The Ownwell Origin Story
After spending eight years as Head of Product at Lendesk, I decided it was time to build something of my own. I left Lendesk and explored a couple of paths - joining a startup accelerator, partnering with a venture studio - but none of the ideas I tried really clicked. Then, inspiration struck one day while cleaning out my email inbox.
I noticed yet another "Mortgage Anniversary" email from my mortgage broker. Like the "Happy Birthday" messages and generic rate announcements he’d sent before, it went straight to the trash. While I understood the intent - staying top of mind so I’d remember him when I needed mortgage advice - the execution completely missed the mark. And he wasn’t alone. This kind of generic marketing content is standard in the mortgage industry.
“Mortgage Anniversary”? What even is that? It’s meaningless to me as a homeowner. And while I appreciate the sentiment behind a birthday email, it felt odd coming from someone I hadn’t interacted with in years. These emails weren’t just irrelevant - they were impersonal, generic, and forgettable. In fact, I barely remembered who my broker was when I received them. It was clear why so many brokers struggle to maintain relationships with their clients over time.
At the same time, my wife and I were considering a major life change: upgrading from our small townhouse to a single-family home to prepare for starting a family. But the process of figuring out our next steps was overwhelming. How much equity did we have in our home? What was it worth? How would rising interest rates impact affordability?
As someone with some amount of expertise in the mortgage industry, I had the tools and knowledge to track down some of this information - but even for me, it was a hassle. That’s when the idea hit me:
What if homeowners had an easy way to monitor these insights on an ongoing basis?
A personalized dashboard of sorts - something that could guide our homeownership journey and help us make smarter decisions. And if I, someone with industry experience, found this challenging, what about the average Canadian homeowner? Surely, they needed help navigating these questions even more than I did.
Then I thought back to those generic "Mortgage Anniversary" emails.
What if brokers sent their clients valuable insights like these instead?
Rather than irrelevant messages, they could deliver tailored, actionable information: an updated estimate of home value, equity insights, or how refinancing could save on interest presented in a beautiful, engaging package. This would make brokers indispensable to their clients, keeping them top of mind when life inevitably changed, and mortgage needs arose. Not only would it be valuable, but it would be personal and consistent - unlike the occasional, random "Happy Birthday" email.
And most importantly, it would be frequent enough. Life events - starting a family, changing jobs, inheriting money - don’t wait for mortgage anniversaries. Mortgage professionals need to stay top of mind throughout the year.
The idea for Ownwell was born.
Ownwell would automate the process for mortgage brokers, transforming how they engaged with their clients after closing. The software would combine client and mortgage data with real estate trends to generate dynamic, personalized reports that could be sent to a mortgage brokers’ client database each month, in an automated way. These reports would offer insights like:
The estimated value of the client’s home
How much equity they had and how to leverage it
Potential savings from refinancing or switching
How much they could afford if they sold their current home
Delivered monthly, these reports would keep clients engaged and make brokers more relevant in their lives.
There was just one problem: I couldn’t build it alone.
I needed a co-founder with the technical expertise to bring Ownwell to life. Fortunately, a friend introduced me to Eric, who was at a similar crossroads in his career. While we’d followed different paths - Eric as an engineering leader and me as a product leader - we shared the same vision for building thoughtful, user-focused business. And although Eric was new to mortgages, he had built similar software at Paystone. We immediately hit it off. By February 2024, we were rolling up our sleeves and building the first version of Ownwell.
Today, Ownwell is helping Canadian mortgage professionals transform their client relationships, delivering value that goes far beyond generic emails. Each month, thousands of homeowners across Canada receive personalized reports created through Ownwell, giving them actionable insights into their home equity, interest savings opportunities, and the potential next steps in their homeownership journey. These reports not only keep clients engaged but also help brokers stay top of mind, ensuring they remain an essential part of their clients’ financial decisions.
And we’re just getting started…
Want to see it in action?
We’re currently in waitlist mode and will invite users based on fit and capacity.
