Head of Sales at Proactivos · Nov 2022 to present
Juan Navia
Applying for Forward Deployed Go-to-Market · Handle · Mexico City
I built a 0-to-$1M+ commercial engine inside Colombian insurance, and when the manual work hit its ceiling, I automated it myself.
What I'd bring A GTM playbook built for insurance, a carrier network in Colombia, and the technical range to run a pilot without waiting on engineering.
View my work- 20xgrowth in recurring commissions
- 100+locations served across Colombia
- 7person sales team, built from zero
Origin · Nov 2022, Barranquilla
Where it started
In November 2022, Proactivos was a 3-person insurance agency built around a single purpose: managing the mandatory insurance policies for one hospital.
In a conversation with the owner, one number stood out: that hospital alone generated ~$50,000/year in recurring commissions, just from the insurance it was required to carry.
That was the insight: if one hospital produced that, what could a real commercial operation produce across many?
I was studying International Business at Universidad del Norte at the time. Shortly after that conversation, the owner brought me on as Proactivos' first sales hire. There was no playbook, no CRM, no team; just an opportunity and three people. I built the commercial function from zero.
Track record · 2022 to today
What I built, in numbers
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20x
Growth in recurring commissions
From ~$50K/year on one account to $1M+ across a diversified book
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$1M+
Annual recurring commissions
In insurance commissions managed today
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100+
Locations across Colombia
Hospitals and companies spanning multiple industries
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7
Direct sales hires
Recruited, trained, and led, built from a team of zero
Carrier side · where the trust lives
Insurance is a relationship business.
I run the relationships.
Growing Proactivos wasn't just about closing more accounts. It meant becoming a partner insurance carriers could operate through, not just sell alongside.
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Negotiation
Direct commercial relationships with multiple carriers
Negotiating rates and coverage terms as Proactivos scaled from one hospital to 100+ locations.
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Reconciliation
Trusted with financial accuracy, not just origination
I personally led a full reconciliation audit cross-checking commission statements against Proactivos' internal payroll across three separate entities; the kind of work partners only hand to someone they trust with their numbers, not just their leads.
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Market intelligence
Built proprietary prospecting for insurance sales
A system that combines Colombia's national healthcare provider registry (REPS) with Supersalud financial data to score and prioritize which hospitals and clinics to pursue next, turning a relationship business into a data-informed one, without losing the relationship part.
74,748 REPS records scored and ranked
This is what "insurance experience" actually means day to day: commission reconciliation, coverage negotiations, and enough trust that a carrier lets you inside their numbers. It's not adjacent to my background; it is my background.
The case · why this hire
What I'd bring to Handle
Handle is entering a market I already work in every day. This is the part I would not have to learn on the job.
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01GTM
A go-to-market motion built for insurance, not adapted to it
Mandatory coverage as the way in, multi-location accounts as the expansion path, renewals as the recurring line. I recruited, trained, and led 7 reps on that playbook while the book went from one hospital to 100+ locations, and I ran the pipeline myself before there was a team to run it.
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02Market
Colombia's insurance market, from the inside
I prospect from the sources the market actually runs on: the national healthcare provider registry (REPS) and Supersalud financial filings. I know which lines are compulsory, who is required to carry them, how carriers price them, and what a broker's back office looks like on a Tuesday. That back office, the one Handle is automating for LATAM brokers, is the one I have been running by hand.
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03Network
Relationships that make the first conversation warm
Three years of direct commercial relationships with multiple carriers, negotiating rates and coverage terms, plus 100+ hospital and company accounts across Colombia. For a team landing in a new market, those are introductions that do not start cold, and context on who actually signs.
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04Partner
Experience turning an agency into something carriers operate through
Not a channel that sells alongside them: commission reconciliation across three entities, coverage terms negotiated directly, and enough trust to be handed the numbers. Becoming that kind of operating partner is exactly what Handle has to do with every broker and carrier it deploys into.
Technical range · in production today
When the manual part hit its ceiling, I built the system that runs it.
What Carolina is
- A renewals agent for medical liability policies, live in production.
- It reaches clients on WhatsApp and by email, captures the reply, and follows up until the renewal closes.
- Companies hand it to their own employees to issue policies, ask coverage questions, and get quotes.
It is here for one reason: it is the same shape of work Handle automates, and I designed, built, and deployed it myself.
01
Detect
Policy expirations surfaced before they lapse
02
Prioritize
Cases ranked by urgency and value
03
Engage
WhatsApp and email, handled by an LLM agent
04
Quote
Deterministic rules, no model in the math
05
Escalate
To a human only when it should
The rule that made it safe to put in front of clients the LLM decides and interprets; the code controls and executes.
- 682physicians managed
- 679active policies
- 1,466automated tests
The same person who negotiates the contract also ships the system that runs it. I don't hand deployment off to someone else.
Fit · why Handle
Why I'm reaching out
Handle's Reconciliation and Collections agents automate exactly the work I used to do by hand. I ran that process manually, across three entities, before software like this existed for LATAM brokers.
I didn't just experience the problem Handle solves.
I built a smaller version of the solution, and I know the market you are selling it into.
Closing
Let's talk
I've spent three years being the manual version of what Handle builds.
I'd like to help you replace me.