The Traineeship Model That Produces $100 Million Brokers From Inside Your Own Business

Chris Raymond, founder of Unconditional Finance, joins Christian Stevens on this week's episode of Beyond The Numbers. With 25 years across banking and broking — from loan documentation and credit analysis to becoming a #1 BDM nationally — Chris built Unconditional Finance from a single relationship that generated $67 million in his first year as a broker. But it wasn't overnight. From going all-in on one referral partner after lying about his experience to building a 25-person team running over $300 million a year, Chris opens up about the deliberate, unglamorous decisions behind that growth — the foundations-first philosophy, why he refused to blow up his back office chasing volume, and how he's used an internal traineeship model to promote brokers who write $60–70 million in their first year. He also talks about the equity conversations nobody has with their team, what it actually takes to step off the tools, and why he still believes relationship-based business will always outperform the social media lead machine. If you're a mortgage broker, brokerage owner, or anyone building something in financial services from the ground up — this one's for you. 4:55 $67M in Year One — From One Referral Partner He Lied To 7:00 How Unconditional Finance Grew to 25 People 10:30 Managing Gen Z Brokers: Cuddles vs. Boot Camps 13:15 Why Brokers Need to Specialise (Not Just Settle Loans) 17:00 The Back-Office Philosophy That Stopped Him Blowing Up 21:30 Getting Off the Tools: The Traineeship-to-Broker Pipeline 26:00 Equity, Ownership, and Keeping Your Best People 29:00 Writing 300M and Still Up at 4:30am: The Real Cost of Big Numbers 33:00 Expansion Plans, Acquisition Offer, and What's Next for 2027 38:00 Three Referral Partners, 14 Properties, and His Biggest Investing Mistake Learn more about Flint: https://flintgroup.au/ Connect with Christian Stevens: LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/propertyfinance/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/cmrstevens/ Connect with Chris Raymond: LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/raymond-chris/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/chris_unconditionalfinance/