No matter how far we come there still remains a few industries that are dominated by the men. Think technology, financial, and insurance for example.

So when Windsor native Michelle Tremblay, CIP decided to take her entrepreneurial spirit and assist in the launch of Canada’s first online insurance brokerage (EasyInsure.ca) she knew it would come with its share of challenges.

“I’d been working in the industry for close to a decade writing new business for a variety of brokerages and feeling there was an opportunity to improve what we were giving clients, “ she explains. “and as every entrepreneur will tell you I also felt the itch to be in business for myself but the opportunity wasn’t presenting itself.”

As the Managing Director of Insurance and Principal Broker Michelle faced many battles on her way to being a trail blazer.

“Launching a brokerage of any kind doesn’t simply happen let alone a fully virtual one,” she explains. “the insurance and technology industries still have their glass ceilings for many woman and I definitely had to do some extra convincing that we’d done our homework and success was a given. It was rewarding to win that confidence but it’s even more rewarding now that we are closing business at a faster rate than our projections. In fact, our success was so strong out the gate that we had to pull back on our marketing dollars to ensure we grew at a stable rate that allowed us to provide the customer service experience we wanted.”

When EasyInsure.ca launched in April there were many industry experts watching. Direct insurance has been successfully sold online in a variety of provinces for a number of years but the benefits of a brokerage, including its power to pull rates from several sources has not. Canadians, having been exposed to the American success of eSurance.com were poised and ready for their own brokerage. Combine this with online surpassing everything including television as North America’s preferred pass time and the timing couldn’t have been more perfect. With the success of EasyInsure.ca Michelle has become an inspiration and example for many professional women looking to make their mark. Still slightly uncomfortable with the new found attention she passes on advice that every woman can apply to their life and careers.

“Women are used to being judged its part of our make up. I just decided to ignore the biases and focus in on the opportunity. At the end of the day business professionals all want to be a part of something great. If you can get them to focus in on the facts you will find the biases quickly disappear.”

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“When it comes to women in business Michelle Tremblay is like so many women - just doing her thing - and not giving herself enough credit for how she is changing the world. When I asked Michelle to join the Thrive! team and be a mentor she said “YES YES YES!” (NOT!). In fact, she was rather hesitant. Michelle is the real deal. She is straight up about her success, her obstacles, and even her fears - plus she is extremely humble. Making her the PERFECT candidate to inspire the rest of us. Welcome Aboard Michelle!” ~Karolyn