Rocket Pro has a new approach to building breakthrough technology. Instead of flying in select broker partners to brainstorm solutions at fireside chats and RPX events, the company is offering $100,000 to whoever pitches the best tech innovation idea.
As part of its June "Power Play," the wholesale arm of Rocket Mortgage on Tuesday announced "The Big Pitch," a broker-driven technology innovation contest aimed at turning everyday pain points in the wholesale channel into Rocket-built prototypes.
The contest is open to any wholesale mortgage professionals with an active NMLS number, including both Rocket Pro partners and brokers who do not currently work with the lender. Submissions are open through June 30.
“Yes, we've been rolling out some awesome solutions to the broker community over the last few years, but we want to raise the bar,” said Austin Niemiec, chief revenue officer at Rocket. “We're obsessed with finding a better way.”
Participants will submit a short two- to three-minute video explaining the problem they want to solve through technology and the solution they envision. Rocket leaders will narrow the submissions to three finalists, who will be revealed in early July. Online voting will then open.
Rocket Pro plans to build prototypes for the three finalist ideas and present live demos on stage at the Rocket Pro Experience, or RPX, on Sept. 1 at Rocket’s Detroit campus. Those finalists will work with Rocket’s technology team to help shape the prototypes. The winner will be selected based on online voting and live audience voting at RPX.
The winner of Rocket’s “Big Pitch” contest will receive $100,000, and Rocket Pro will build the winning product for the broker community.
“Brokers are some of the savviest professionals in the entire mortgage industry,” Niemiec said. “They're super close to the business, they understand what problems need to be solved, and so this is about coming together with our incredible technology team and the savviness of brokers across the country to figure out what we can build to take this wholesale industry deeper into the future together.”
Niemiec said the contest is not limited to existing Rocket Pro partners.
“This isn't just about our partners at Rocket Pro,” he said. “This big pitch is open to everybody in the broker community, whether they're a partner of ours or not.”
Rocket expects the ideas to span a range of broker pain points, from issues specific to one line of business to broader solutions for the wholesale community.
“That's the beauty of this big pitch,” Niemiec said. “We're going to expect thousands of ideas to pour in, and ultimately, it'll be up to the broker community as a whole to vote and decide what is the most valuable.”
Niemiec said brokers should not think small.
“I would really encourage folks to think big, especially when it comes to AI. So I think the bigger the problem, the bigger the solution, the more exciting their pitch will be,” he said.
The finalists will not merely hand their ideas to Rocket and watch from the sidelines. Niemiec said Rocket’s technology team will work directly with the selected brokers to shape the prototypes ahead of RPX.
“Our vision is we're rolling up our sleeves, and we're working side-by-side with these brokers to go very, very deep as we build out these prototypes,” he said.
The contest comes as Rocket Pro continues to emphasize its investment in the wholesale channel during a difficult mortgage market. The company has paired the pitch contest with its June “Power Play,” extending its 100-basis-point stacked purchase credit for another month and increasing its cash-out refinance credit from 40 basis points to 60 basis points.
“Everyone's talking about rates and how tough the market is, and this power play is about us focusing on helping brokers grow and win right here, right now, this week, and this month, while also investing deep into the future with the big pitch, because that's what a partner does,” Niemiec said.
Rocket Pro’s purchase pricing credit includes a 60-basis-point purchase credit available to all brokers and an additional 40-basis-point credit tied to loans involving Compass and Anywhere-affiliated agents. Niemiec said the program has exceeded expectations, drawing both existing partners and new brokers to Rocket’s platform.
“The production has blown our expectations out of the water when it comes to the Compass Credit and the 100 basis points stacked,” he said. “We've had thousands of brokers work with Compass agents with this offering. But what's even more exciting to us, we've had hundreds of brokers that haven't ever worked with Rocket join our platform and start working with us, and Compass Agents because of this credit.”
Asked about potential RESPA concerns over incentivizing brokers to work with certain real estate agents, Niemiec said Rocket’s broader purchase credit is merely another option for brokers to win competitive pricing and better deals for their borrowers.
“Our pricing across the board is very aggressive,” he said. “We have a 60 basis point purchase credit that, again, we're extending with this Power Play — that is available to everybody. The 40 basis point Compass credit is passed on to the consumer, the homeowner, just giving them even more value.”
For Rocket Pro, the June announcement ties its immediate pricing strategy to a broader technology push in the wholesale channel.
“Everyone's talking about how tough the market is right now, and we believe that this is the market where you double down and you build, and you innovate, and you find solutions, while others out there are complaining,” Niemiec said.
He added: “We're helping brokers win right here, right now, and it's true value, and it's purchase, and it's refi, and it's cash out. And so, just very aggressive pricing to help brokers win.”
The pricing incentives are aimed at helping brokers compete in the current market, while “The Big Pitch” is designed to surface longer-term technology ideas from the brokers who would use them.
Brokers interested in submitting an idea can do so at rocketpro.com/the-big-pitch.
