On the TechTO stage ×2
Origin Stories & Lessons Learnt
Watch on YouTube ↗Bringing Purpose-Driven Credit to Big Box
Watch on YouTube ↗First seen on the TechTO stage in 2016. Every talk is searchable — ask the archive about Paul ↗
In their words
In most fintech, when you're doing an MVP you will also need an MLP — not just a minimum viable product, but a minimum legal product. Lawyers at the beginning can be just as important as coders.
FIS probably wouldn't have talked to us if we hadn't said we're going to the US. We didn't really know how we were going to the US at that point, but we just said it and people showed up.
We told them absolutely we can build that for you. For a big enough opportunity, you can figure out the details later.
Around the web ×1
Quick answers
What is Paul Sehr known for?
Co-founding Financeit and building the first version of its point-of-sale lending platform. He told the August 2016 FintechTO he was contracting on the side and was brought on full time as the technical co-founder when the company pivoted out of CommunityLend.
What does Paul Sehr do now?
He co-founded Jouleia, a Toronto company that helps contractors quote home electrification jobs — heat pumps, water heaters, insulation — with energy savings, rebates and financing built into the quote.
What did Paul Sehr build at Financeit?
Financeit's own lending stack, which he called unusual for a lender. Two months of work turned the old CommunityLend peer-to-peer platform into a purchase-financing platform; it later grew to over $1B in loans issued and became the Home Depot project loan in Canada.
How many times has Paul Sehr spoken at TechTO?
Twice, both at FintechTO: Financeit's origin story in August 2016, and the behind-the-scenes story of winning the Home Depot card in May 2019.