David Chiappino, co-founder and principal consultant at HealthKeys, had what he calls his "seminal moment," which changed his career trajectory, about five years ago.

"I was a full-time benefit consultant working in the mid-market," he remembers, "and I talked to a man who owned 10 or 15 grocery stores in western and central Pennsylvania, and he'd just purchased eight or 10 stores in New York – and he received a 70 percent rate increase from his insurance carrier. He was desperate for solutions, and there weren't a lot of solutions available. And I thought, 'Why can't we in the benefits business manage risk the same way they do in the property and casualty business?'"

So after spending time working with national carriers and regional firms, Chiappino and his business partner started HealthKeys, which accomplishes exactly that task: helping business owners manage the underlying health risks inherent in their employee populations.