Getting a mortgage used to mean faxing pay stubs and signing a thick stack of paper. Blend turned that into an online form that pulled in a borrower's bank and tax records on its own. Banks, credit unions, and lenders put their names on it and gave it to their customers. When Blend went public in July 2021, mortgage rates sat near record lows and Americans were buying and refinancing homes at a furious pace.

Engineers From Palantir

Nima Ghamsari and his co-founders started Blend in San Francisco in 2012, after working together at Palantir, the data analysis company. They saw how much of lending still ran on paper and old systems. Blend's bet was to sell its software to lenders and leave the lending to them. Its software handled the part a borrower sees, from the first application to the final signature. Later it added tools for car loans, credit cards, and new bank accounts.

Caught by Rising Rates

Blend priced its shares at $18 on July 15, 2021, and listed on the New York Stock Exchange under BLND. The stock rose about 16 percent on its first day. In 2022 mortgage rates climbed fast, home loan volume collapsed, and Blend's revenue fell with it. The company cut staff several times to slow its losses, and the stock sank far below the offer price. Blend still trades on the NYSE under BLND.

Cover: The Cottage by the Roadside, Stormy Sky, Jules Dupré. Art Institute of Chicago, public domain. Chosen for a cottage by the road (a home to buy).