Nora Apsel. Image: Morty
Our Start-up of the Week is Morty, a US platform aiming to connect first-time buyers to tools and resources to help them purchase a home.
Nora Apsel, co-founder of New York-based proptech firm Morty, is on a mission to pair technology with industry expertise, creating a platform that makes the mortgage process more transparent and less confusing for those who are new to it.
The start-up is aiming to help first-time buyers in the US understand common questions related to affordability, mortgage rates and the various parties involved in the buying process.
Whether you’ve submitted an offer or are just getting started, our technology and team of licensed mortgage experts aim to provide you with the educational tools and transparent guidance to help you achieve an efficient home buying journey from start to finish. ? pic.twitter.com/L6KefSJ0Zy
— Morty (@HiMorty) September 26, 2019
“I began my career in the non-profit world before realising that my passion for technology could be used to have a greater social impact,” Apsel told Siliconrepublic.com.
“I spent the past 10 years as a software engineer working for venture-backed start-ups, most notably Meetup, Truly Wireless and Flurry, which was acquired by Yahoo. I initially worked to build Morty as a software engineer, before transitioning to leading and scaling the company’s growing operations.”
Apsel, who is COO of Morty, started the company in 2016 with industry veteran Brian Faux, who took on the role of CEO, as well as Sarah Thomas, who previously worked as a senior advisor for the US Department of Housing, and CTO Adam Rothblatt, a former algorithmic trader at Goldman Sachs.
Apsel said that the team’s diverse backgrounds in mortgage, finance and tech has combined to form a shared vision of making acquiring a mortgage easier and more transparent.
The technology behind Morty
“Morty started as a single, transactional product that allowed homebuyers to complete a digitised mortgage application,” Apsel explained.
“With our latest product launch, we have released a new platform with three distinct stages that better align with the homebuyer’s journey and their goals along the way, from building confidence in a strong, verified pre-approval to locking the perfect loan based on their needs.”
The platform includes information about the financial attributes that help buyers qualify for a mortgage; the ability to calculate home financing score that gives users an idea of their mortgage eligibility; instant verifications to accelerate pre-approval; dynamic, real-time loan pricing from a range of vendors; and access to advice from mortgage experts and closing specialists.
“Our ultimate goal is for Morty to be the first place anyone thinks of when they are researching or considering buying their first home,” Apsel added.
Future growth
Last August, Morty raised $8.5m in Series A funding, bringing its total amount raised to more than $11m, which will help the company expand in the coming years.
Apsel said that running a start-up in New York has been great for the business, as the scene “pulls from all the other industries that New York is known for”, such as finance, advertising, real estate, fashion, media and art.
“Morty sits at the intersection of fintech, real estate and consumer so, for us, it’s been invaluable to learn from and have access to experts and products in so many different verticals,” she added.
Want stories like this and more direct to your inbox? Sign up for Tech Trends, Silicon Republic’s weekly digest of need-to-know tech news.
