When growth is built, not assembled

That observation sits at the center of Barton’s thinking and explains why, after more than two decades in insurance, he chose to build ALKEME Insurance the way he did. Having grown a family-owned agency from scratch, bought it from his father, and expanded it to roughly $10 million in revenue, Barton reached the point where the usual growth paths felt misaligned. Capital was available. Consolidation models were plentiful. What was missing, in his view, was an operating structure designed to support growth after agencies were brought together.