Conor Murphy, CEO and Founder, Smartr365 sat down with Mortgage Strategy to chat about his biggest successes, challenges, and goals for the future. Take a look at a snippet below, and the interview in full here.
What is the main purpose of Smartr365 and what was your aim when founding it?
Conor: In addition to founding Smartr365, I established Capricorn Financial Consultancy, a large brokerage firm that I have run since the age of 25.
My experience at each firm has given me a unique insight into the market, from the perspective of both adviser and client, and that has influenced my aims for Smartr365.
The ultimate goal for Smartr365 is to build a platform for all advisers that automates large parts of the home buying journey. It is surprising to see how much of an adviser’s time is spent on admin, and how little is spent advising customers, so streamlining this process was a key aim when founding the company.
From a client’s perspective, buying a house is the largest investment and commitment they will make, so reducing unnecessary stress while they navigate a major life decision has been a large focus throughout my career with Smartr365 and Capricorn Financial Consultancy.
What has been your greatest challenge in the business, and your greatest success?
Conor: My greatest challenge has been bringing together key parties such as lenders, product providers and distribution partners. The mortgage space is such a tightly integrated and regulated industry; you cannot effect change in an industry like ours without collaborating with all the key players.
However, our greatest success is that we have been able to deliver on this, as demonstrated through our partnerships with leading industry players such as Experian, Legal & General and Nationwide, while still keeping the customer front of mind and delivering a slick, easy-to-use service.
We continue to challenge ourselves to improve in all areas while always retaining an obsessive focus on the needs of our customers — mortgage advisers and their clients.
To those who may fear the advances in technology within and outside the industry,what would you say?
Conor: Mortgage advisers are typically very good with people. They strive to form lasting relationships and advise clients on the most important financial decisions throughout their lives. Unfortunately, much of their time is spent on admin, which is not very enjoyable and also has low intrinsic value — albeit historically it has been an essential part of the adviser’s job.
Mortgage technology platforms such as Smartr365, alongside wider artificial intelligence advances like ChatGPT, can streamline some of those time-consuming processes, allowing advisers to focus on providing true value to customers.
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