GenXYZ Nominees Thrive: Karl Falk (2008) — Where is He Now?

Everyone was right when they predicted bright futures for these executives, entrepreneurs and nonprofit leaders. Ten-plus years after ColoradoBiz profiled these Top Young Professionals of Colorado, we revisited several to see where their career paths led them and what they are doing now.

Some are with the same companies; others have moved on to different businesses and new roles.

For some, change was inevitable as their companies were acquired or merged with other entities. For still others, the desire to start something new was irresistible. All are continuing to meet and exceed their own career goals and engage with their communities.

The Gen XYZ Awards are open to those who are under 40 and live and work in Colorado.

Karl Falk

2012: 37, President and CEO, Summit Mitigation Services

2024: Founder and CEO, Botdoc

When Karl Falk was helping negotiate real estate short sales with his company, Summit Mitigation Services (SMS), he kept facing delays. So he did what anyone would do: He started another company.

“I am a process guy, and it was frustrating,” says Falk, who graduated from the U.S. Air Force Academy and served as an officer for six years. “It took forever, but it wasn’t because of us. We were very on top of compiling information and getting it to lenders.”

Launched in 2010, SMS worked with underwater borrowers, title companies and lenders to negotiate short sales, which occur when the lender agrees to let the borrower sell the home for less than the amount they owe on the mortgage. The short sale is a way to avoid foreclosure.

READ: Debt-Free Real Estate Investing — Is it Possible, and Should You Strive for It?

One challenge was that borrowers often neglected to submit documentation. They perceived no benefit in communicating with the lender and did not want to log in to the loan servicer’s website and figure out the whole two-step verification process.

“Our clients said, ‘We need to collect documents from the consumer, but they won’t talk to us because we’re suing them,’” Falk says. “They work off free Wi-Fi at McDonald’s on their phones.”

The other challenge was that once the consumer sent in the documentation, it went into what Falk says was a black hole. It would take six to eight months to process the information, and during that time, the buyer of the property would lose interest and move on.

Falk attended real estate and finance conferences and spoke with representatives from banks, hedge funds and other financial institutions, and attended sessions about bank automation, data analytics and digitalization that was revolutionizing banking and other industries.

“I had that realization at a real estate conference in New York City,” Falk says. “They were saying, ‘At what point does buying a house become like buying a latte?’ and I said, ‘At what point is doing a short sale like buying a latte?’”

In 2014 Falk launched ShortSave Inc., which digitized the loan mitigation process, making it easier for the consumer to provide information. The process is designed to be simple and intuitive and asks the borrower questions so they can self-select answers and submit error-free paperwork.

The ease of the solution was the key to its success.

“Convenience is a more powerful selling point than price,” Falk says. “If you take the most challenged consumer, they want the least amount of friction, and you have to create processes and steps that are very basic and simple.”

Secure digital transport is crucial for many industries, not just loan mitigation. Falk found that there were opportunities to expand the business to other industries, and launched Botdoc.

The company offers a patented technology that allows companies to exchange confidential information on an encrypted channel. Consumers can submit documents, signatures and payments without having to download an app, log in to yet another website, come up with a new password, and other minor inconveniences.

While companies have long used online file-sharing sites, Botdoc uses bankgrade encryption standards, which are the most secure. Botdoc signed on large clients such as the financial adviser Edward Jones, as well as health-care and automotive companies.

Since short sales were on the decline and the focus was now on software, Falk closed Summit Mitigation Services. Many of the contractors for that company transitioned to ShortSave, which still exists, and to Botdoc.

Today the company has 22 workers, many of whom worked from home even before the pandemic made that mainstream. The company plans to move into office space in Monument soon.

Falk volunteers with Pathway to the Rockies Council of the Boy Scouts of America, where he is chair of the board.