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In this episode, Heather interviews Dave Sims, CEO of Floify, the industry’s leading mortgage automation platform. Dave is an example of a humble leader, one who recognizes that his leadership journey has no end. We discuss his development within his company and the crucial leadership lessons he learned along the way that he incorporates into his everyday.
Key Takeaways:
- Leaders take ownership for the whole company.
- If there are problems on the front lines, take ownership and seek a resolution.
- Your leadership journey has no end.
- Create a sense of belonging within your organization.
- Leaders learn to become less involved, so others can learn and excel.
As a veteran fintech software engineer, one of Dave Sims‘ many passions is identifying inefficiencies within industries and developing technology solutions that streamline common workflow processes and alleviate IT security concerns.
After developing and launching Flux, a software platform designed to manage file transfers and batch processing workflows for the banking and finance industries, Sims’ focus later transitioned to the mortgage space. Having been inspired by his personal experiences with acquiring a mortgage, Sims set out to build a solution that would not only enhance the security of exchanging and managing sensitive borrower documents, but also make the process far more efficient.
Floify, the industry’s leading mortgage automation platform, was the outcome of this effort.
Since launching Floify in 2013, Sims has led his company from a simple self-funded and customer-funded concept into a robust loan origination solution that now supports more than 2,000,000 users via mobile and cloud-based digital mortgage offerings.
Today, Floify remains unmatched in the level of functionality, flexibility, security, and service offerings it provides to mortgage originators, borrowers, real estate agents, partners, and other loan stakeholders. Despite numerous competing point-of-sale solutions that have entered the market in recent years, Floify has withstood the test of time through Sims’ leading-edge technology, massive suite of third-party integrations, a pricing model that puts the customer first.
As CEO of Floify, Sims continues to lead his robust team of software engineers, security experts, account executives, marketing professionals and other staff, and explore new partnerships with fellow industry leaders to ensure the solutions his company develops remain on the leading edge of technology.
Support and Success
We started so small, seven and a half years ago, and we were up to about 40 folks now. So, I am cruising along my leadership journey and still trying to learn so much. I definitely suffered from imposter syndrome but I am trying to do it right.
It took me forever to tease out the difference between customer support and customer success. That evolved and it's always evolving. I feel like every nine months or so, our company becomes a brand-new company all over again. You’ve got to adjust and reorder sometimes.
It's just really fun to try something new and see if it's going to work out. - @FloifyDave #leadershipwithheart Share on X
Ownership and Trust
We have a thing called ownership and trust. Every new employee who comes on board on the first day read a pretty short article I wrote a year or two ago called “Ownership Interests.” What that really means is everyone owns their own place within the company. As they execute well their work with their teammates, their sphere of trust grows. So, they can take on more and more things in from time to time.
When I was working for someone else, I also wanted to own that piece of the business I was involved in. It feels great that you want to be in charge of your own destiny there. You want those responsibilities, and to carry it along. So, I have no interest in trying to take that away from folks who work here. Some people call it micromanagement. Nobody wants that right. Everyone wants to run their part of the business. Some do really well, grow, and expand that sphere. Some people don't want it to be bigger. So we try to accommodate all different types.
It's still quite amazing how many responsibilities different folks at the company have to take on because you're still only 40 people, yet there's thousands upon thousands of customers will need.
In the past, and I still do today, I want customers to have like the perfect experience when they're going through something. Previously, it was harder for me to let go to micromanage. I'd want every single interaction to be perfect, and I was too involved. Over time we got bigger and I slowly realized that I’ve got to become less involved. If someone doesn't lay down like this awesome great experience, I'm starting to learn it's really my own fault—maybe I didn't give this person enough training, or maybe we didn't have enough weekly practice sessions, or I didn't empower them enough.
A lot of us get nervous, and aren't confident in certain situations—I think it's totally normal. - @FloifyDave #leadershipwithheart Share on X
If a customer doesn't get an experience up to the standard of what I would want to give, that's really my fault. - @FloifyDave #leadershipwithheart Share on X
Trying Something New
I wanted to try something new, so I started a company a software company 21 years ago. It's still going strong, and Floify spun out of that company back in 2013. I have zero background and mortgages. I refinanced my home here in Boulder and I used a local lender. Just going through the process, I thought, “Oh, my goodness, this could be so much better.” How much fun, would it be to try to build software that would make the work lives of like the lenders and make the personal lives of the borrowers better. I thought it would be an incredibly fun journey. But I had no clue whether it would turn out well or not. We almost walked away from Floify. But we made the bet to keep going.
I remember in the seventh grade I sold bubble gum to my classmates. My mom would take me to the store to buy out all of the bubble gum and I'd sell it. My spirit is always been entrepreneurial.
Everyone owns their place within the company. As they execute their work with their teammates well, their sphere of trust grows. - @FloifyDave #leadershipwithheart Share on X
I'm always thinking about how can a prospective new team member or someone who's been with us for a year or two continue to grow within the organization. - @FloifyDave #leadershipwithheart Share on X
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