Beeline - Startup of the Year

Company: Beeline, Providence, RI
Entry Submitted By: ASTRSK
Company Description: Beeline is a home loan lender giving consumers the shortest path to a new home or refinance in 15 minutes with 5 steps from the comfort of home or on a mobile device. Beeline removes the hassle of tedious documents and eliminates the guesswork and uncertainty for a pre-approval—consumers can link directly to their finances, giving Beeline the most accurate information, and users the lowest rates.
Nomination Category: Company / Organization Categories
Nomination Sub Category: Startup of the Year - Consumer Services Industries

Nomination Title: Beeline—Securing home loans right from your sofa

Beeline is a home loan lender radically changing the mortgage industry. Launched in May 2020, Beeline gives buyers an easy, fast application process requiring little to no work on their end. In fact, users can complete their journey all the way to close without leaving the couch.

Built out of the need to revitalize and streamline the often complicated, almost-always boring home lending and buying process, Beeline's hero innovation is its "purchase ready" approval. The proprietary platform leverages artificial intelligence to instantly retrieve, identify, interpret and verify a buyer’s actual financial information. This means that instead of digging through outdated paperwork and wondering how a flakey and unverified pre-approval from the bank will play out, applicants receive an instant and verified approval with the certainty to confidently go house shopping and make offers. Best of all, it can be done in as little as 5 steps and 15 minutes.

Aside from cutting homework and back and forths, removing and automating steps ultimately saves Beeline users money — because it’s able to offer very low rates and no origination fees, as well as its Price Pact which will beat a lower rate if a user does manage to find one elsewhere.

From its conception to now, Beeline has created a groundbreaking customer journey, built its tech from scratch, and completed its first purchase-ready approvals for eager home buyers across the U.S. As if launching the platform during the pandemic wasn’t impressive enough, Beeline opened a second office in Charlotte in September 2020, bringing 120 new positions. Its achievements in just its initial six months speak for itself as well:

-Launched a proprietary new underwriting technology called its “Conditions Resolution Engine” -- brand new to the real estate industry!
-Expanded to 16 total markets in the U.S., with an eye to be in a total of 26 markets by the end of 2021
-Immediately following its launch, Beeline's loan approvals rose by 106%
-Beeline's Purchase Ready Approvals grew ~90% MoM from April to July 2020 despite the height of COVID-19 and lockdowns nationwide
-In the same timeframe, there was a 114% rise in profiles created by Beeline customers
-120% growth in profiles created from August to October 2020

Beeline’s mission since it launched is to give people the shortest path to their new home or refinance by cutting out the B.S. During 2020, the founders didn’t realize they were building an experience that would be quite so relevant. COVID-19 has made the traditional process of purchasing a home feel even more intimidating and discouraging — with many people unable to even leave their homes, let alone attend meetings, open houses and signings. That’s where borrowers have looked towards Beeline for a completely digital home loan end-to-end, providing comfort and confidence to an uncertain and intimidating time.

Beeline's process has been built digital-first, not only to bypass unnecessary hoops and headaches for buyers, but to eliminate inherent biases, discrimination and feelings of judgement. To help serve these customers, Beeline also announced it would be hiring over 100 new team members in 2021. The company is poised to grow rapidly, though Beeline expects loan volumes to outpace growth in its team over time due to Beeline’s automated approach and technology.

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1zXItbEXSSjjZqTpjz39Z18WALm6FwMtU/view?usp=sharing

Beeline’s portal demo is attached to demonstrate the ease in user experience through the platform. Additional awards and acknowledgements Beeline has achieved over the past year include:

FinTech Breakthrough Awards: won a category (March 2021) https://fintechbreakthrough.com/
Awwwards: Won honorable mention for user experience design and Mobile Excellence Badge for mobile design https://www.awwwards.com
DrivenxDesign: New York Design Award — Gold Winner https://drivenxdesign.com/d100/
PBN Most Innovative Companies: Recognized as Most Innovative Company — Professional Services https://pbn.com/pbn-announces-2020-fastest-growing-innovative-companies/
Designers Institute of New Zealand: Best Designer Award (Moving Image) — Finalist https://bestawards.co.nz/moving-image/long-form/firme-agency/beeline-surprisingly-simple-home-loans/
Top 9 Lender in Maryland: Best Online Experience https://www.finder.com/mortgages/maryland