The global financial technology platform behind brands like TurboTax, QuickBooks, and Mailchimp recently announced this year’s cohort for the Intuit Prosperity Accelerator: Toronto.
Powered by Intuit’s venture capital partner, Highline Beta, the program involves pairing each startup with an expert at Intuit who will mentor them on an approach to customer-driven innovation—a process which has propelled Intuit throughout its 40-year history.
In addition to these so-called “Innovation Catalysts,” startups will also gain access to experts from the broader industry who specialize in areas such as product design and development, marketing, sales, engineering, and venture capital.
Amongst the prospering cohort is LenderBidding, a licensed online platform that offers salaried agents for consumers who seek to borrow from a private lender, such as an individual or private company rather than a traditional financial institution.
The Canadian fintech was founded in Toronto by Jason Geall and Oscar Salvendy last year to “offer Canada’s only online auction platform for mortgages.”
One aim of the fledging fintech firm is to combat a rise in “predatory individual private lenders looking to take advantage of the most financially vulnerable Canadians.”
As private mortgage lenders, Salvendy and Geall saw the same story repeating itself over and over: “Borrowers being taken advantage of and over-paying on their private mortgages.”
The “entire process is archaic and flawed,” according to the entrepreneurs. And the problem they observed wasn’t going away.
They eventually determined “to build real change” through their own endeavour, LenderBidding.
The company notes how private lending can help those with non-traditional income, credit challenges, and unique properties—among other benefits. However, old methods to accessing private lending are not customer-friendly. LenderBidding believes its platform combines lower fees and rates with more speed and transparency for an overall superior and digital-forward experience.
“Our system is designed to connect borrowers requiring private mortgage funds with over 45 of the most prominent MIC’s in the industry, all of whom compete to provide the most favourable mortgage terms and rates possible,” the company explains online. “To ensure that our borrowers receive the best possible deal, LenderBidding’s revolutionary technology expertly packages their deal, presenting each mortgage request through the platform to our entire pool of lenders.”
By creating a competitive environment, “we can ensure that borrowers receive better financial value by saving on broker fees, unbiased advice from salaried agents providing multiple offers, and streamlined, hassle-free service through our fully digital platform,” the founders allege.
Following a one-year pilot project with Mortgage Alliance, Canada’s largest independent brokerage, LenderBidding appears well positioned to take advantage of Intuit’s Prosperity Accelerator, which has over two years worked with 15 startups, helping them raise a combined $24 million.
Other Canadian fintechs innovating and disrupting mortgages include Perch, 8Twelve Financial, and Wiseday.
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