Rohan: "Do something well or not at all"

August 31, 2014

A project has a higher probability of success if the “why” is clear to everyone on the team. Learning from a customer about the "why" behind the product and the "why" behind choosing Multunus as a partner was inspiring for the team and the entire company.

We try hard to focus on the big-picture and knowing the "why" helps us understand the nuances of a customer's product decision. A clear "why" also helps us focus even more on the outcome more than the output.

Rohan Mathew is the President and CEO of The Intersect Fund, a non-profit microfinancer in the New York and New Jersey area.

Rohan’s TEDx talk on the story behind The Intersect Fund

We're proud to say that Rohan has now engaged Multunus to build a loan approval and disbursement system for the fund and eventually plans to build a complete loan processing system from origination to collections.

Rohan sent our team a note recently - we read it and got goosebumps. We got his permission to repost it on our blog here. Read on:

• “I wanted to start by taking a step back and giving you all a bit more perspective on where I am coming from. I find it's always helpful when you u`nderstand another person's motivation.*

• This app is something that we at Intersect have been talking and thinking about for a very long time. The earliest mention I can find is from March 2011, when we wrote and received a grant proposal to start working on it. Since then, we have been steadily improving and streamlining our existing systems, low tech as they may be. I've mostly led this process and gained lots of insight along the way.*

• What's held us back over the past 3 years to get the impetus to start was finding the right partner. Everyone that I came in contact with was either so radically expensive that we could never hope to raise the money to build this thing or just didn't have the skill or inspire the confidence to trust them with a project this big.”*

In general, I am a big believer in doing something well or not at all. So we did nothing at all. Until Vanessa found Multunus.

Vanessa Carter is the Executive Director of Lend for America, a sister non-profit of the The Intersect Fund

• “The feeling I got from observing your team on the LFP (Lend For Philly, a small project Multunus executed for Lend for America) project exceeded my wildest expectations.*

Although we've had some rocky times over the past month, nothing has ever risen to the level that would make me feel we picked the wrong partner.

• So, it would not be hyperbolic for me to say that I've bet the entire company on this app and on Multunus. We are effectively married now. There is no conceivable way we could move to another developer after the investment we've already made. So, although I've technically only signed a contract for Closer[a module within the system], I have effectively agreed to invest hundreds of thousands of dollars and 3-4 hrs of my time per day on this project.*

It goes without saying this is the largest investment we've ever made in our history”.

Rohan, we're humbled by your trust in our team to deliver on something this critical for your business. Thank you.