Image courtesy of BeSmartee, BeSmartee
Learn more about BeSmartee's dream and how we plan on changing the world by changing the mortgage industry.
BeSmartee was originally founded in 2012 as a startup incubator. Our mission was to use the power of business to help solve the world's most important social issues. We envisioned an ecosystem of companies that make money and who commit that money to charity, thereby creating a system where businesses give back to their communities through consumer spending.
Think of companies such as Newman's Own who commits 100% of profits to charity, or even lessor known givers such as Kroger who commits approximately 10.9% of profits, and Macy's who commits approximately 8.1% of profits to charity.
Where you spend your money matters.
Each time you spend money, you're voting for what you support. As you consume, businesses thrive and make money. But, to what end? Hopefully, if you support good companies, those companies create jobs, they build up their communities and help make the world just a little bit better.
Originally we backed three companies which we had no experience in. Although we did okay, we realized we needed a homerun where we can commit hundreds of millions and show the world that a company can be profitable, valuable and charitable.
So, we decided to focus on one company in an industry which we had experience, contacts and success. That would be the mortgage industry. Since starting development earlier this year, we've received amazing industry support from former bank customers, technology providers, thought leaders and colleagues. A big thank you to everyone!
The mortgage industry is measured in trillions, which means when we're successful we'll be able to effect positive change to millions of people on a very significant level.
Back in 2008 at the onset of the mortgage crisis we created a way to change the mortgage industry, but we weren't able to bring it to life for a few reasons, including a lack of financial resources and technology requirements. However, today we can.
We, the Founders, pledge to commit 50% of our own personal capital gains when we sell BeSmartee, or go IPO. If we never sell and remain sole owners, we pledge to commit 50% of our profits annually to charity once the company stabilizes, and if we never sell and have partners we commit 50% of our personal income.
Seriously! This isn't a marketing campaign. This is our BeSmartee Pledge. This is who we are.
At the beginning of the year, my wife and I sold our mortgage technology company and we committed 50% of those gains to charity. We plan on doing the same this time around, but only a thousand times larger.
Well, it's too early to lay our cards on the table for competitors to see, but here's what we're building…
We're creating a platform where you can search for all loans available from all lenders, and be able to close your loan entirely online in about 15 minutes, making it as easy as how you can book a plane ticket on Kayak, buy stocks on ETRADE or even invest your money with Wealthfront.
Many people in our industry label BeSmartee as disruptive, and while that may be true, for us it's all about making the consumer experience amazing. We believe it's time that the largest financial commitment you'll likely ever make in your life finally be easy, fast and transparent.
It's going to be a challenge and we need your support.
Thanks so much for the time, and we hope you'll join us on this journey.
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