Draft:Michael Vega-Sanz

Michael Vega-Sanz was born and raised on a small farm in Miami, Florida. His father is originally from Cuba, and his mother from Puerto Rico. He has a twin brother, Matthew, with whom he would later co-found multiple ventures, as well as an older sister, Cristina, and an older brother, Max.

Vega-Sanz began his college education at Miami Dade College, working at Nordstrom during his freshman year. He later transferred to Babson College, where he and Matthew launched a peer-to-peer car-sharing platform called Lula Rides (originally known as LUV). The platform was created to provide affordable and accessible transportation for college students and became the first in the United States to allow individuals under the age of 25 to rent vehicles without traditional age restrictions.{{Cite web |last=Baum |first=Saxon |date=2023-08-04 |title=Vega-Sanz: Passion in the Ordinary {{!}} Florida Funders Podcast |url=https://www.floridafunders.com/resources/podcast/finding-passion-ordinary/ |access-date=2025-04-03 |website=Florida Funders |language=en-US}}

Lula Rides quickly gained traction, reaching the Top 100 on the App Store and becoming the second highest-ranked car-sharing app in the U.S. at its peak, with vehicles available on more than 500 college campuses. The Vega-Sanz brothers eventually left Babson to pursue the company full-time. In 2020, due to the COVID-19 pandemic and widespread college campus closures, Lula Rides was shut down—an experience that inspired the founding of their next venture, Lula.{{Cite web |title=Festival de las Ideas |url=https://festivaldelasideas.mx/conferencistas/ponente/?n=Matthew-Michael-Vega-Sanz&lng=en |access-date=2024-12-14 |website=festivaldelasideas.mx |language=es}}{{Cite web |last=Baum |first=Saxon |date=2023-08-04 |title=Vega-Sanz: Passion in the Ordinary {{!}} Florida Funders Podcast |url=https://www.floridafunders.com/resources/podcast/finding-passion-ordinary/ |access-date=2024-12-14 |website=Florida Funders |language=en-US}}{{Cite web |date=2021-11-02 |title=Alumni Mentoring Program: Michael Vega-Sanz '14 Speaks to Students About His Company, Lula |url=https://www.palmertrinity.org/news-detail?pk=1446176 |access-date=2024-12-14 |website=Palmer Trinity School |language=en}}

In 2020, Michael Vega-Sanz co-founded Lula with his twin brother, Matthew Vega-Sanz. The company developed a technology platform that provides infrastructure for businesses to manage commercial insurance, offering tools for underwriting, policy management, claims handling, and compliance through a unified interface.{{Cite web |title=Michael Vega-Sanz - Co-Founder & President at Lula |url=https://theorg.com/org/lula-is/org-chart/michael-vega-sanz |access-date=2025-04-03 |website=THE ORG |language=en}}

Lula gained traction in the insurance and technology sectors for its ability to streamline traditionally complex and fragmented insurance operations. The company raised $18 million in a Series A funding round led by Founders Fund and Khosla Ventures, followed by a $35.5 million Series B round in 2023 with participation from Founders Fund, Khosla Ventures, and NextView Ventures. By the end of 2023, Lula was servicing more than 5,000 businesses and over 8 million individuals annually, across industries such as car rentals, logistics, and the gig economy.{{Cite web |title=Festival de las Ideas |url=https://festivaldelasideas.mx/conferencistas/ponente/?n=Matthew-Michael-Vega-Sanz&lng=es |access-date=2025-04-03 |website=festivaldelasideas.mx |language=es}}

Vega-Sanz’s work with Lula earned him and his brother a spot on the Forbes 30 Under 30 list, which recognizes young entrepreneurs and leaders making an impact in their industries.

In 2024, following the sale of Lula’s core business, Vega-Sanz co-founded Gail, an artificial intelligence platform designed for the financial services industry. Gail combines conversational AI, real-time analytics, and automation tools to support organizations in regulated sectors. It became the first known AI platform capable of passing U.S. insurance licensing exams.{{Cite web |title=Michael Vega-Sanz - Co-Founder & President at Lula |url=https://theorg.com/org/lula-is/org-chart/michael-vega-sanz |access-date=2024-12-14 |website=THE ORG |language=en}}{{Cite web |last=Cremades |first=Alejandro |title=This Entrepreneur Raised $60 Million To Simplify Getting Insurance Claims |url=https://alejandrocremades.com/this-entrepreneur-raised-60-million-to-simplify-getting-insurance-claims/ |access-date=2024-12-14 |website=Alejandro Cremades |language=en}}{{Cite web |title=Michael Vega-Sanz On Raising $60 Million To Simplify Getting Insurance Claims by @Alejandro Cremades |url=https://zencastr.com/z/DUnr344C |access-date=2024-12-14 |website=zencastr.com |language=en}}

{{Reflist}}

{{Drafts moved from mainspace|date=April 2025}}