InterFirst

About InterFirst

In 2001, founder and CEO Dmitry Godin started Interfirst Mortgage, a retail mortgage business that would ride a massive wave of growth. By 2012, the company was a powerhouse, originating $14.1 billion in mortgages and ranking as the 15th-largest lender in the U.S. The playbook was simple: capitalize on the refinance boom fueled by historically low interest rates. The company expanded into wholesale and correspondent lending, growing to 500 employees. However, the company's reliance on the refinance market proved to be a critical vulnerability. As interest rates changed and the market shifted towards purchases, Interfirst's volumes plummeted. Originations fell from $10 billion in 2013 to just $2 billion by 2016. In 2017, seeing unfavorable market conditions and slipping lending standards, Godin made the difficult decision to shut down operations. It was a strategic pause, winding down methodically to protect the company's assets. Three years later, in 2020, Godin and his core executive team relaunched Interfirst. The plan was to return with a new, tech-forward model, combining both wholesale and a new direct-to-consumer retail offering. The relaunch was accelerated by market dynamics in early 2020. This new chapter attracted significant investment, including a $175 million funding round in October 2021 led by StoicLane and including Oaktree Capital Management. However, the comeback was short-lived. By late 2021, the company again faced headwinds, leading to significant layoffs as it struggled to adapt to a changing mortgage landscape once more.