A mortgage broker has shared his journey from nearly losing his legs to becoming one of the most prominent professionals in the industry.
In the unpredictable path of life, some people turn setbacks into stepping stones, transcending challenges to achieve success.
Suvidh Arora (pictured above), a seasoned mortgage broker, and now the CEO of global proptech company PropHero exemplifies this spirit.
His remarkable journey from the dark times of a hospital bed to founding Cinch Loans, winning top mortgage broker awards, and ultimately leading PropHero, is a testament to resilience, adaptability, and unwavering determination.
One year after relocating from England with his young family in 2013, Arora’s journey took an unexpected turn when a misdiagnosed injury left him facing the grim prognosis of never walking again.
The daunting news, coupled with the responsibilities of raising a young child, could have easily derailed his aspirations.
“There were some dark times during that period,” Arora said. “Being in a new place and facing that, I’m not afraid to admit now that it was a difficult time in my life.”
However, Arora, with his wife as his pillar of support, chose a different path.
“Challenges reveal your true character. My wife was my rock. She ran the house, raised our daughter, and instead of lawsuits, we chose healing,” Arora said. “We took a break, focusing on my recovery and becoming the best I could be.”
For 18 months, Arora did two things: “First, I managed our family home construction, keeping my mind active. Secondly, I got back on my feet … literally.”
“My motivation was walking again, playing with my kids, and playing cricket. I haven’t looked back since.”
This period of adversity became a catalyst for reflection, revealing the intrinsic value of family time and prompting Suvidh to shift his focus away from the corporate grind.
“We fathers often miss these opportunities to bond with the kids when they’re that age. So, in that way, I’m quite fortunate about that phase in my life,” Arora said.
Meanwhile, Arora’s wife got a work opportunity with travel involved.
“To support her after her unwavering support, I said, ‘It's your turn to shine. Travel, live your dream without worrying about the kids. I'll run a business, be home with them, help raise them, whilst building something for myself’.”
With newfound clarity and a determination to create a balance between work and family, Arora founded Cinch Loans with business partner Priya Sood. This partnership proved instrumental in Cinch's success.
Sood's expertise in managing the backend and day-to-day operations complemented Arora's role as the public face of the brand. Together, they nurtured Cinch Loans into a thriving brokerage, growing from a two-person team to over 20 employees across Australia.
Like any successful brokerage, Arora said building rock-solid foundations was key. For years, he said Cinch Loans’ management team focused on three things:
After racking up awards for several years, Cinch Loans' success paved the way for Suvidh Arora to achieve the ultimate individual honour: being named Australia's number one broker in MPA's 2023 Top 100 Brokers, a sister publication to Australian Broker.
“Over the years, brick by brick, we basically built this amazing structure,” Arora said. “And now finally, we've got to a point where we managed to work on those foundations and just elevate ourselves to a completely different level this year.”
Building a successful brokerage is one thing, leaving it to heirs another.
While actively working on diversifying Cinch Loans into commercia lending and expanding into real estate, Suvidh received an unexpected offer from PropHero, a global proptech startup.
The opportunity aligned with his long-term goals and vision, leading him to make the difficult decision to step away from Cinch Loans entirely.
“Honestly, leaving Cinch wasn’t the plan. I did not plan for exit,” Arora said. “But the stars aligned. Two days before getting the offer, I applied for my real estate licence and Priya was ready to take more on, so I was excited to launch a new chapter.”
While that may be true, it didn’t make leaving any easier.
“It’s been a very emotional time for me. Everyone in the industry knows Cinch has been my baby,” Arora said. “Priya and I founded it together and we’ve come such a long way and I’m so incredibly proud.”
“However, Cinch Loans is now a lot bigger than me.”
Arora said the “true success of Cinch” belonged to the entire team, working tirelessly behind the scenes. And when the PropHero opportunity arose, he had an honest conversation with his colleagues.
I told them, “I may have been the face, but everyone has contributed significantly. My leaving doesn't mean Cinch can't operate. This is a chance for each of you to step up and become the next generation of Cinch”.
Suvidh's new role as the CEO of PropHero marks a seamless transition into the world of proptech.
PropHero’s platform, which uses proprietary data model to find the highest return and lowest risk investment properties across Australia, Spain and Indonesia, has plans to establish itself in more countries in the coming years.
Arora said PropHero would also integrate different verticals into its platform, including accounting and mortgage broking, as the company expanded.
Having known the founders for years and recognising the potential of their AI-powered platform, Suvidh saw this as an exciting detour in his journey.
However, to ensure objectivity, Arora has fully stepped away from Cinch.
“I want to be totally clear about this. Throughout my career, including with my clients at Cinch, I've always prioritised ethical conduct,” Arora said.
“As CEO of PropHero, building partnerships with brokerages nationwide will be crucial. For me, maintaining close ties to any one brokerage would be unethical, potentially creating bias.”
With Priya Sood now leading Cinch Loans, both companies embark on their next chapters, as does Arora himself.
However, he was quick to reflect upon where he had come from and the lessons he had learned along the way.
“Men tend to stay quiet and internalise things, but I think being open about challenges and struggles is actually the right way to go,” Arora said.
Having never personally experienced depression, he confessed to initially dismissing others' candid conversations about it as mere attempts to spark a conversation.
“I never took it seriously, to be honest,” Arora said. “But during that phase where I contemplated losing my limbs, I actually felt what people go through when they are struggling with depression as it was very dark for me as well.”
“So why not talk about it more openly? Help each other out. There are silver linings in the dark times and your journey can change in an instant.”
