Lifetime at Work: Finding the Meaning in Our Careers
Your career is more than just a job—it’s a chance to create an impact and find personal fulfillment. This podcast explores the journeys of business leaders, uncovering how work shapes our lives, the world, and what makes a career truly meaningful.
Hosted by Greg Martin, a Toronto-based investment banker and M&A advisor, the show dives into the deeper questions behind our careers—why we work, what drives success, and how our professional lives shape the world around us. In an era of AI, career freedom, and globalization, the meaning of work is evolving, leaving many to question its true purpose.
Through conversations with founders, business leaders, and investors across private equity, public markets, and venture capital, the podcast uncovers insights from those who have built, grown, and influenced some of North America's most successful companies. It also features advisors, consultants, and investment bankers who help shape the future of business, sharing lessons from their wins, losses, and defining career moments.
Lifetime at Work: Finding the Meaning in Our Careers
A Journey in Finance, to at Mission Fixing Homeownership with Frank Rhode
Episode 88. How do you put yourself in the position as a founder to solve a really big and complex problem—while building a great company along the way?
In this episode of the Lifetime at Work podcast, host Greg Martin interviews Frank Rohde, founder and CEO of Ownify, about his diverse career in financial services and his mission to make homeownership more accessible for first-time buyers.
Frank discusses his early life in Germany, his transition from banking and consulting to launching financial startups, and the challenges he faced during the .com bust. He explains the impetus behind Ownify and how the company aims to reduce barriers to homeownership through innovative financing solutions.
The conversation also covers the broader economic factors affecting housing affordability and the balance of creating impactful work that also yields financial returns.
- 00:00 Introduction to the Podcast
- 00:23 Meet Frank Rohde: From Wharton to Ownify
- 01:06 Frank's Early Life and Career Beginnings
- 02:51 Consulting at Oliver Wyman
- 07:29 The Dot-Com Boom and Bust
- 15:25 Joining FICO and Leveraging Data
- 17:23 Nomis Solutions: Price Optimization in Financial Services
- 21:34 Navigating the Financial Crisis
- 23:13 Reflecting on Career and Future Goals
- 26:15 Identifying the Housing Crisis
- 27:12 The Genesis of Ownify
- 28:07 Economic Factors Affecting Home Ownership
- 30:30 Challenges for First-Time Home Buyers
- 37:45 Ownify’s Innovative Solution
- 46:39 Balancing Financial Return and Impact
- 50:12 Conclusion and Call to Action