How to Validate Your Assumptions

Michael and Ori researched mortgage consulting for months in different countries including Australia, Germany, and the United States. They became aware of the existing solutions abroad and understood there was still a gap in mortgage price comparisons in Israel. They assumed that Fintech solutions were not coming to Israel as the market was too small and there were many bureaucratic barriers, posing a big challenge. Taking this into account, they understood that they have a big advantage over their competitors regarding the Israeli market and it can be a significant differentiator.

Throughout the following year, Michael and Ori developed their first product, offering VIP mortgage advisory services, and acquired their first clients. 

As is the case with most modern day startups, they assumed technology would be an integral part of the service. Michael, a former programmer, optimized automated processes to ensure minimal human contact and external intervention during the consulting and acquisition process. 

Michael and Ori were quickly disillusioned when they discovered high dropoff rates after the consulting process, which happened just before the contracts were supposed to be signed. From client  interviews and feedback they learned that Israelis actually feared an only automated system and prefer to deal with a real person.  Michael and Ori understood that the cause was  more of a psychological barrier, rather than an aversion to technology. 

The mentality at Kanta changed as a result of these findings, and a human component was added to the process as a complimentary factor to the automation process, which encouraged a spike in new customers.

While the company had customers, the founders understood that they needed to target clients who derive more value from Kanta’s features, thereby paying more for their service. Until that point, their potential clients had already maximized their mortgage costs without needing to use Kanta’s solution,  meaning these customers weren’t paying the maximum price Kanta had to offer. They needed to find a fast and scalable way to bring more revenue driving  customers into the sales funnel. 

Michael and Ori heard about an Australian technique called the “Sucker” Index. Essentially, this index created a preliminary process for targeted potential customers and showed them if they were “suckers” regarding their mortgage fees. The team decided to implement this concept, and only those that hadn't maximized their fees were asked to leave their details and a Kantaconsultant would get back to them. 

Their goal was to understand the mindset of their target audience. Most people, especially Israelis, don’t like to feel that they are paying more than they have to, nor do they like feeling as though they’re a sales target. This index gave them a feeling of objectivity, as opposed to a salesman that would target them through a Facebook mortgage group.

Michael pointed out the importance of creating a community in order to expand their potential customer reach. 

For instance, mortgage fees aren’t usually a recurring payment. “Most people don’t refinance their mortgage fees since they don’t have the data,” Michael said. So Kanta took it upon themselves to present the data to their customers, thereby creating another revenue stream. Once every quarter they automatically give their customers their mortgage status, the value of their property, and if there are any additional potential savings they can make. 

Michael elaborated on two other ways to keep building and growing a community. 

1. Each customer is sent a bottle of wine and a personalized greeting card from their mortgage consultant, so they feel acknowledged and have that extra human contact. This helped customers feel as though  Kanta’s service is more personalized , providing more incentive to stay in contact.  Kanta is the only mortgage company in the market that stays in touch with customers after the process is complete, and updates them once a quarter on their mortgage status and if their conditions can be improved.
2. “The Sucker Index”- Those that have no potential savings with their mortgage fees are sent to the “you nailed it” track, instead of leaving their personal details. There they’re given the opportunity to stay on track of future mortgage savings and added to their CRM and community. Kanta are the only ones in the market with a technological tool accessible to the public, which enables in real time to check whether better terms can be obtained on the mortgage (the sucker index), using thousands of borrowers every month.

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