There's more growth ahead for Home Lending Pal Inc.
Orlando-based Home Lending Pal's recent bridge financing round with Orlando-based Cogent Bancorp Inc. and Orlando-based DeepWork Capital LLC maintains the company as it pursues a larger Series A round.
Home Lending Pal seeks an infusion of capital from investors to revamp its workforce and introduce more innovations to its mortgage advising platform, co-founder and CEO Bryan Young told Orlando Inno.
The platform makes it easier for prospective homebuyers to research and apply for mortgage loans. Home Lending Pal hides user identification information from lenders to eliminate lending discrimination based on race, age or sex.
What's next
The company's headcount is at 20 full-time employees after Home Lending Pal laid off nine foreign-based developers and a few contractors not interested in becoming full-time workers, Young said. However, he expects new funds to enable the firm to hire top-notch employees. "Historically, we have not been able to afford the best engineering talent, and I’m hoping this is the first step to change that and really deliver a product people will love, and everyone will be able to have success with regardless of age, sex or race."
The company lists 11 open jobs on its websites, ranging from senior blockchain engineer to mortgage licensing analyst.
High-caliber engineers will be vital to building out Young's vision for the Home Lending Pal platform. It includes a virtual AI assistant able to have "human-like interactions" with users, walking them through the process of finding a home and securing a mortgage loan, he said. Plus, Young plans to beef up the firm's recommendation engine, which suggests a mortgage the user can afford.
Meanwhile, Home Lending Pal has inked a partnership that gives the company nationwide access to down payment assistance programs, Young added.
'Rally of local capital'
DeepWork and Cogent are the latest Central Florida companies to invest in Home Lending Pal. The business has raised more than $3.5 million since it was founded in 2017, with many of its investors based in the Orlando area.
Home Lending Pal is an example of local investors backing a company with the ability to make a nationwide impact, Charlie Lewis, Waterfall Ventures Investments manager and Orlando Tech Council chair, previously told Orlando Inno. Waterfall Ventures led Home Lending Pal’s seed round in 2021. “We have a rally of local capital all coming together from Central Florida to support not only a great company from the area, but also a great cause tackling a real issue facing the entire nation."
Young moved to Orlando from Miami in 2020, and Home Lending Pal since has built up a presence in Orlando alongside its Durham, North Carolina operations. The company in March moved into a downtown Orlando office. Home Lending Pal employs 20 full-time employees.
Home Lending Pal’s partners include IBM, Experian, ListHub, AnnieMac and Flagstar Bancorp. The company also has received strategic investments from The Mortgage Collaborative and CUNA Mutual Group’s CMFG Ventures.
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