For Cary-based Third Floor Technology, working more hours is not the answer for loan officers. Instead, the startup’s AI technology just might be the solution.
Long before he became the CEO and Founder of Third Floor—which is a finalist for one of NC IDEA’s $50K SEED grants—Brian Sparr was a software developer who entered the real estate space at Trulia and then became a real estate agent.
As an agent, Sparr couldn’t find the right kinds of tools and systems to run his team, so he built them himself, developing the building blocks for Third Floor Technology.
Sparr’s business partners who were lenders were always interested in what Sparr was building.
“Then I finally finally broke down and said, ‘Alright, fine, I’ll turn it into something that you can use as well,’” Sparr said. “And that was really kind of the genesis of the company.”
Sparr decided to shut down his real estate practice and go full-time with Third Floor Technology in around March.
Third Floor Technology aims to create the “AI-powered loan officer.” Mortgage loan officers use their SaaS product and integrate it into their technology systems. With Third Floor’s AI, personalization and workflow automation, they can exceed quotas and goals while providing a better consumer experience than their borrowers were expecting, Sparr said.
From Third Floor’s integration into loan officers’ businesses, the startup can help them systemize their communication, automating key processes and providing accountability and consistency while ensuring their manual steps are never overlooked.
Third Floor also provides guidance and insights on clients that loan officers need to talk to by analyzing system activity. This could indicate when clients may be wanting to buy a house or refinance a loan.
Individual loan officers can pay $750 a month for the SaaS product.
Sparr said he’s chosen the mortgage vertical, but there’s nothing about the product that limits itself just to that.
“When I look at the eventual expansion across different verticals, there’s an opportunity to build a billion-dollar business,” Sparr said. “It absolutely exists. And that is kind of the path that I’m marching towards.”
Sparr said they’ve been able to save some clients at least nine hours of work every week. At the end of the day, he said he wants clients to work smarter and more efficiently.
“We basically have the attitude that the only answer to building a bigger business for themselves should not be that they need to work more hours,” Sparr said. “We want to create a system that allows them to reach their goals, but to do it within a manageable amount of time.”
Sparr said his biggest hurdle right now is just being able to service the current demand he has. That’s why one emphasis he has going forward is on hiring more people.
Third Floor Technology has been impacted uniquely by the historically low interest rates this year, which has caused the mortgage market to be on fire, Sparr said.
Originally, Sparr created Third Floor with the idea of helping loan officers generate more business and nurture leads. Now, the focus for clients has been on how to best service their existing business, changing Third Floor Tech’s product roadmap.
“Every lender out there is having a record year this year,” Sparr said. “And so what that’s done for me on my side, though, is it’s shifted the emphasis that these people have.”
