DS News

» VISIT US ONLINE @ DSNEWS.COM 63 business requirements, driven by customers, regulators, and internal operations for process improvement," said Todd Mobraten, CEO and founder of OrangeGrid in Brea, California. Being able to adapt is paramount no matter what industry, but size and speed in the mortgage world seem to be pitted hopelessly in a zero sum game. e "confounding issue," according to Mobraten, is that most software solutions are tailored to product-specific silos based on specific business requirements. In the ever-changing regulatory environment of the mortgage industry, how can companies properly react and then strategically evolve when they constantly face production delays related to software development lifecycles? "Truly modernizing business process requires a solution that can provide incremental productivity lift without risk of crippling your ability to conduct business as usual," said Mobraten, who took his first company global at the age of 21 and served as president of RES.NET for 15 years. Mortgage players deserve and now can expect "a solution to quickly adapt for ever-changing needs, without lengthy delays and costs caused by endless requirement meetings and production delays." Recognizing these bottlenecks is what led Mobraten and his co-founder, Dustin Sauter, to launch OrangeGrid. Taking a no-code approach, OrangeGrid does the "heavy lifting" by creating common software objects—new data fields, workflows, tasks, interactive dashboards, form templates and more—that allow companies to create both simple and complex digital workflows for themselves, their customers, and their vendors. Fast, agile and economical definitely constitute a welcome disruption in the rapidly changing and highly regulated mortgage industry. "e most important thing I learned was that traditional software development life cycles are killing margins and the ability for business to compete," Mobraten said. "It was then that my co-founder, Dustin Sauter, and I knew we needed to design a better way for companies to digitize business processes with the agility to quickly adapt at the speed of business. We were told it couldn't be done. So OrangeGrid was born." ere is so much outward focus as a startup entrepreneur—taking a solution to market, courting clients and even changing the industry—but one has to look inward as well. ere are personal and family questions that must be addressed in the face of such major business uncertainty. And the plan, there's always the business plan. "Beware of 'walk before you run," said Mobraten "e biggest pitfall you can hit when starting up a business is to be undercapitalized. With all the new-found energy, we want to leap into action. I thought my biggest hurdle would be getting our first $1 million in starting capital, but, it turns out, a middle round of seed capital is the worst. I quickly learned that you need to plan, plan and plan some more." STAYING AHEAD In an ever-developing industry where technology is taking a lead, it's important to not be complacent—to keep innovating, pushing the boundaries, and finding new ways to tackle housing's biggest problems. It's with this approach and no small moment of eureka that Factom's Jason Nadeau found a new way to offer document authentication, while also utilizing some of the most cutting edge technology on the market. "It was the realization that corporate America struggles to foster significant innovation and the only really industry- changing innovation would come from taking risks that corporations are adverse to supporting," said Nadeau, the Austin-based company's EVP. "Only by striking out on my own with a small company would we be able to do anything truly innovative." Factom Harmony is billed as the first practical and effective deployment of blockchain technology into the mortgage industry. "rough combining blockchain technology, advanced cryptography tools and a digital fingerprint for each document or data file, lenders can securely store and expose individual loan files or documents to various third parties, creating a digital vault for all loan documents," Nadeau said. Calling it one of the more exciting emerging technologies with "real disruptive implications," PwC ranked blockchain No. 2 on its list of top financial services issues of 2017. However, the professional services company reported that many firms are still trying to move from the proof- of-concept stage to production. Not so with Factom, which with its March 1st product launch targets the mortgage industry's hefty compliance, litigation, and documentation expenses. "I have worked in the mortgage industry for 20-plus years, building successful companies by combining software breakthroughs with massive industry shifts so it was only natural that I became interested in blockchain solutions and how they could disrupt the mortgage industry," Nadeau said. "e ability to apply Factom's blockchain technology to the documentation and data challenges of the mortgage industry creates a completely new paradigm for compliance and I wanted to be part of that." Completely new paradigm? Sounds like PwC would agree. Mortgage clients definitely agree with how the tech platform helps them reduce quality control, due diligence, and review time while breathing easier during audits. ere can never be too much security and compliance in mortgage origination and servicing. Factom Harmony supports those constant industry needs while reducing costs. Nadeau explains that Factom's new mortgage technology creates a single source to organize the final documentation and "provide cryptographic truth that each document is the authentic copy," while also providing access to multiple parties for documentable collaboration, including during an audit. e family man and soccer fan adds, "e combination of blockchain and digital signature technology within Factom's [platform] creates a solution where the benefits of digital signatures and electronic vaulting are now available for all documents without having to deploy any eMortgage or eClosing technology." TICK, TOCK Nothing teaches you the value of time like raising four boys. Lola Heretakis, who began her career in Chase's credit card division, translated her time management skills and work ethic over to the business world when she and Steve Salimbas, COVER STORY INDUSTRY INSIGHT INDUSTRY INSIGHT INDUSTRY INSIGHT 63

• Cover