Disclosure certainty 4/5 debate potential 2/5

Downey passes on RealKey due to the founder's communication style

Sarah Downey · #97 Secret Sauce or Snake Oil? · Mar 4, 2025 · at 15:07

Investor Sarah Downey gives feedback to RealKey founder Christopher Hussain on why she is passing on his mortgage tech pitch.

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“So, for me, it, it's not gonna be a fit, and the reason is, it's the communication style that we've been talking about here. I think as a CEO and a leader, you need to push yourself to be more big picture. Like, everyone here has been struggling with the messaging that you've put forward this whole time, and I think you're an expert, and that is absolutely clear, and I would I would love to have somebody like you on my team if I were building something in this space. But as a leader, like, you have to sell that and paint that big vision and hold people's hands to get there. And we're struggling with that, which makes me worried about, you know, how future customers will react to that. So for me, I'm out.”

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