Relentless focus and ruthless prioritization
October 16, 2023
As we've begun to make preparations for 2024 planning, it's abundantly clear how far we've come compared to last year in terms of being able to accurately project out the growth of our business. At this time last year, we had just an inkling of an idea of how underwriters would use us and what they'd want to see when it comes to features and functionality. Given just the short list of underwriters we had on the roster, we also were unsure how many borrowers they'd each bring to the table and how frequently, particularly when the types of underwriters we had were so limited. On the investor front, even though we had been acquiring accredited investors for years, the math all changed as rates increased and their appetite for alternatives shifted alongside it. For institutional investors, we didn't even have a defined strategy to point to.
Fast forward one year later as we're going through the same exercise and we're able to see how much progress we've made. We know on average what types of underwriters bring what kinds and how many borrowers to market at what size and rate. We know how long it takes for us internally to bring a deal to market depending on the type of asset class. We know what it takes and how long it takes to convert a signed up user into a first time investor. We know on average how much an investor will grow their portfolio in each successive quarter. We know what types of products institutional investors are looking for and what kind of support they need. Last year we used our best judgment to try and make assumptions that backed into an outcome that we had hoped we could achieve for 2023 because we simply just didn't know. We were a 4 year old company reborn with a new identity and effectively a brand new business.
This year we're one year older and one year wiser, using hard data that we've accumulated and analyzed to make educated projections around growth, AUM, and revenue. Through this process, it's all the more apparent that what we need above all else is relentless focus and ruthless prioritization. Every decision we make, we should ask ourselves how this supports our AUM growth or helps us generate more revenue. Each and every one of us helps the company with these two core objectives in your own way, with every meeting you take, every document you draft, feature you ship, every client you engage with, and every email you send.
It's going to take all of us, focused and committed, to hit the targets next year but at this point, we're no longer just guessing. We have the data that backs up our claims and I have no doubt that by this time next year, we'll have found ways to be even more efficient and even more scalable, making these targets that much closer to becoming reality. Focus and prioritize
