‘I can see solutions that aren’t immediately obvious’

In this column, she discusses her entry into the sector, how she educated herself, and how her dyslexia has been advantageous to her career, marking Neurodiversity Celebration Week (from 17 to 23 March). 

How did you get into the sector? 

I started in financial services as a graduate at Santander in the junior in the finance team and worked my way through finance in 2003, then moved into the mortgage team in 2007. I set up the finance team in the mortgage division. Then I did the operational risk and went on maternity leave. When I came back, there was a role to look after some change projects, so I got into the product side of things and oversaw things like interest-only mortgage payments and other technical deliverables. 

There was then an opportunity to become one of the founding members of Mortgage Engine when it was a funded project out of Santander. 

At that stage, I was really conscious. I was going from a non-technical role into something where I needed to understand tech. I did go on a ‘learn to code in a weekend’ programme and read books on how to run a start-up and how to run a technology company. I felt I needed to become more knowledgeable. 

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Transitioning over was definitely really hard, but I spoke to loads of different people about what they would do in certain situations and introduced myself to other start-ups at the time through events, networking and using the tools and resources available. 

Mortgage Engine launched to market, then was bought out by Mortgage Brain in 2022 and I was asked to become COO. 

You have dyslexia; what role has that played in your career choice and how you perform at work? 

I’m really dyslexic, which is why I was drawn to accountancy and numbers, because it was something I could do. I don’t know whether this is part of my dyslexia or personality, but I suppose I think about things in a different way. 

When we sit in meetings, or when things are happening, I realise that I think about things probably slightly outside of the box. It helps me to see solutions that maybe aren’t immediately obvious. But, equally, I’m a people person, and I think that’s really important in any organisation. 

When [Mortgage Engine] started, being able to go to senior people in banks and people with smaller start-ups and have a conversation helped me. I don’t have an issue with talking to anyone.

Equally, to run a team like mine, you have to understand personalities, have conversations with everyone, sell the vision and bring them on that journey. 

How has your drive helped you overcome challenges? 

I don’t see myself as more driven than anyone else, but I suppose maybe in some ways, I am. I’m tough on myself and I have a constant need to do better. Some of that is born out of feeling unsuccessful at school as a small child. Everyone else was learning to read and do all this stuff, and I just couldn’t work it out. 

Feeling not as smart as everyone else when I was younger means that I have that constant feeling of ‘you’re not good enough for this job’, ‘you need to work really hard’, or ‘you need to make sure that you’re doing twice as much as everyone else’

So, a little bit of that is potentially drive. 

What has been your biggest tech-related achievement? 

Launching Mortgage Engine to the market. That was a massive achievement, to go from literally nothing, zero coding knowledge, right up to being able to market and launch a working product. 

What do you hope you represent in the sector? 

It’s all about innovation and bringing something new to the forum. I’d like to think that they see me, and therefore [Mortgage Brain], as bringing new technology and a fresh perspective on solutions for brokers.

We as a team look at things from a different angle from the rest of the market. We have a really good blend of experience in the team. It means that we have a solid team with lots of different perspectives, and we are able to pick from the best of that to get solutions out. 

What would you say to encourage people into the profession? 

Go for it. Try to speak to people you might know or ask someone to introduce you to someone in the industry. Have those conversations and get to understand what it means, because this is not the easiest industry to work in.

There are long hours and high expectations, but the risk-reward ratio is good, so it’s important to understand what’s needed of you and where you want to be.

There are loads of blogs or podcasts out there, so read up and understand what’s happening to make sure it’s really for you. Also, try to get yourself a mentor, someone within the industry that you can be open and honest with. Everyone has bad days, but being able to bounce those off someone helps to put things back into perspective.