Be Your Own Trendsetter: How Arixa Capital’s Kristina Sawyer

BE YOUR OWN Kristina Sawyer Vice President of Lending at Arixa Capital TRENDSETTER

How Arixa Capital’s Kristina Sawyer Leverages Creativity & Experience to Constantly Evolve

What were you doing when you were 17? I’m willing to bet that whatever it

was, it wasn’t learning the ropes of the real estate industry. Yet that’s exactly what Kristina Sawyer was up to as a high school Junior when her mother, perhaps sensing what is now her trademark entrepreneurial spirit, talked her into working for the family’s property management company. The rest, as they say, is

(Left to right) Kevin Kim, Partner at Geraci LLP; Beth Johnson, Partner at Flynn Family Lending; Matt Flynn, Owner & Founder of Flynn Family Lending; Kristina Sawyer, Vice President of Lending at Arixa Capital

Kristina Sawyer

Vice President of Lending at Arixa Capital

history. Real estate provided Kristina the unique professional opportunity to express her inner creativity in crafting innovative solutions to nuanced challenges whilst leveraging the power of teamwork within the brokerage’s different departments to efficiently accomplish mutual goals—skills she uses to this very day as the vice president of lending for Arixa Capital Advisors.

“Freedom lies in being bold.” – Robert Frost

The real estate industry isn’t for the faint-of-heart, and Kristina’s remarkable career trajectory thus far is a testament to how confidence and hard work can pay dividends when it comes to succeeding in such a competitive space. At a time in life when most people are merely trying to settle on a college major, Kristina was busy buying her first investment properties at just 21 years old. She then utilized an owner-occupied FHA loan to acquire an additional four-plex she used to generate enough passive income to cover operating expenses while still netting a healthy profit. After only three years, Kristina had the funds to move to Los Angeles and take her promising career to the next level—and she hasn’t looked back

since. She yet again took a leap of faith to gain exposure to a different aspect of the industry that she was curious about— taking a substantial pay cut to join the ambitious startup now known as Arixa Capital. As the company’s Operation Manager, she gained an intimate understanding of the business mapping process and use this knowledge to enhance both workflow and the scope of offerings.

She advises new entrepreneurs to be conscious of negative self-talk and to have confidence in themselves to constantly be seeking out the next challenge or opportunity. Getting out of her comfort zone was and

remains an essential component of Kristina’s business approach, and it is a mindset that young professionals should develop early on in their careers. intimidated or downright insulting, especially for young entrepreneurs just starting out who lack the requisite experience and reputation to process such unfair impediments to professional development. Kristina is no stranger to these situations, but her advice to women starting out in the real estate and lending sectors is to pursue respect instead of acceptance. From the earliest stages of her career, Kristina

Respect is worth its weight in gold in such a relationship-driven profession, and it can be a hard commodity to attain for some.

“Make improvements, not excuses. Seek respect, not attention.” – Roy Bennet

Respect is worth its weight in gold in such a relationship-driven profession, and it can be a hard commodity to attain for some. In what has historically been a largely male-dominated industry, Kristina had to navigate this stark reality just like so many other talented young professionals. While women are steadily gaining more of an established presence in the higher echelons of corporate leadership in all economic sectors, there is still a long way to go before true equality is achieved. Unconscious biases and preconceived notions can be 14

has simply let her tremendous work ethic and meticulous preparation do the talking for her—an approach that has proven extremely successful.

“Explore, experience, then push beyond.” – Aaron Lauritsen

Kristina hasn’t let her accomplishments get to her head. She remains as ambitious as ever to continuously evolve and improve both her own professional skillset and her company’s long-term strategy. She continuously leverages her years of industry experience to push the envelope when it comes to integrating technology into the corporate workflow to deliver a better end-product to customers. She urges young professionals to ask their supervisors for new projects and to not be afraid to voice their opinion. Taking on these challenges is how you grow and build the requisite knowledge base to take on leadership positions. Kristina certainly practices what she preaches. She voluntarily took on the daunting challenge of taking the lead on Arixa Capital’s technological shift to offer more web-based services. It remains an ongoing challenge that Kristina is extremely excited about. She is confident that the tremendous Arixa team has the capacity to exponentially expand upon its geographic and logistical scope to become a leader in the lending space. This initiative and foresight resulted in three consecutive promotions that resulted in her becoming the first woman on the management staff at Arixa Capital, where she has since been joined by two other outstanding female colleagues--one of the many “firsts” in what has been and will continue to be a truly exciting and inspirational career.

Kristina Sawyer Vice President of Lending Arixa Capital ksawyer@arixacapital.com https://www.arixacapital.com/

Private Lending Services Directory

Private Lender Link’s Services Directory is a great resource to find companies that offer services to private/hard money lenders and real estate investors. It has over 50 categories of services, and each company has a detailed profile.

Investors Services

Discover companies that offer services to property investors and mortgage / trust deed investors: Self-Directed IRA, Accounting, Asset Protection, Insurance, Property Tax Appeal, and Tax Advisory.

Lender Services

Find companies that offer services to private mortgage lenders, including hard money lending firms and individual/family lenders: Accounting, Foreclosure, Fund Administration, Fund Control, Insurance, Loan Doc Prep, Servicing, and Trade Associations.

Due Diligence

Locate companies that provide services related to helping lenders underwrite a loan funding or note purchase: Residential Property Appraisals, Commercial Property Appraisals, Credit Reports, Loan File Audit, Property Diligence, and Inspections.

Legal Services

Find firms that provide legal services to private / hard money lenders and mortgage investors: Loan Closing, Compliance, Licensing, Fund Advisory, Bankruptcy, Loan Docs, Securities Law, and Settlement.

Capital

Discover companies that offer capital services to lenders and brokers: Table Funding, White Label Correspondent Lending, Funded Loan Buyers, and Capital Consultants.

Technology

Explore technology companies that provide software and tech-related services to lenders and property investors: Loan Origination Software, Servicing Software, Loan Doc Software, Transaction Management, Investment Management, Data Services, Property Investing Software, and Technology Consultants.

Marketing

Find companies that offer a variety of marketing services to private lending and investment real estate firms: Advertising, Design, Marketing Consultants, Networking / Events, SEO, Social Media, and Website Development.

Private Lender Link

Learn about all the services offered by the operator of PrivateLenderLink.com: Lender Advertising, Service Provider Advertising, Investment Advertising, and Capital Connections.