Mortgage Tech Talks

• E71: How Scarlett's Joe Fakhri is living the "Entrepreneur's Dream"

  In this episode of Mortgage Tech Talks, Tom Hall (BluMortgage) sits down with Joe Fakhri, founder of Axiom Innovations—the tech company behind Scarlett Mortgage, Scarlett Pay, and more. Joe shares his entrepreneurial journey, how he risked it all to build one of Canada’s most innovative mortgage tech platforms, and why machine learning—not just ChatGPT—is the real future of AI in our industry. From product innovation and automation to the evolving role of leadership in scaling tech companies, this is a must-watch for anyone serious about the future of mortgage and financial services. 🔔 Don’t forget to subscribe for more insights on mortgage tech and industry innovation. ⏱️ Timestamps 00:00 – AI won’t replace you—but people who use AI will 00:38 – Intro to Mortgage Tech Talks & guest Joe Fakhri 01:00 – How Joe started Axiom & the origin of Scarlett 05:00 – Leaving a secure job to build Scarlett: the leap 10:00 – Living off savings for 4 years to build something great 12:00 – Building a "machine" of people and tech 14:00 – Why innovation needs to reduce friction—not add it 18:00 – The difference between machine learning & generative AI 21:00 – How Scarlett Genius uses data to recommend lenders 25:00 – Transitioning out of the CEO role: Joe’s leadership evolution 32:00 – Why trust and humility are crucial in fast-growing companies 34:00 – Joe’s take on the Internet revolution—and how AI compares 37:00 – The difference between machine learning vs ChatGPT-style AI 41:00 – What the next 24 months of real AI adoption will look like 46:00 – Final thoughts: picking trusted partners in a noisy AI market 💡 Want to connect with Joe? https://www.instagram.com/scarlettnetwork/  https://www.linkedin.com/company/scarlettnetwork/  https://www.facebook.com/ScarlettNetwork 

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• E70: Market Update- Canadian Tech, US Loan Officers Hurting, Pinch-DLC Partnership

  In this episode of Mortgage Tech Talks, we break down some huge developments happening across the mortgage industry — both in Canada and the U.S. From the shocking downsizing of U.S. mortgage brokers, to how Canadian mortgage tech companies are adjusting their strategies, to a deep dive into the latest partnership news between Pinch Financial and DLC — this episode is packed with insights that every mortgage professional, lender, and tech entrepreneur needs to hear. Whether you're a mortgage broker, lender, or just someone following the evolving mortgage tech space, you're going to walk away with valuable takeaways about where the market is heading. Timestamps: 00:00 - U.S. Mortgage Broker Numbers Crash: 395,000 → 93,000 00:18 - Comparing U.S. vs. Canadian Mortgage Broker Markets 00:52 - Why U.S. Brokers Are Being Wiped Out (No Renewal Cycles) 01:26 - Welcome to Mortgage Tech Talks (Living Room Edition) 01:44 - Quick Overview of Today's Topics 02:06 - How Canadian Tech Companies Are Positioning Themselves 02:23 - The Pinch Financial Curiosity Story 02:27 - Story #1: Jeff Willis' Proudly Canadian Post 03:06 - Debating Canadian vs. U.S. Mortgage Tech Platforms 04:09 - Economic Libertarian View on Tariffs in Mortgage Tech 05:07 - Why "Made in Canada" Matters More in 2025 06:08 - How U.S. Funding Impacts Canadian Mortgage Startups 07:29 - Silver Linings and the Need for Canadian Funding Growth 08:05 - Story #2: Even Deeper Dive into U.S. Loan Officer Numbers 09:31 - The True Reason Behind the U.S. Mortgage Collapse 10:59 - No Refinancing, No Moving, No Business 11:39 - How Brokers Are Surviving Today (New Builds, 2nd Mortgages) 12:11 - The New Evolution: From "Rate Shopper" to "Trusted Advisor" 13:12 - Story #3: Pinch Financial Partners with DLC 13:54 - The Importance of Realtor.ca Integration for Pinch 14:30 - Is Pinch Really a "Game-Changer"? A Closer Look 15:07 - Unpacking the M3 Tech and Pinch Relationship 16:13 - Why M3 Might Be Refocusing on Core Competencies 17:15 - Are Brokers and Tech Companies Both Scaling Back? 17:30 - Final Thoughts + How the Mortgage Tech Landscape is Changing Subscribe to Mortgage Tech Talks for more weekly deep dives into mortgage industry trends, market updates, and how technology is shaping the future of Canadian lending. 👉 Comment below: What trend do you think will have the biggest impact in the next 12 months? #MortgageBrokers #MortgageTech #CanadianRealEstate #LendingTrends #MortgageIndustry

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• E69: How a $100M+ Broker Jumped into Commercial and Built His Own Tech with David Mayrand

  In this episode of Mortgage Tech Talks, I sit down with David Mayrand, a former residential broker who transitioned into the multifamily commercial space—and then took it a step further by building a tech solution designed to streamline complex multifamily deals. We talk about: Why residential brokers struggle to break into commercial The tech void in the multifamily space (and how David is solving it) What makes commercial underwriting so much more complex His decision to spin off a standalone multifamily tech platform launching June 1st How he’s democratizing commercial real estate for new investors and brokers alike This episode is a must-watch if you’re: ✅ A residential broker curious about the commercial space ✅ Frustrated by the inefficiencies of spreadsheets and emails ✅ Interested in the future of AI + automation in mortgage workflows ✅ Looking to scale your investor business with better tools ⏱️ Timestamps: 00:00 – Why multifamily listings aren’t investor-friendly 00:20 – Building tools that simplify commercial analysis 00:47 – Giving access to tools most brokers don’t have 01:12 – Intro: Meet David Maé Rand, ex-residential broker turned tech founder 02:07 – The origin story: from 2-minute convo to this podcast 02:43 – Why David left residential for multifamily 04:24 – Phasing out residential and leaning into investor clients 06:21 – Why switching to commercial is scary for brokers 07:17 – What makes some brokers fail when switching 08:59 – Why commercial lending has so much paperwork 09:34 – How David's team built processes from scratch 10:09 – There was literally no tech in commercial 11:18 – How they organize massive amounts of documents 12:13 – Why residential tech has boomed—but not commercial 13:20 – Why most developers can’t build good mortgage tech 14:32 – Building tech internally that actually works 16:25 – When David realized he needed a dedicated tech stack 17:50 – The hidden value of structured data 19:17 – Why existing CRMs don’t support corporations as borrowers 20:20 – The complexity of org charts and ownership 21:24 – Why solving hard problems = massive opportunity 22:07 – Where AI fits into all this 23:31 – Using AI to build org charts, automate file handling 25:20 – The future: AI doing all the grunt work for brokers 26:55 – Why David isn’t competing with generic AI tools 27:19 – Launching a dedicated multifamily tech company (June 1!) 28:16 – How this tech can change the entire Canadian multifamily market 30:12 – Will this ever expand beyond multifamily? 31:24 – Why tech gives David’s brokerage a massive edge 32:23 – His vision: a portal for agents and investors to model cash flow 33:43 – Making commercial less intimidating 35:08 – Tech as a bridge for new brokers entering the space 36:23 – Why servicing sophisticated borrowers requires next-level systems 37:07 – How brokers can actually provide value to investors 39:19 – Want to try the portal? How to get early access 🔥 Enjoyed this episode? Like, comment, and subscribe for more conversations at the intersection of mortgage, tech, and real estate investing. #mortgagetech #multifamilyrealestate #commercialmortgage #canadianmortgage #mortgagebroker #fintech #realestatetech #aiinmortgage #mortgageautomation #mortgagetalkshow

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• EP 68: From Lending to Tech & Back Again: Lawrence Schwartz on Playing the Long Game

  In this episode of Mortgage Tech Talks, Tom sits down with Lawrence Schwartz—Co-Founder of Mortgage Automator and now back in the lending game with Golden Bell Capital. They dive into: Why trade shows are massively undervalued The behind-the-scenes story of how Mortgage Automator was built (and sold) Balancing lending with tech startup life How great partners made all the difference Why Lawrence walked away from "early retirement" to get back into lending Whether you’re a broker, lender, or aspiring fintech founder, this episode is packed with wisdom, real talk, and some hard-earned lessons from one of the industry’s best.   Connect with Lawrence: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lawrence-schwartz-13611529/    🎙 Hosted by Tom Hall | Powered by BluMortgage #mortgagebrokers #mortgagetechnology #realestateinvesting #fintech #entrepreneurship #MortgageAutomator ⏱️ Timestamps: 00:00 – Why Trade Shows Are Basically Free 01:11 – Meet Lawrence Schwartz: Co-Founder of Mortgage Automator 02:37 – What Mortgage Automator Was Built For 04:11 – Funny Sales Funnel Story (Oops!) 06:58 – No Perfect Software Exists (Here’s Why That’s Okay) 07:17 – The “Secret Sauce” Behind Mortgage Automator’s Success 08:46 – Real-Time Product Feedback from Lenders 10:08 – Learning from Client Rejections 11:18 – Growing Trade Show Presence Over Time 13:16 – Why You Always Go to Trade Shows 15:28 – Early Signs That Mortgage Automator Was Taking Off 16:35 – Building a Sales Team That Could Sell Without You 18:47 – Balancing Lending and Tech in the Early Days 20:48 – COVID and the Pivot to Full-Time Software 22:07 – The Power of the Right Business Partners 25:06 – Returning to Lending After the Exit 27:08 – Realizations After “Retirement” 29:02 – Why Lawrence Didn’t Spend a Dime After Selling 31:14 – The Lending Philosophy at Golden Bell Capital 33:23 – What Types of Deals Golden Bell Does 36:40 – Why Simplicity & Speed Still Win 38:36 – The Reason They Only Lend in the GTA 39:53 – Final Thoughts: Send Us One Good Deal 40:28 – Where to Find Lawrence

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• E67: Canadian Mortgage Summit, Velocity 3.0, New Tech-Lender Partnership

  In this episode of Mortgage Tech Talks, Tom recaps his recent panel at the Canadian Mortgage Summit in Vancouver and dives into three of the biggest themes shaping the mortgage tech space right now: The massive edge brokers have when adopting new tech like AI The rollout of Velocity 3.0 and why it matters Why B deals, reverse mortgages, and commercial lending are gaining momentum From real talk about overwhelmed brokers to the long-term promise of seamless AI adoption, this episode explores how the most adaptable brokers are winning — and how you can too. 👇 Timestamps: 00:00 – The unfair tech advantage mortgage brokers have over banks 00:17 – Why you should start with the client journey, not the tool 00:33 – Don’t get overwhelmed: solve one pain point at a time 00:55 – Energetic intro & why today’s update matters 01:14 – Takeaways from the Canadian Mortgage Summit 02:13 – Who was on the tech panel & what they discussed 02:50 – Why AI needs to be reverse-engineered from your client journey 03:37 – Pain points first, tech second: the key to adoption 04:11 – Create memorable client moments (and stories) 05:13 – Why brokers can adopt tools faster than banks 05:47 – 70/30 split: who’s getting ahead, and who’s overwhelmed 06:57 – The real job of tech companies right now 07:13 – Why early adopters win in the short term 07:54 – Just like Gmail: AI adoption will get easier 08:44 – What’s coming with Velocity 3.0 (and why it matters) 09:47 – Improved UI, security, speed & data handling 10:28 – Could this enable smarter AI tools in the future? 11:16 – New lender tech announcement: why it’s bigger than it seems 12:18 – Why B deals are everywhere right now 13:02 – Brokers pivoting to B and commercial deals 14:04 – The rise of reverse mortgages & agile broker strategies 14:46 – Why being nimble is brokers' superpower 15:24 – Final thoughts: opportunity in the chaos 🎧 Whether you're a tech-forward broker or just trying to keep up, this episode will give you fresh insights on where the industry is heading and how to stay ahead of the curve. 👇 Drop your thoughts in the comments and don’t forget to subscribe for more weekly insights from Mortgage Tech Talks. #mortgagebroker #mortgagetechnology #AI #velocity #mortgagetips #canadianrealestate #mortgageadvice #fintech #MortgageTechTalks

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