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given up. We believe strongly in what we are
doing and in the ability of our technology
to change the industry for the better. It is
a testament to the team in Aspen and to
our customers who believe in us and have
believed in us for a very long time. And
it's not just me—the team thinks this way,
they think long term, and we have always
thought long term. We cannibalize our own
technology to stay ahead and constantly
invest in the underlying platform to make it
easier to implement, configure, and future-
proof. I've seen many companies come and go
over the years, but we're still here, doing what
we believe in.
How has Aspen Grove changed over the
past 25 years?
Probably the single biggest change is our
attitude. When you are a young company,
you chase every opportunity. It makes sense;
you must hustle. Over time, if you continue
in this mode, it is difficult to scale a business,
particularly a technology business that
can accumulate a lot of technical debt. At
Aspen, we have gone though that cycle and
our approach has matured. We decided we
needed to focus on two things: 1) continual
investment in our core technology and 2)
becoming selective on the opportunities we
pursue. We have focused in recent years on
the U.S. mortgage industry, and we invest in
our technology on an ongoing basis to make
it really easy to implement and configure. is
strategy is paying dividends for us and for our
clients.
Why the mortgage servicing industry?
As with most things in life, somewhat
by chance. I completed a business degree
in Boston (my background is as a software
developer) and wanted to start a business. We
came across an opportunity with a handful of
foreclosure attorneys who needed technology
to run their operations. Aspen started by
building configurable case management
for attorneys, and that was our intro to
mortgage servicing. Given the complexity of
Cover Story
"We believe
strongly in
what we are
doing and in
the ability of
our technology
to change the
industry for
the better."
—Sean Ryan, Founder & CEO,
Aspen Grove Solutions
By: David Wharton