Own Up

High-Level Overview

Own Up is an AI-driven mortgage shopping platform that matches homeowners and buyers with top-rated lenders to secure optimal mortgage rates and terms without providing loans itself.[1][2][4] It serves consumers seeking home purchase or refinance loans—such as fixed-rate mortgages, ARMs, and financing for single-family homes, condos, townhouses, or multi-unit properties—primarily in select states including Colorado, Connecticut, Florida, Georgia, Maine, Massachusetts, Michigan, New Hampshire, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Tennessee, and Texas.[3] By leveraging technology to compare offers transparently and negotiate uniform lender fees, Own Up solves the problem of opaque mortgage shopping, eroded consumer trust in banking, and overpayment on rates or closing costs, often saving users thousands.[1][2][3][4] The company has raised $45.5M total funding across three rounds, including a $25M round and a $12M extension in 2021 for national expansion and tech enhancements.[1]

Origin Story

Own Up was founded by former mortgage bankers Patrick Boyaggi (Co-founder & CEO) and Mike Tassone (Co-founder & COO), who drew from their industry expertise—Boyaggi closed $11B in residential mortgages as SVP at a top-50 national lender, while Tassone originated over $4B in student loans and held SVP roles—to address a personal pain point: even they avoided their own banks for better mortgage deals.[2] The idea emerged from their frustration with opaque lending practices and lack of transparency, prompting them to "re-write the rules" by building a tech-enabled marketplace that empowers consumers like pros.[2] Early traction included integrations like Optimal Blue's pricing APIs for broader lender options and funding rounds fueling growth, such as the 2021 $12M raise led by Brand Foundry Ventures (with Link Ventures, Listen Ventures, and TechStars Ventures) to expand into 15 new markets.[1]

Core Differentiators

• AI-Powered Matching and Transparency: Uses AI to curate personalized lender options from a network, showing all offers "exactly as lenders see them" with uniform fees, enabling rate shopping without bias or hidden markups—potentially securing lower rates from the same lenders users might approach directly.[1][3][4]
• Hybrid Tech-Human Model: Combines digital speed (e.g., 10-minute preapprovals) with concierge-style support from home advisors, providing ongoing counsel through closing for complex cases like affordable housing condos.[2][4]
• Broad Loan Access and Lender Network: Acts as a scalable mortgage broker offering diverse products across partner lenders (including less tech-savvy ones seeking online reach), streamlining origination to cut costs and expand choices for Millennials/Gen Z.[3]
• Proven Savings and Trust: Customer stories highlight $38K lifetime savings, fast approvals, and "human touch," backed by founders' banking credentials amid low industry trust.[2][4]

Role in the Broader Tech Landscape

Own Up rides the fintech wave democratizing mortgages through AI and marketplaces, countering traditional banking's opacity amid rising homeownership costs and digital-native buyer expectations.[1][2][3] Timing aligns with post-2021 housing booms, remote work shifts, and tech integrations like Optimal Blue APIs, which enhance borrower-centric origination amid market volatility.[1] Favorable forces include millennial homebuying surges, regulatory pushes for transparency, and lenders' need for digital tools to compete—Own Up influences the ecosystem by onboarding traditional players online, fostering competition that lowers rates industry-wide.[3] As a bridge between legacy finance and proptech, it expands access in underserved states while scaling nationally.[1]

Quick Take & Future Outlook

Own Up is poised for broader U.S. rollout, building on $45.5M funding to deepen AI capabilities, grow its lender network, and enter more states amid persistent housing affordability challenges.[1] Trends like AI personalization in lending, rising refinance demand from rate fluctuations, and embedded finance integrations will accelerate growth, potentially positioning it as a Credible-like powerhouse in mortgages.[3] Its influence may evolve by setting transparency standards, attracting acquisitions from big banks, or expanding into adjacent services like home equity—ultimately empowering more consumers to "shop like pros" in a trillion-dollar market.[2][4] This former-bankers-turned-disruptors story underscores how insider knowledge fuels real consumer wins.