ApplePie Capital's Path from $180M to $1.1B Portfolio
Not every client relationship starts by choice.
For ApplePie Capital, a specialty lender focused on franchise financing, the search for a new servicing partner began out of necessity rather than preference. But what started as an urgent pivot would go on to reshape how the business approached servicing, operations, and growth.
The Point Where Change Became Necessary
ApplePie wasn’t planning to change servicing partners. That changed when its original servicer, a partner since the company’s inception, was acquired. The transition that followed created more disruption than stability.
For a growth-stage lender operating at ApplePie’s scale, servicing touches everything from internal operations and reporting to the broader investor ecosystem. When that foundation becomes unstable, the effects are felt immediately.
“Honestly, it was out of necessity,” said Ryan Chang, Senior Manager of Financial Operations and Analysis at ApplePie.
The transition fell short of expectations, prompting a search for a more capable servicer. ApplePie moved quickly, with little margin for error.
What ApplePie Needed from Day One
ApplePie wasn't evaluating servicers from a blank slate. They came to the search with established systems, existing data flows, and a clear picture of what breaking any of it would cost.
Three requirements shaped the search, and none of them had room for compromise:
- Migration Speed and Flexibility: Given how quickly they needed to move, a slow or complicated transition wasn't viable
- Custom Data Reporting: Their daily reporting structure fed directly into internal automation and downstream to investor reporting. Any new servicer needed to adopt that structure, not replace it
- Product Flexibility: The servicer had to support existing loan and modification structures while remaining adaptable enough to accommodate new products over time
A servicer that couldn’t meet all three was ruled out immediately. The same was true for any provider that required ApplePie to abandon its reporting structure for an off-the-shelf alternative.
A More Engaged Approach from the Start
ApplePie entered the implementation phase with Concord cautiously. Having just gone through a difficult transition, the team carried real skepticism going into the process.
However, those concerns didn’t last long.
“After the data migration to Concord was complete and the calibration phase had begun, it quickly became clear that there was a much higher level of engagement in dealing with systematic issues and finding solutions to problems,” Ryan said.
That engagement showed up most clearly during calibration. Concord’s client experience team worked directly alongside ApplePie to fine-tune the system, resolve loan discrepancies, and get the data aligned with their existing processes.
“The continued support we got from the client experience team was huge,” Ryan said. “A huge lift to fine-tune the system and resolve the loan discrepancies.”
By the end of the onboarding process, ApplePie had more than a servicer that could meet its technical requirements. They had a partner actively working through issues with them in real time.
Aligning to an Existing Model, Not Replacing It
ApplePie’s existing reporting environment wasn’t something that could be reshaped around a new servicer’s system. Their parsing methods and automated jobs required incoming data in a very specific format, with that data flowing downstream to loan buyers. The reporting structure had to remain intact.
Recognizing how critical those functions were to daily operations, Concord aligned to ApplePie’s model rather than asking the business to conform to a standard system.
That flexibility extended beyond the initial migration. Both ApplePie and its loan buyers regularly request custom data points that aren’t always available out of the box. Concord’s ability to support those requests has ensured continuity across both internal workflows and external reporting.
“Concord does a great job of finding solutions to our various data enhancement requests,” Ryan said.
That's what Concord brought to ApplePie: not a replacement for what was working, but a partner willing to build around it.
Operating as One Team
From the start, Concord operated more like an extension of the ApplePie team than an external vendor.
Five years into the relationship, that dynamic still holds.
That partnership isn’t defined by a single moment. It’s built through how the teams work together day to day, supported by a shared mindset.
“If you succeed, then I succeed,” Ryan said. “That’s really helped to cultivate a level of engagement where we’re both trying to help each other out… which keeps everyone rowing in the same direction.”
That approach shows up across the full range of work. During intensive audit cycles, including internal reviews, external audits from bank partners, and detailed documentation requirements, Concord works alongside the ApplePie team to support each step. The same holds true for routine data questions and reporting requests.
“The same level of attention and urgency is always provided to us, regardless of whether the request is small or large in nature,” Ryan said.
For ApplePie, that consistency is what defines the partnership. It’s the reliability of a team that approaches every request with the same level of attention, regardless of size or complexity.
Back to Origination: What Operational Lift Actually Frees Up
Growth-stage lenders know the pattern well. The team responsible for closing loans is often the same team fielding borrower questions, managing servicing requests, and handling everything else that falls between the cracks. At a certain point, that model stops scaling.
For ApplePie, a specialty lender operating with a lean team where employees are accustomed to wearing multiple hats, that challenge was familiar. What changed was having a servicing partner capable of taking on the work that didn’t belong on a loan officer’s plate.
“The suite of services offered by Concord has allowed our teams to focus more directly within their specific functions in our business,” Ryan said. “The Concord customer service team allows for ApplePie’s borrower-facing teams to place more of their attention on their primary responsibilities, such as sales calls or loan closing.”
That shift showed up quickly in day-to-day operations. Borrower inquiries and servicing requests that once competed for the attention of client-facing staff moved to Concord’s customer service team, allowing ApplePie’s origination teams to stay focused on where they add the most value.
At some point, every lender runs into the same question ApplePie faced. Not whether the team can handle servicing work, but whether that’s the best use of their time.
Scaling Without Starting Over
When ApplePie Capital came to Concord, they had a $180 million portfolio, an urgent need for a new servicer, and a recent experience that had made them cautious about a new transition.
What they found was a partner that could meet them where they were and scale without requiring them to start over as the business evolved.
Five years later, that portfolio sits at $1.1 billion.
“The Concord team has been supporting ApplePie from when we were a $180 million portfolio to today as a $1.1 billion portfolio,” Ryan said. “They've been a significant part of our growth story.”
That growth didn’t require ApplePie to rebuild its servicing model along the way. The same foundation that supported the business early on continued to scale with it, allowing the team to focus on expanding the portfolio rather than reworking the systems behind it.
Five years. From $180 million to $1.1 billion. Built on the same foundation.
Scaling a portfolio shouldn’t require rebuilding your servicing model along the way. Concord supports lenders with a servicing foundation built to adapt and scale with the business.
