MAG GUTS - Krupin Partners

BY SARAH COX | PHOTOGRAPHY BY JOHN MCCOY
B
StarPOwer
ryan Krupin ’94 may manage insurance and wealth
transfer planning for the
glitterati of Beverly Hills,
but he brought the tenets of good
business with him from the East
Coast. More specifically, Krupin
attributes Roanoke College and
his sociology degree with giving
him “exceptional communication
skills, problem-solving abilities,
Bryan Krupin ’94 is managing
partner of an insurance firm whose
clients are among the Who’s Who
in entertainment and sports.
and creative thinking, all in a very
nurturing environment with peers
and teachers who honestly care.”
Krupin’s father, Michael J. Krupin
— senior partner and co-founder,
with his son, of Gilbert-Krupin
Insurance Services, LLC — is also
credited with influencing his
son in all the right ways. He
pulled Bryan into the insurance
business in their hometown of
Richmond, Va. continued
Bryan Krupin in front of the Beverly
Hills building that houses Gilbert-Krupin
Insurance Services, LLC.
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To Bryan Krupin, family comes first
and his chosen career has enabled him
to follow this conviction.
BRYAN KRUPIN
Before insurance, Bryan Krupin
There are two ways to acquire
played with the ideas of atclients, he explains. One is to
tending cooking school, delvreach out directly; the other is
ing into restaurant manageto work through advisors, who
ment or working as a travel
have clients.
“At the top, or in any kind
agent. But he also knew that
of niche, it’s a small world,
insurance represented “unlimand advisors know each other,”
ited income potential” as well
he says.
as the perks of being in busiHe intends to concentrate on
ness for himself. And his father
his niche and not spread the
set that example: As an insurbusiness too thin. After all, he
ance producer in Richmond,
says, “we have a pretty good
Michael Krupin was able to atcorner of the market here. We
tend Bryan’s tennis matches
Bryan Krupin with his wife, Zena, and their two children, Tatum, 6, far left,
and Harrison, 4, in his father’s arms.
don’t want to be a jack-of-allthrough high school and even
trades. We don’t want to try to
at Roanoke College.
To Bryan Krupin, family comes first and his chosen career
expand just for the mere fact of acquiring additional revenue.”
has enabled him to follow that conviction.
This niche is something he couldn’t have established in
Gilbert-Krupin LLC was established in 1996 in Beverly
Richmond, although he misses the East Coast, recalling that
Hills, Calif. with a friend, Dennis Gilbert, who, as a former
Hollywood is sometimes referred to as “a sunny town with
baseball agent, had many valuable contacts. Now, the firm has
shady people.” He is also very careful about his reputation,
representation in Richmond as well as an office in New York
realizing that it’s a hard-won commodity that’s easily lost.
that Bryan Krupin’s sister, Ashley, has advanced as director of
“It doesn’t take much to ruin it, so we always try to be very
business development. Krupin, who is managing partner of the
cautious about how we go about doing our business.”
Krupin runs his business the way he runs his life: “I try to
firm, said their business has a specialized niche: “We only work
be a nice person, and try to be respectful of people.” He finds
with entertainers and high net worth people. Our clients are
customer service “lacking” in this country, and makes an
the ‘Who’s Who.’” Krupin says he can’t divulge names but that
effort to remedy that. He also values and misses the manners
“every day, I have a new opportunity with someone” who he’s
he grew up with in Virginia – the very thing one doesn’t
recently seen on the big screen in a movie theater or performappreciate until it’s missing. To that end, his pet peeve is the
ing at a concert.
Krupin says part of his success comes from being a nice
unreturned phone call, so he tries to return his messages
person. This he took from his father, whom he describes as
within 12 hours.
“It comes down to working hard and being passionate,”
positive, genuine, and a man of character. And people do
says Krupin, who is on the board of the Krupin Family Founbusiness with people they like and trust.
But in addition to being likeable, Krupin says one has to have
dation, which supports numerous educational and philansmarts, knowledge and experience. He has become a numbers
thropic causes. “Those are the two most important ingredients
geek, he says, admitting that he’s “a bit analytical at times.” His
you can have.”
father also showed him the importance of passion for a career.
He looks out onto Rodeo Drive from his office window. He
“It probably stops there,” he says. “If you aren’t passionate
lives near the ocean. He has two children, a wife and a love of
about helping people, you are not going to stand out. At the end
travel. And he wants the same things for his children that his
of the day, I love coming to work, and I work extremely hard.”
father wanted for him: “to be hard workers, be respectful, have
The business has grown by virtue of contacts, something
manners and grow up happy.”
else he learned through his father’s expertise. About 90 perBryan Krupin has fulfilled his father’s wishes. RC
cent of their business is the result of referrals from advisors.
“At the end of the day, I love coming to work,
and I work extremely hard.”
Bryan Krupin sits before a wall of celebrity client photos in his Beverly Hills office.
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