GRIT EDITION THREE - Flipbook - Page 32
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M O S T L I K E LY T O S U C C E E D
W
CLASS OF 2020
HOW TO MAKE
A GREAT IDEA
STICK AND SCALE
By: Jesse Abrams, Founder & CEO, Homewise; Next Founders
Homewise automates the mortgage process
online, enabling clients to apply in minutes to
get the best mortgage from over 30 banks
and lenders. Homewise’s data intelligence
technologies power a tailored experience
that is a faster, easier and more transparent
process, saving Canadians time and money
when securing their home financing.
Jesse spent the first part of his career focused on
the digital marketing and advertising world. He
later went on to lead, build and sell a data-driven ad agency. During this time, Jesse was distinguished by Marketing Magazine as a “Top 30 Under 30” marketer. On the side, Jesse founded
two charitable fundraisers that have raised
close to $2 million over the last 10 years.
JESSE ABRAMS
THE W. GALEN WESTON TOP
ENTREPRENEUR AWARD
32
GRIT
hen I was running a digital advertising
agency, one of our biggest clients was
one of Canada’s largest banks and I
worked on their mortgage business.
We were a data agency and they said, “when it comes
to first time homebuyers or millennials, it’s just not a
demographic that we understand.” So, my company
conducted a data study and uncovered two really obvious things:
2. Validate your idea
First, there’s a lack of transparency in the mortgage industry. Yes, digitization and automations are
amazing - that's where the market's going. In fact,
that's the whole idea around our technology. However, even though banks are adopting this, you only get
their one solution and don’t know if you're getting the
best product at the best rate, without risks of penalties. All of this is muddled through complicated processes and no transparency into the various options
that are out there.
I have a lot of people within my network that I asked
for advice and they were amazing enough to provide
a lot of support. A crucial piece of advice I got from
a friend of mine was to build a version of our website in PDF form, send it out to 50 people and see
what they think. The first draft got completely torn
apart. Some people had major issues, while others
said it was great. This process was very helpful as it
allowed us to quickly take their suggestions, iterate
and improve before we launched. It also validated
that this was something people were hungry to be a
part of. So, with this in our back pocket, we decided
it was time to quit our jobs and do this full time.
Second, first-time homebuyers really don’t understand mortgages and the way banks are talking to
them makes them even more confused. I got a good
look under the hood about their mortgage process
and how their main goal was to make as much money
off their clients as possible. So, when I actually bought
my first house about a year later, I knew I wasn’t going
to a big bank because I knew it wasn’t a process that
was in the best interest of a first-time homebuyer.
This sparked a “there’s got to be a better way”
moment. I realized what a great opportunity there was
to help Canadian homebuyers find a better way to get
a mortgage.
So far, along my “entrepreneurial path” there were
a few things I look back on as drivers of Homewise’
success:
1. Trial and error
I’m 33. When I was 26, I had a great idea that I tried
to turn into a business. It didn’t get anywhere because
the idea might have been good, but the execution and
timing wasn’t there. When I was 29, I tried another
business. Again, execution lacked. At 30, I decided this
is the time to really do it and I jumped in. It took a lot
of trial and error.
I pulled together some of my favourite people I’ve
worked with throughout my career, looked at the international market, saw there’s some growth there
and said, how do we build this in Canada? After testing the idea with different people, we developed the
basic business plan and strategy.
3. Ask for help and leverage your network
4. Build a strong team
Luckily, I found an amazing co-founder, Carlos Medeiros, who has 25+ years of experience in the banking industry. He also has a plethora of degrees, including a PhD in Information Systems focused on
neural networks. Since I’m more of a front-end, marketing guy, he’s really the yin to my yang. He’s focused on the back end, data and our machine learning technology, while I’m focused on the consumer.
5. Develop your proof of concept
Our first year we were working in my basement and
putting our own money into the business. We generated as much revenue as we put in after about five
months. That was a good initial proof of concept to
set us on our way to raising our first round of financing and continuing to push our growth.
EXTRA CREDIT
Learn more about Jesse’s journey
building Homewise on LaunchPod
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