Navigating the Shift from a Horizontal to Vertical Software Approach

In this episode of The Khanversation with Imran Khan, Imran speaks with Nima Ghamsari, founder and head of Blend Labs, Inc., a company transforming how financial institutions serve customers. Nima shares his path from nearly joining a quant desk to working at Palantir, where he learned to prioritize customer ROI, and then founding Blend to modernize mortgage technology. They discuss Blend’s unique outcome-based pricing model, product expansion beyond mortgages, and the company’s disciplined approach to growth and hiring. Nima also offers candid advice for entrepreneurs, explains why Blend avoids traditional C-suite titles, and explores how domain-specific AI can reshape the financial industry over the next decade.