settle for a system that takes more than it gives. We wanted to create the kind of infrastructure that makes that agent unstoppable — and then get out of their way.
Where We're Headed
Sphere Group is still early. We're selective about who we bring on because we believe the strength of a network is determined by the quality of its members, not the size of its roster. Every agency and producer we work with is someone we've evaluated personally — and someone we're genuinely invested in seeing succeed.
We built two distinct programs because we recognized early on that an established agency owner and a producer building from scratch have fundamentally different needs — and that trying to serve both with a single model means serving neither one well.
The Partner Program is built for agency owners who are ready for better economics, direct carrier relationships, and a network that treats them like the experienced professionals they are. The Pathway Program is built for producers who are ready to bet on themselves — with the carriers, the compensation, and the support to build something real.
We're always evaluating new carrier relationships, because the strength of our network is only as good as the markets we can put in front of our members. And we're constantly listening to the agents we work with — because they're the ones who know what they actually need.
What we're building isn't finished. It never will be. But it's always moving in one direction — toward something better for the independent agent.
That's how we started. It's still how we work.
