By the time most young professionals figure out what industry they want to be in, Krishen Iyer was already fixing one. Today he lives in La Jolla, but his journey started years earlier in San Diego, where he balanced college coursework at SDSU with client calls and insurance work that rarely felt efficient—or modern.
“I saw how much time people wasted chasing the wrong leads,” he recalls. “I started thinking, what if we flipped the system?”
That question led him to build companies that did exactly that. From IHS Insurance Services to Name My Premium Insurance—where he oversaw 236% growth in three years and secured a place on the Inc. 5000 list—Iyer built businesses on measurement, clarity, and operational discipline. NMP’s 25-person call center operated more like a lab than a sales floor, testing each idea against real performance data.
But one success never slowed him down. Iyer went on to launch Managed Benefits Services, rethinking how health and dental lead generation worked from the inside out, and later, MAIS Consulting, a firm helping companies scale through more innovative systems rather than shortcuts. His focus: build structures that last.
“Most people want a shortcut,” he says. “I wanted to build something that could last.”
Today, from his base in La Jolla, Iyer applies that same philosophy to philanthropy. He founded 4 Humans Inc., a nonprofit supporting veterans, underserved families, and communities needing mental-health and wellness support. To him, it’s all the same mission: identify what’s broken, fix it, and leave things better than you found them.
The Mindset Behind the Method
On Inspiration
“I get inspired by inefficiency. If something feels slow, clunky, or broken, my brain goes into puzzle-solving mode. In the early days, insurance wasn’t exciting—it was frustrating. But that frustration turned into focus. The best ideas usually hide inside something that isn’t working.”
On Trusting an Idea
“If it makes things easier, cleaner, or faster—and you can measure the improvement—it’s worth pursuing. At NMP, everything was tested: calls, traffic, conversions. Ideas had to earn their place. The ones that survived actually made the system smoother.”
On Building Confidence
“I didn’t start confident—I started curious. I tracked everything. If we changed a process, did it improve close rates? If we rewrote a copy, did the lead quality change? Over time, the data builds your confidence. Confidence without proof is just noise.”
On Risk
“I don’t gamble, but I don’t play it safe either. I prefer controlled risks—things you can measure, track, and adjust. Even when a new vertical flopped early on, it didn’t sink the company because we built a safety structure around experimentation. Failure is fine. Blind bets aren’t.”
A System That Helps Others Grow
One of Iyer’s greatest strengths lies in his ability to help other businesses grow by optimizing systems and processes. A recent MAIS Consulting client in the contracting industry experienced a 40% drop in cost-per-acquisition within just three months after Iyer restructured their intake workflow, qualification process, and real-time performance metrics.
“It wasn’t inspiration,” Iyer explains. “It was architecture. If you fix the system, the results follow.” He sees business challenges as opportunities to design and implement structures that enable consistent growth. For him, the focus isn’t on fleeting trends or flashy tactics—it’s on creating reliable processes that anyone in the organization can follow and that will continue to deliver results over time.
Advice for Builders, Dreamers, and First-Timers
Iyer’s guidance for aspiring entrepreneurs is refreshingly practical. “You don’t need to be brilliant,” he emphasizes. “You just need to be consistent. Start with what’s broken. Ask simple questions. Track everything. You don’t need a 10-year plan—you need a system that works today and the discipline to keep improving it. That’s how you build something real.”
He encourages others to embrace curiosity over confidence at the outset. The key is identifying inefficiencies, experimenting with solutions, and measuring outcomes. Over time, this iterative approach not only solves problems but also builds the evidence-based confidence necessary to scale operations and take on new challenges.
Iyer’s journey also underscores the importance of focusing on long-term impact rather than short-term wins. While many entrepreneurs chase quick growth, he prioritizes creating sustainable systems. Whether it’s in insurance, consulting, or nonprofit work, the principle remains the same: identify what’s broken, fix it thoughtfully, and ensure that the improvements are enduring.
The Core Philosophy
Krishen Iyer’s story is about more than business success—it’s about mindset. It’s about approaching inefficiency with curiosity, relying on measurable outcomes instead of assumptions, and building systems that elevate not only the entrepreneur but the people and communities around them. From his early days in San Diego to his current work in La Jolla, Iyer has shown that entrepreneurship is as much about thoughtful design as it is about execution.
Whether it’s a call center, a contracting firm, or a nonprofit, Iyer applies the same guiding principle: leave things better than you found them. His career demonstrates that when you focus on structure, measurement, and disciplined improvement, growth and impact naturally follow.
In the end, Krishen Iyer’s story is a reminder that entrepreneurship isn’t just about chasing opportunity—it’s about solving real problems, building systems that last, and inspiring others to do the same. For anyone looking to make a difference in business or in life, Iyer’s approach offers a blueprint: start with what’s broken, measure your way to solutions, and commit to leaving a lasting, positive impact.