00:31:47 · Anthony Pompliano
[00:31:47] S1: What keeps you up at night in terms of the business?
00:31:50 · Michael Tannenbaum
[00:31:50] S0: The... I think for us, the concerns that... I'm always worried about the capital markets in particular. We're a company that focuses on the future of the capital markets, and they can be really volatile. There's been times in my professional career where the capital markets shut down for periods of time, and we focus a lot on how to make sure Figure is a sustainable business. A huge part of the value proposition that we bring to those 500 origination partners is that we're providing liquidity for an asset class that previously didn't. Right? If you think about Fannie Mae, I think is is a great analogy. And in in many ways, what we're offering to our partners is similar to Fannie Mae in that they're getting liquidity and standardized capital markets for an asset. And that's so valuable, and it's most valuable when markets aren't as strong. Right? When markets are really hot, everybody feels like they can sell any loan. But when there's less capital in the market, that's where people are really gonna look to Figure to make sure that we're there and bring that liquidity. And so we've... And so that's what I focus a lot lot on is the downside scenario where the markets aren't as hot and how do we still deliver for partners. And we've done a ton a ton there. For example, one of the big things that we started to do is actually have, investors commit to funding the loans prior to the loans being funded, which is very unique. Right? It's normally like you you you fund a loan, and you go find someone to buy it. But here, we're actually prefunding that and getting the commitments up front increasingly. And we're doing that because we wanna make sure that our partners are always supported, and that just reduces risk in the system. So that's a big part of where we wanna take the marketplace. And you can only do that if you have the standardized asset. Right? No one's gonna say, oh, I'll buy something before it's even created unless they know exactly what that's likely to be. And that's the power of the on chain data and the power of what we've brought to the capital markets.
00:33:49 · Anthony Pompliano
[00:33:49] S1: Got it. That that makes sense. And then I noticed you guys always do these, like, promo offers, which are, like, pretty effective. I know you've got one for the crypto backed loans now. You guys have done ones for, you HELOC's also That's right. I'm assuming you're doing because they're working. Yeah. Right? Like like, you keep doing... Can you just talk a little bit about, like, it's not just, hey. Clear message to the right consumer, but also, I think you guys have really kind of unlocked this idea of, like, you're very good at consumer marketing, and then you have this great thing. So there's, like, substance, but there's a little bit of sizzle on the front end
00:34:16 · Michael Tannenbaum, Anthony Pompliano
[00:34:16] S0: Yeah. To some degree. Well, consumer marketing has... Was a strength of SoFi. It was a strength of Brex where I worked previously, even though it was b two b marketing. So, I mean, it's it's super important to have that differentiated brand and put that out there and really be associated with the future. I think when people think about Figure, it's products that are relevant in today's market and relevant to the future. Right? Whether that be the crypto backed loan or the HELOC. And we're putting those offers in front of customers because that's what they wanna hear about in this market. And like I said, our goal is ultimately to show how we can do it and then bring the other partners around. Right? That's part of that rule of one fifty, which you keep talking about. If we wanna be that high margin marketplace, we ultimately have to use our marketing abilities, our great products, and bring those to other other originators and lenders and and and banks who can then use the same thing. And so we're kinda showing the way and leaning into podcasts like this on behalf of our partners where they might not do that without kind of us showing the way, for example. [00:35:18] S1: Yeah. The the one that that you guys have running right now is new users of the crypto backed loan can earn up to $1,250 if they complete a crypto backed loan. And so, I mean, that's pretty... $1,250 is, is no joke just [00:35:34] S0: for, going and Talking about affordability. [00:35:36] S1: Yeah. Well well, it it... It's weird. Right? Because, we have this, like, k shaped economy
00:35:36 · Anthony Pompliano, Michael Tannenbaum
[00:35:36] S1: Yeah. Well well, it it... It's weird. Right? Because, we have this, like, k shaped economy [00:35:41] S0: Yeah. [00:35:42] S1: In, in America. And there's some people who, you know, have been very fortunate, made a bunch of money, have a bunch of assets in there. They'll look at something, and they're like, oh, the difference between $12,000 and a thousand dollars on the mortgage. Like, I'm... You know, if they're buying a multimillion dollar home, they're like, it's kind of a rounding error. Right. As you mentioned, you're buying a $100,000 home, that is a massive difference. And so I do think that, a lot of times the affordability is, affordability critiques are critiqued by people who don't have Right. Coming to the affordability. Yeah. What do you mean? Is it like, why are you guys complaining? It's like, well, you're in a different situation, and so these people have very, very different view of, you know, kinda the the state of America, the cost of America. In fact, I think the midterm elections, that was part of [00:36:25] S0: it. Right? [00:36:26] S1: It was people saying, look, the only way they can have their voice heard is to go into that ballot box and say, hey. I'm not happy with the way that things are going.
00:36:33 · Michael Tannenbaum
[00:36:33] S0: Yeah. And I also think the role of agents here is is relevant too. You've seen mew... You know, meta release Muse. And as people are thinking about, like, is it... You know, is is $1,250 worth it to me? Obviously, that's a lot of money for anyone. But when you think about an agent acting on your behalf that has more time than you do, more patience, this is something that we saw back at SoFi where the number one reason why people didn't refinance their student student loans was simply inertia. Right? It just... The amount of money they would save just wasn't worth it to go through the process. But, theoretically, if you're gonna save $15 a month, like, that actually can add real value, especially over thirty years. So now if you can have agents and and Figure is very much preparing for this future, if agents are gonna be operating on behalf of, say, even some consumers and looking at saving money, looking at affordability, I think they will naturally find their way to the figures of the world that cut costs and save time, and they will have a relentless appetite to do that. So we're really excited about the opportunity that people can use their home equity with an agent, pay off debt, save themselves money, and not have to do nearly as much. And we think we're very much building for that future, both for ourselves and on behalf of our partners, like I've been saying, who are looking to figure to figure out how the world is moving so quickly with AI, with blockchain.