BEHIND THE LENDER with Strive Capital's Steve Kissuk | #77 | Mortgage Broker Podcast

In this episode, Deryk & Jason are joined by Steve Kissuk. Steve is a Co-Founder and the Chief Credit Officer of Strive Capital, which has become a top 3 non-bank lender in Canada within their first 5 years of business. Steve has been in the mortgage industry for almost 20 years. After starting as a mortgage underwriter in 2007 with Jencor Mortgage, he then became a Financial Analyst with Alta West Mortgage Capital Corp. A few years later, Steve joined Street Capital Bank of Canada, first as a Senior Credit Manager, then as both Vice-President of Mortgage Credit and then Senior Vice-President of Mortgage Credit Operations, which then led him to the founding of Strive Capital. Founded in March of 2021, Strive Capital Corporation is a trusted CMHC approved Canadian mortgage lender based in Toronto, Ontario, with a primary focus on originating residential mortgages. Offering both prime and alternative lending solutions, Strive is known for their exclusive broker partnerships and their very practical approach to lending. Steve is here to discuss: → Going all-in and co-founding Strive and how they developed a healthy partnership among the co-owners. → How how they build their team as a start-up, what they do for internal development, and how they created a shared company vision. → How Strive was able to gain the trust of brokers through building deliberate relationships & partnerships, what a well-packaged deal looks like, and the situations where a broker shouldn't try Strive. → Strive's practical approach to files and using niche products as the pipeline to bigger relationships with clients and an additional borrower type they are looking to serve in the future. → How the first 2 years of Strive's alternative product, Aspire, have gone and why you don't always need an exit strategy for an alt file. → How AI in the next 2 years will change the mortgage industry more than the last 15, current market trends, and when the market will bounce back. *** 🌎 Strive Capital Website: https://www.strivecapital.ca 🔗 Strive Capital LinkedIn:   / strivecapitalcorp   📸 Strive Capital Instagram:   / strivemortgage   👥 Strive Capital Facebook:   / strivecapitalmortgage   🔗 Steve Kissuk's LinkedIn:   / steve-kissuk-0b252628   *** CHAPTERS 00:00:00 Intro 00:00:31 Today's Guest: Steve Kissuk 00:04:31 Going All-In & Co-Founding Strive Capital 00:07:59 Developing a Healthy Partnerships Among Co-Owners 00:11:14 How Strive Gained Broker's Trust 00:18:15 Building a Team 00:22:14 Strives AUM & Funding 00:23:58 When a Broker Shouldn't Try Strive 00:29:13 Niche Products & a Practical Approach 00:34:38 Strives Internal Development & Shared Company Vision 00:36:58 The First 2 Years of Strive's Alt Product, Aspire 00:39:16 You Don't Always Need an Exit Strategy for an Alt File 00:42:06 What Does a Well-Packaged Deal Look Like? 00:46:43 Current & Upcoming Market Trends 00:51:31 The Transformative Next 2 Years of Brokering 00:54:03 An Additional Borrower Type Strive is Looking to Serve in the Future 00:55:23 Final Thoughts 00:58:04 Wrap-Up *** CONNECT WITH THE SHOW 🎙️ The Mortgage Broker Podcast Podcast: https://linktr.ee/themortgagebrokerpo... 📺 The Mortgage Broker Podcast YouTube:    / @mortgagebrokerpodcastnetwork   📝 The Mortgage Broker Podcast Blog: https://www.joinabw.ca/media *** CONNECT WITH THE HOSTS 📋 Dean Lawton's LinkedIn:   / dean-lawton-07184998   📋 Deryk Williamson's LinkedIn:   / deryk-williamson-271697106   📋 Jason Marshall's LinkedIn:   / jasonmarshallma   *** CONNECT WITH A BETTER WAY MORTGAGES 🔗 A Better Way Mortgages Website: https://www.joinabw.ca 📸 A Better Way Mortgages Instagram:   / abetterwaymortgages   📋 A Better Way Mortgages LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/domi... 👥 A Better Way Mortgages Facebook:   / abetterwaymortgages   📬 A Better Way Mortgages Tuesday Mortgage Memo: https://www.joinabw.ca/abw-tuesday-mo... *** Make sure to 🔔 SUBSCRIBE, 👍 LIKE, and 💬 COMMENT below to let us know what you think!