Dawar Alimi04 October 2024

Lending Strategies with Ease ft. Dawar Alimi

0Frameworks

11Insights

Episode overview

Joseph Shalaby interviews Lender Price CEO and co-founder Dawar Alimi about his path from computer science and mortgage lending into fintech entrepreneurship. Alimi explains how Lender Price grew through customer-led product development, non-QM lending support, configurable interfaces, and enterprise relationships. They also discuss responsible AI adoption in regulated lending, measured risk, personal discipline, family priorities, and building a company around work one genuinely enjoys.

Key ideas

Customer feedback and close partnerships with brokers and lenders should drive software design and product priorities.
Lender Price differentiates through lower-cost pricing technology, configurable interfaces, non-QM support, and continual user-experience improvements.
AI can accelerate underwriting, compliance, communication, and information access without necessarily replacing loan officers or underwriters.
Regulated lenders must protect borrower and pricing data, which can favor private small language models over sending sensitive inputs to public APIs.
Entrepreneurship begins with taking a concrete first step, then persisting through uncertainty and cyclical market downturns.
Hiring people with deeper expertise than the founder strengthens the company and distributes decision-making effectively.
Health, meaningful work, supportive family relationships, and being present for children are presented as foundations for sustainable success.

Transcript available · source text is retained privately and is not published

People & resources mentioned

Attributed to the moment in the episode. Timestamps are approximate.

People · 7

Dawar AlimiMentionsCEO and co-founder of Lender Price with a computer-science background and more than two decades in the mortgage industry.
“we're excited to spotlight dear Ali the Visionary CEO and co-founder of lender price”
▶ Watch at ~0:00approx.
Joseph ShalabyMentionswhat's up everybody welcome to another episode of coffees for closers today we're thrilled to bring on a profound guest
“i've been trying to get you on the show for probably over a month and a half now”
▶ Watch at ~1:00approx.
Mark WahlbergMentionsIdentified as F45's spokesman.
“who's f45 spokesman it's Mark Walberg”
▶ Watch at ~3:30approx.
German CentenoCoinedA friend who helped start Lender Price before leaving and later returning.
“we also started with a good friend German centenno”
▶ Watch at ~14:00approx.
Rod LakeMentionsKevin Costner's partner and an early angel investor in Lender Price.
“we got introduced to Rod Lake who's Kevin Cosner's partner”
▶ Watch at ~14:30approx.
Kevin CostnerMentionsActor and early angel investor in Lender Price who introduced Dawar Alimi to Glenn Stearns.
“we ultimately went with Rod and Kevin as our first Angel Investors”
▶ Watch at ~15:30approx.
LeBron JamesMentionsNBA player cited by the host as an example of maintaining frugal habits.
“it was LeBron James is actually the cheapest person in the NBA”
▶ Watch at ~26:00approx.

Resources · 18

Coffeez for ClosersMentionspodcast · Joseph Shalaby
“what's up everybody Welcome to a very special episode of coffees for closers”
▶ Watch at ~0:00approx.
ReadyPriceMentionscompany
“ready price is out of business like they were trying to gain market share”
▶ Watch at ~1:00approx.
GTEMentionscompany
“I was an engineer working at GTE now it's called Verizon”
▶ Watch at ~7:00approx.
VerizonMentionscompany
“I was an engineer working at GTE now it's called Verizon”
▶ Watch at ~7:00approx.
Cornerstone LendingCoinedcompany · Dawar Alimi
“what was the mortgage company that you started called corstone lending Cornerstone”
▶ Watch at ~8:00approx.
Bank of AmericaUsescompany
“my wife worked at Bank of America and Bank of America at the time was having problems with short sales”
▶ Watch at ~9:30approx.
CoreLogicMentionscompany
“they didn't have an application core logic had something”
▶ Watch at ~9:30approx.
EMortgage CapitalCoinedcompany · Joseph Shalaby and co-founders
“right around when we started Incorporated e mortgage Capital”
▶ Watch at ~13:30approx.
LoanSifterMentionssoftware
“working with the wholesale lenders and offering them a option outside of Lone sifter”
▶ Watch at ~18:00approx.
Don't Make Me ThinkRecommendsbook · Steve Krug
“there's a great book book in software it says don't make me think”
▶ Watch at ~19:30approx.
Deep Haven MortgageUsescompany
“deep Haven is a pricing engine client they're a you know they're an Enterprise client”
▶ Watch at ~21:30approx.
ChaseUsescompany
“Chase correspondent lending is is is is now our client”
▶ Watch at ~24:00approx.
ChatGPTUsessoftware · OpenAI
“I asked chat GPT everything”
▶ Watch at ~29:00approx.
GoogleMentionscompany
“Gemini is through Google”
▶ Watch at ~30:00approx.
GeminiMentionssoftware · Google
“Gemini is through Google”
▶ Watch at ~30:00approx.
MicrosoftUsescompany
“we switched off of Google into Microsoft”
▶ Watch at ~30:00approx.
JasperRecommendssoftware · Jasper AI
“Jasper is a good example jasper. a is a good example just change it to Friendly tone”
▶ Watch at ~32:30approx.
Undercover BillionaireMentionstv show
“you have your own show undercover billionaire”
▶ Watch at ~38:30approx.

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Insights & moments

The myth-busts, hot takes, explainers, and tools worth keeping.

Hot Take· 1

Hot Take33:00

"Just take the first step": Alimi's entrepreneurship advice

Alimi says the biggest predictor of whether someone becomes an entrepreneur is simply taking the first concrete action instead of endlessly saying they will. He compares it to the hardest part of going to the gym being showing up, and says most people who want to own a business never take that initial step.

People who keep saying 'I'm going to do it' rarely do it
Compares starting a business to going to the gym: the hardest part is showing up
Most aspiring entrepreneurs never take the first concrete step
Encourages parents to let kids start experimenting with building something early

“if you're the type of person that says that I'm going to do it I'm going to do it I'm going to do it you're…”
Dawar Alimi · 33:00

#entrepreneurship#mindset#advice

Explainer· 2

Explainer30:30

Why Lender Price builds its own LLM/SLM instead of using ChatGPT directly

Alimi explains that because Lender Price operates in a heavily regulated space, it can't push sensitive data like FICO scores or loan information into third-party APIs like OpenAI's. Instead the company is building its own small language models (SLMs) trained on their own rules and data so client information never leaves their environment.

Banking clients specifically ask whether their data is being pinged to ChatGPT
You can't send loan info, FICO scores, or NPI data into third-party AI APIs
Lender Price is building proprietary small language models (SLMs) instead
They implemented NLP internally back in 2016, before it was mainstream
Regulatory environment forces a build-your-own approach for AI in fintech

“pushing pricing data or any type of NPI data or any type of sensitive data is not something that you want to push to open…”
Dawar Alimi · 31:00

#ai#fintech#regulation#data-privacy

Explainer21:30

Lender Price's configurable UI for non-QM and hard money lending

Alimi explains that legacy pricing engines have rigid, unchangeable UIs, so Lender Price built a configurable, drag-and-drop style interface that lets non-QM and hard money lenders build their own workflow. The approach came out of working closely with enterprise pricing engine clients like Deephaven to understand what non-QM lenders actually need.

Legacy pricing engine UIs are rigid and can't be customized by the lender
Lender Price built a drag-and-drop style configurable UI instead
Applies across non-QM, hard money, and other consumer lending products
Built in partnership with enterprise clients like Deephaven who shaped the requirements
Educating loan officers on how to sell non-QM products is described as the hardest part

“we came up with a thing called a configurable UI”
Dawar Alimi · 22:30

#fintech#product#non-qm#mortgage-tech

Story· 5

Story02:00

Dawar Alimi's 4am routine: cheap coffee, HIIT, no gym

Dawar Alimi wakes at 4am, makes his own coffee instead of buying Starbucks or McDonald's daily, checks pre-scheduled emails, then does HIIT training (F45) most mornings. He dropped from close to 200 lbs to 159 lbs through intermittent fasting and daily exercise, which he says gives him the energy and focus to get through the day.

Wakes at 4am and brews his own coffee at home instead of buying it daily
Sends emails the night before on a schedule, checks them first thing
Does HIIT training (F45) around 6am, 4-5 days a week
Dropped from ~200 lbs to 159 lbs via intermittent fasting plus exercise
Ties his focus and ADD management to consistent morning exercise

“it gets me through the day but it's also allows me to focus better”
Dawar Alimi · 04:00

#morning-routine#fitness#productivity#health

Story13:30

How Kevin Costner and Glenn Sterns became Lender Price's first investors

Alimi tells the story of how Kevin Costner's partner Rod Lake discovered Lender Price and offered to invest on the spot, Hollywood-style, which required an attorney to explain proper startup process. Costner then introduced Alimi to Glenn Sterns (whom he'd met dove hunting), who invested after a single pitch meeting at the Sunset Marquee.

Rod Lake (Kevin Costner's partner) offered to write a check immediately after seeing the product
A startup attorney had to explain the proper process for accepting investment
Costner introduced Alimi to Glenn Sterns, whom he knew from hunting trips
Sterns invested shortly after a pitch meeting at the Sunset Marquee
Alimi credits timing and luck alongside the underlying passion for the product

“there's the vision and the passion of you actually doing something that you love and then there's the luck of who you meet”
Dawar Alimi · 16:30

#fundraising#investors#startup-story

Story23:30

Lender Price becomes the tech behind Chase's correspondent lending portal

Alimi reveals that Lender Price has expanded its relationship with Chase from retail into Chase correspondent lending — meaning any lender selling loans to Chase (when not selling to Fannie, Freddie, or Ginnie) will use a portal built on Lender Price's platform, set to release at the end of the year.

Lender Price already had a relationship with Chase retail
That relationship expanded to Chase correspondent lending
Lenders selling loans to Chase outside the agencies will use a Lender Price-powered portal
Portal was slated to release at the end of 2024

“the portal that everyone uses today... that portal is our portal”
Dawar Alimi · 24:00

#fintech#partnerships#mortgage-industry

Story45:00

"Just be a good human being": Alimi on what matters at the end of life

Closing out the episode, Alimi reflects that money and success don't matter at the end of life, and that what people actually regret is not reaching out to friends and family they lost touch with. He frames life as a mission to serve others and connect, saying that's what remains once everything else is stripped away.

Says success and money don't matter in the end, only being a good human being
Regret at end of life is usually about relationships not reconciled
Frames life as being here to serve and do good, centered on family and friends
Delivered as the closing reflection of the episode

“it's not the success it's not the money it's not anything else... I just want to do is just to be a good human being”
Dawar Alimi · 45:00

“we're here for a mission and we're here to serve and we're here to do good things”
Dawar Alimi · 46:30

#life-lessons#reflection#legacy

Story25:30

Alimi's immigrant hustle mentality and family entrepreneurship roots

Alimi shares that he came to the US as a refugee at age five, and describes how his parents arrived with nothing and had to build their own businesses because they couldn't find jobs (his father a repairman, his mother eventually opening her own hair salon). He says that hustle and lack of network instilled an entrepreneurial drive that stuck with him.

Came to the US as a refugee at age five
Parents arrived with no network and had to start their own businesses to survive
Father worked as a Maytag repairman, mother later opened her own hair salon
Says this 'immigrant poverty mentality' has stayed with him despite later success
Draws a parallel to LeBron James maintaining frugal habits despite wealth

“I've always maintained that immigrant poverty mentality”
Dawar Alimi · 25:30

#immigrant-story#entrepreneurship#family

Q&A· 2

Q&A37:30

Glenn Sterns' advice: hire people smarter than you, and harder-working

Alimi shares advice he got directly from investor Glenn Sterns on how to build a company: find people who are smarter than you and who work harder than you, then put them in the right seats. Alimi says this has become his core approach to hiring and building teams at Lender Price.

Glenn Sterns told Alimi the key to hiring is finding people smarter and harder-working than you
Put people who know a role well directly into that position
Alimi credits this advice as central to how he's built his team
Framed alongside praise for Sterns as a humble but highly capable operator

“find people that are smarter than you and harder”
Glenn Sterns (via Dawar Alimi) · 38:00

#hiring#leadership#team-building

Q&A41:00

Alimi's personal, business, and family goals for the year

Asked for a personal, business, and family goal, Alimi says his personal goal is finally learning to meditate despite years of trying and failing, his business goal is completing Lender Price's product roadmap by year end despite constant distractions, and his family goal is attending every one of his kids' games and practices.

Personal goal: learn to actually meditate, something he's read about but never mastered
Business goal: complete the full product roadmap by end of year
Family goal: attend every game and practice for his kids this year
Admits ADD makes traditional meditation difficult for him

“I've really wanted to learn how to meditate that's a personal goal of mine”
Dawar Alimi · 41:30

#goal-setting#work-life-balance#meditation

Takeaway· 1

Takeaway40:00

Managing measured risk in a cyclical mortgage industry

Alimi describes the mortgage and fintech-mortgage business as highly cyclical, citing the 2008-2009 crash that put his earlier wholesale mortgage company out of business, versus the 2020-2021 refinance boom followed by a sharp 2022 downturn. His approach is to take measured, calculated risk and constantly plan for how to stay alive through the next down cycle.

The 2008 credit freeze put his earlier wholesale mortgage company out of business
2020-2021 was a refinance boom ('sugar high'), followed by a hard 2022 downturn
His philosophy: take risk, but measured risk, with every down cycle treated as an opportunity
Constantly planning for what's needed to survive the next cyclical downturn

“I think you have to take risk but it's measured risk”
Dawar Alimi · 40:00

#risk-management#mortgage-industry#business-strategy