Boris Bozic wasn't supposed to carve out a living the mortgage industry —never mind found MERIX Financial, for which he’s the president. At least, that’s what he thought
Boris Bozic wasn’t supposed to carve out a living the mortgage industry —never mind found MERIX Financial, for which he’s the president. At least, that’s what he thought.
Envisioning a career as a real estate mogul, Bozic became a mortgage broker to learn about the business with the intentions of leaving within a year.
“I’d always envisioned myself end up being a real estate mogul,” Bozic told CMP. “I figured anybody could sell me real estate but what I didn’t understand is why anybody would give me money. That was the key. I really entered this profession as more of an education and thought that, after six months—a year maximum— that I’d be out. Here I am 30 years later.”
Bozic offered his services to the broker who fixed his mortgage, however, he wanted no part of the enthusiastic, but inexperienced, youngster. Undeterred, Bozic wore him down and immersed himself in the world of mortgages.
“He tried passing me onto other brokers, and the fact that he didn’t want me strengthened my resolve. I badgered and beat him down until he said, ‘Yes, come work with me.’ That’s how I got into this business.”
In 1993, Bozic needed a change of scenery and moved from Toronto to Vancouver—an experience he describes as both profound and he first significant domino to fall. He would work for TMG for a number of years, and then return to Toronto in 2000 to become the National Sales Manager of the Broker Channel for TD Bank, where he says he learned the demands of the corporate world—that is, everything from structure and discipline to internal politics, and what he calls empire building.
Bozic founded MERIX Financial in 2005, and thus fell another major domino. Establishing a business is heuristic and Bozic learned early that, rather than replicate what A lenders do, he could establish MERIX as a niche lender.
“We thought there would be this natural pull because [established brokers] get it from a business perspective, but we changed on the fly and went after that 20-something broker who isn’t a high producer and has only been in the industry for two to four years with potential ahead of them,” said Bozic. “They’ll get this more. What that message did is resonate with those individuals. We missed the mark when we first launched with a certain segment of the broker space and that led us to rethink our position.”
Under the tutelage of Bozic, MERIX has grown into a premier lender, and don’t be surprised if it keeps eating up market share.
