Rising star and market innovator: Jonathan Foy on Polly’s bold moves in fintech
What happens when an award-winning innovator is a part of a team that turned an idea into an actual platform? In this exclusive HousingWire conversation, Jonathan Foy, VP of Product at Polly shares his award-winning journey, the vision for scaling the platform, and what sets Polly apart in capital markets technology. Jonathan dives into how Polly has expanded its footprint from mid-market lenders to large institutions, redefining what scalable technology means in the mortgage space.
Foy explores how Polly empowers lenders of all sizes to compete with industry giants, smooth out boom-and-bust cycles, and leverage AI in ways that drive impact — not just hype. He offers leadership insight for emerging fintech talent and shares his outlook on how AI and capital markets technology will continue reshaping the mortgage industry.
“I started in appraisal automation, moved into CRM consulting, then built tech inside a lender,” Foy said. “At Polly, we took what worked for one shop and pivoted it to the entire market—different lenders, different options, more flexibility.”
As Polly’s client base expanded, the product org had to evolve. “When you grow fast, bottlenecks surface—onboarding, support, attracting new business,” he said. “You find the vectors, fix what works, and serve each motion well.”
On moving up-market, Foy said the challenge is designing for everyone. “Large lenders often come from proprietary, highly catered systems,” he noted. “We’re building functionality that serves them, but in a flexible way so any lender can use it.”
“We’ve aimed to set the bar higher,” he added. “Pipeline monitoring gave customers real-time automation to keep pricing in sync as loans move. We’ve seen the industry catch up in places, which is good for lenders.”
How does Polly help smaller teams compete with giants? “That’s the SaaS advantage,” Foy said. “We learn from big shops and deliver the same tools across the board to drive down cost to originate—workflow automation, multiple sourcing methods, and now dynamically generated rate sheets. If you support hundreds or thousands of brokers with unique pricing, pre-generating can be slow; we generate on demand so you price faster with granularity. Smaller lenders can use the same capabilities—even if it’s just a few branches.”
Booms and busts are a reality. “Legacy solutions often chase per-loan revenue,” Foy said. “We focus on lowering cost to originate and raising automation so lenders serve borrowers better and smooth the swings. I ask leaders, ‘What breaks if volume triples tomorrow? What if it’s cut in half?’ That’s how we design.”
Automation isn’t a buzzword to Foy; it’s metrics. “We measure how much of each workflow is automated,” he said. “If a customer isn’t automating a step, we close the gap in the product. Ninety percent is great—what’s the other ten? We keep pushing.”
On mentoring: “There’s no substitute for rolling up your sleeves,” he said. “Don’t be above anything—I won’t ask someone to do what I wouldn’t do. And listen and learn; this industry will teach you daily.”
AI is everywhere, but Foy stays pragmatic. “The trap is flashy demos layered on weak foundations,” he cautioned. “At Polly we start with value propositions: What problem are we solving? Where do we drive efficiency? Make AI foundational and holistic, not a bolt-on. If users don’t keep using it, we missed the mark—go back and fix it.”
His summary: “Build for flexibility, automate relentlessly, and use AI where it truly creates value. That’s how lenders of every size compete and scale.”
