From Startup to Top-Three Non-Bank Lender in Five Years
Five years ago, Strive Capital Corporation didn't exist. Today, it stands as one of the top three non-bank lenders in Canada's prime insured and insurable mortgage space, with nearly 200 employees and an AUM firmly into the teens of billions. That kind of growth doesn't happen by accident — and in this episode of the Mortgage Broker Podcast's Behind the Lender series, hosts Dean Lawton and Jason Marshall sit down with Steve Kissuk, Chief Credit Officer and Co-Founder of Strive Capital, to find out exactly how they did it.
What follows is a candid, insightful conversation about co-founding a lender during a global pandemic, building broker trust from scratch, the practical philosophy behind Strive's credit approach, and what the next two years hold for the Canadian mortgage industry.
Steve Kissuk: The Credit Mind Behind Strive
Steve's path into the mortgage industry is one that many brokers will recognize — it didn't follow a straight line. A Calgary native who relocated to Toronto in 2015, Steve began his career in retail banking during university before moving into private lending and eventually managing underwriting teams at large independent brokerages.
"The pace of that environment relative to the pace of a bank is a totally different experience altogether. And through all of those experiences, it became very clear that the way I approached risk and credit lent itself really well to a singular product as opposed to a wide range of product."
That clarity of focus — deep expertise in one area rather than shallow competency in many — would become foundational to Strive's identity as a lender.
Going All-In: Co-Founding Strive Capital During a Pandemic
Steve, along with co-founders Marty (President & CEO, capital markets background) and Gary (Chief Risk & Financial Officer, governance and risk management), spent their pre-Strive years together at Street Capital, which was later acquired by RFA. The redundancy that came with that acquisition gave them the space — and the nudge — to ask a bold question: Why can't we build it from scratch?
Their initial plan was an eight-year runway. They began conversations in late 2019, incorporated in spring 2020, and officially launched in 2021. In between? A global pandemic, capital-raising in a fully virtual environment, and every curveball imaginable.
"You watch this pandemic evolve on the other side of the planet and then you see it hit at home. And so then you start having conversations going, okay, how are we going to raise capital in a virtual environment?"
The trio ultimately benefited from tailwinds they hadn't predicted — the froth of the 2021-2022 market gave them early momentum — but it was their deliberate, disciplined approach that made that momentum stick.
Building a Co-Founder Partnership That Works
One of the most refreshing parts of this conversation is Steve's honesty about what makes a co-founder relationship functional. With Marty leading on capital markets and investor relations, Gary owning governance and risk, and Steve anchoring underwriting and operations, the three knew their lanes from day one.
"We didn't trip over each other a lot. We were very clear early on where we wanted our lanes to be. And don't get me wrong, we have lots of tough conversations and call each other out — we've got a dreamer in the group, which keeps the rest of us who are a little too pragmatic on our toes."
This is a dynamic that Dean and Jason relate to directly as co-operators of A Better Way Mortgage Group. The consensus: lane clarity takes time, and the natural evolution of the business creates the structure — but open communication and mutual respect have to come first.
How Strive Earned Broker Trust From Zero
When Strive launched, they had no track record, no portal, and no brand recognition in the broker channel. What they did have was deep relationships built over years at Street Capital, and a deliberate strategy to leverage them.
Steve describes validating the concept before building it — calling a handful of trusted brokers and asking a simple question: "If this existed, would it matter?" The answer was yes, but with conditions: be competitive on rate, be competitive on comp, and earn the opportunity one deal at a time.
"It was a rifle-style approach. Let's be very deliberate. Let's be very targeted. Build some champions. Do what we do really well in small doses. Don't get distracted by the bigger opportunity."
Rather than launching nationally with a wide net, Strive focused on small, targeted pockets of partnerships. They built momentum slowly, and when they did grow too fast — Steve is candid about this — they experienced burnout and some erosion of the trust they'd worked hard to build. The lesson: sustainable growth beats fast growth every time.
The "Practical" Philosophy: What Makes Strive Different
Steve is refreshingly direct about what differentiates Strive in a commoditized prime mortgage market: a practical, common-sense approach to credit adjudication.
"Is the information in front of you reasonable? Start there. And then as you drill down on income and debt serviceability — is the approach I'm using to qualify this deal sustainable? If you can say yes to those things, now let's look at the rest of the parts."
This philosophy shows up throughout their product lineup:
- Purchase Plus Improvement (PPI): Now representing 10-11% of Strive's originations, their PPI program leads the market with a draw-release structure that gives borrowers flexibility to manage renovation costs over time. They'll even use future fair market rents from a new suite to qualify — a meaningful differentiator for first-time buyers in competitive markets.
- Rental income policy: In a market where 12 lenders might have eight different approaches to rental income, Strive has landed on a position they're comfortable with from a risk standpoint and apply it consistently.
- Low-doc program: Available for self-employed borrowers on the prime side, representing approximately 3-4% of originations but serving as an important relationship-building arrow in the quiver.
- Geographic coverage: Willingness to consider files in the Yukon and Northwest Territories — not massive markets, but meaningful for brokers who need solutions beyond the mainstream.
Aspire: Strive's Alt Product and the Evolving Exit Strategy Conversation
Two years ago, Strive launched Aspire, their alternative lending product, alongside a more private-comparable tier called Aspire Advantage. Steve acknowledges that growth in this space has been more measured than in their prime business, partly by design — they were conservative in their debt servicing thresholds to ensure consistent funding, and that conservatism cost them some deal flow early on.
But momentum is building. Expanded national funding has given Strive what Steve calls "a gun to a gunfight" — the ability to compete meaningfully in the alternative space. And importantly, their philosophy on exit strategies has evolved with the market.
"We approach most of our risk adjudication with an expectation that we're going to retain that relationship. We've seen a significant shift away from short-term duration — a three-year term is a more reasonable timeline."
Dean reinforces this point directly to brokers listening: you no longer need to pitch a rigid exit strategy on every alternative application. Acknowledging suitability and the possibility of a long-term solution is increasingly the right — and compliant — approach.
What a Well-Packaged Deal Actually Looks Like
With thousands of files behind him, Steve shares what he actually wants to see when a deal arrives on his team's desk:
- More information upfront, less redundancy. Don't regurgitate obvious data like debt servicing ratios already visible in the application. Focus on the story.
- Don't fluff the narrative. Don't try to paint over gaps with assumptions. Underwriters see through it, and it erodes trust.
- Open the volley early. Whether it's an email or a phone call, have the conversation before submitting — especially on complex files. The better an underwriter understands how you operate and how you interact with clients, the more comfortable they are extending exceptions.
- Build the relationship, not just the file. Clean docs are table stakes. The broker who takes their Strive underwriter to lunch once a year, or sends a thoughtful note at the holidays, is the broker who gets the extra look on an edge case.
"Good people want to work with good people. That personal connection piece is so undervalued — and where it takes things is remarkable."
Building the Team: Early Hires and the Startup DNA Test
Attracting the first five or ten employees to a mortgage startup during a pandemic was, in Steve's words, "really hard." The pitch was a leap of faith — come leave your stable job for something with enormous upside and enormous unknowns.
The key, Steve found, was identifying people with the right DNA for a startup environment: those who are genuinely energized by ambiguity, who want a voice at the table, and who can get comfortable with disjointed, wear-many-hats chaos before structure arrives.
"The sizzle of a startup is one thing. But you have to be really disciplined about whether someone can get comfortable with the uncomfortable — the disjointedness that exists where it's 'hey, do we have somebody who can do this? No. So take first crack at it.'"
Today, with nearly 200 employees and sustained momentum, some of the people who initially passed on the opportunity are coming back. That, Steve says, has been one of the most satisfying moments of the journey.
Market Trends: Where Brokers Should Be Focusing Right Now
Steve is bullish on the Canadian mortgage market overall, but tactical about where the real opportunity lies in the near term:
- Renewals — but be disciplined. Renewal volume has doubled in origination conversations but hasn't translated proportionally into funded deals, as banks fight hard to retain clients with loyalty incentives. Steve's advice: categorize your renewal book. Bucket A (high probability of staying with existing lender) gets minimal time. Buckets B and C — where there's real opportunity to add value — deserve your focused energy.
- Three-year product maturities incoming. The 2022-2023 rush to three-year terms means a meaningful wave of renewal business is coming earlier than many expect.
- Upsizers are paused; first-time buyers are active. The hesitation from move-up buyers — driven by trade uncertainty, immigration policy shifts, and equity concerns — is real. But first-time buyers remain engaged. Know your segments.
- 2028 as a potential inflection point. Several market signals point to a stronger market emerging around 2028. Now is the time to refine your business, deepen your lender relationships, and position for that wave.
What's Next for Strive: Technology, Conventional Lending, and the Road Ahead
Strive's biggest investment over the next 12-24 months is technology. After years of licensing a third-party underwriting platform, they've made the decision to build and own their own IP — a single underwriting platform accessible to broker partners, designed to reduce redundancy, improve turnaround consistency, and push document review and income analysis as far upstream as possible.
"The next year, year and a half will be more transformational than the last 10-15 years. I would argue."
On the product side, Steve identifies prime conventional (uninsurable) lending as the most significant growth opportunity Strive hasn't yet fully cracked. Non-bank lenders have historically underserved this segment, ceding ground to banks who benefit from balance-sheet flexibility. Steve signals that meaningful changes are coming to Strive's conventional offering — including the possibility of 48% TDS thresholds on prime deals — which would open up a significant slice of the market currently defaulting to the banks.
Key Takeaways for Mortgage Brokers
- You don't need 12 lender relationships — you need four to six strong ones. Depth beats breadth. Build real relationships with the people behind the deals.
- Niche products are a door, not a destination. Strive's PPI and stated income programs are designed to start conversations, not define them. Use them as an entry point to a deeper partnership.
- Exit strategies in the alt space are evolving. Long-term alt solutions are increasingly acceptable — and sometimes the most suitable option for the borrower. Acknowledge it honestly.
- The relationship matters as much as the file. Underwriters who know how you operate will go further to bat for you. Invest in those connections.
- Technology is about to level the playing field. Lenders who integrate with the tools brokers already use will earn market share. Watch this space closely.
Why You Should Listen to This Episode
This is a rare look inside the mind of a lender — not from a sales or marketing perspective, but from the person who actually sets the risk appetite and shapes how deals get adjudicated. Steve Kissuk is candid, self-aware, and genuinely curious about how to make the broker-lender relationship work better for everyone. Whether you're already sending business to Strive or have never tried them, this conversation gives you a framework for thinking about lender relationships, credit philosophy, and the market conditions shaping the next two years — all from someone with a front-row seat to one of the most impressive growth stories in Canadian non-bank lending history.
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