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Freedom demands risk.

Every Fourth of July, I think about the extraordinary gamble taken 248 years ago when business leaders, farmers, and intellectuals challenged the most powerful empire on earth. These weren’t reckless revolutionaries but pragmatic individuals who understood some principles transcend comfort and safety. They created the foundation that later enabled my partner and me to build LION Specialty.

America’s founding was the ultimate startup story. No guarantee of success, no proven model, no safety net. When I consider the courage required to sign the Declaration—not just a document but potential death warrants—it puts every business decision I’ve made into perspective.

The principles they established created everything that followed.

What We Inherited

They built something unprecedented: economic freedom paired with personal responsibility.

In financial services, we see this legacy daily. The contracts we write, regulations we navigate, and innovation we pursue all trace back to those first principles. This system doesn’t just enable our business—it defines our operations.

But with that inheritance comes responsibility.

Those Who Secured It

Veterans understand something we often forget: freedom isn’t free.

Every generation faces the choice to preserve what the founders started or let it slip away. Our military, police officers, firefighters, and emergency responders stand ready to maintain the peace that allows our economy to function. Their families sacrifice alongside them, carrying burdens most of us never fully comprehend.

When I see a veteran in our industry—and there are many—I’m reminded that our financial system exists because someone was willing to defend it.

This deserves our gratitude and demands our engagement.

Our Leadership Responsibility

Financial leaders are stewards of institutions that people trust with their futures.

The integrity with which we operate directly impacts public confidence in the system the founders designed. Every time we choose long-term thinking over short-term gains, we honor their vision. Every time we prioritize clients’ interests over convenience, we prove their faith in human nature was justified.

This isn’t about politics but understanding our core responsibilities.

Accountability, transparency, and service to others aren’t just good business practices—they’re the values that built America.

Moving Forward

This Fourth of July, we recognize what we owe.

To the founders: use our freedom responsibly.

To veterans and first responders: honor their sacrifice.

To the next generation: hand them something stronger than what we inherited.

In our business, that means innovating while maintaining integrity. It means supporting the institutions that protect our way of life and remembering that success brings responsibility—not just to shareholders and clients but to the nation that made our success possible.

The risk those founders took 248 years ago created the foundation for everything since.

This Fourth of July, let’s prove we’re worthy of their bet.

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Stay Covered,
​ Natasha & Mark Flippen
Co-Founders & Managing Partners
LION Specialty
Institutional Insurance Strategy, Built to Hold.