Financial services · Lending and wealth tech
AI for Australian
financial services SMEs
Two SMEC AI cases live in financial services, and they are not the same job. Sundrift AI spent a year building a lender CRM, then pivoted to an execution layer above the CRMs brokers already use. Good Lioness is investment intelligence from Dr Brindha Gunasingham. SMEC AI does not give financial advice.
Incumbent software can kill a product with one feature
Yarin Cohen's Sundrift AI case is a warning for lending SMEs and fintech founders: replacing a broker's CRM is costly, and an incumbent can copy a feature. The published pivot was to sit above the CRM instead of ripping it out. Wealth SMEs have a different problem: models that quote the same return for people in very different circumstances.
What the two cases actually changed
Do not rip out the lender CRM
Sundrift opened a beta to Australian mortgage brokers as an execution layer above existing CRMs after Amir flagged that any CRM can kill a product with one feature.
Investment context, not a copied return figure
Good Lioness came out of Pathfinder with a sharper product story: the same quoted return can hide different outcomes. That is their product, not a SMEC AI fund.
Adopt vs Pathfinder
Brokers and advice practices that want help choosing tools use Adopt (free if eligible). Founders building a fintech product use the existing Pathfinder page. SMEC AI will not pretend those are the same offer.
Australian proof
After a year of developing, I actually changed my mind. We pivoted to a different path so we would get a better moat as we proceeded on our journey.
Sundrift AI. Sundrift AI pivoted from replacing lender CRMs to an execution layer above them, and opened its beta to Australian mortgage brokers.
Although they might be quoted the same return, they actually had very different contexts and circumstances, and therefore they might end up with very different outcomes.
Good Lioness. Dr Brindha Gunasingham used Pathfinder to sharpen an investment-intelligence product after more than 30 years in the industry.
Related on this site
Ask for tool help, not product advice
Eligible lending, broking, and wealth SMEs can book a free Adopt consult about operations and tools. SMEC AI will not recommend investments or give financial advice.
Questions
Does SMEC AI give financial advice?
No. The Information Line and consults are not financial, legal, or tax advice. Good Lioness and Sundrift AI are their own products.
Can a broker use Adopt support?
If the business is an eligible Australian SME, yes. Other sectors are also considered. Ask on the Information Line if you are not sure.
Is the Sundrift pivot a recommendation to keep my CRM?
It is what Sundrift did. Your stack may be different. A consult can talk through replacement risk without selling you a CRM.