Inside 15 Years of Quantus

It’s been awhile since we’ve done an Around the Cooler, so we figured if we were bringing it back, we should do it properly.

To celebrate 15 years of Quantus, we decided to flip the script and have co-owners, Paul Bojakli and Todd Fralic, interview each other.

After editing this video, we’re not sure that it was a good idea with hours of footage recorded that won’t see the light of day.

For this special episode, we headed to Todd and Connie’s beautifully decorated home.

So grab a drink, pull up a chair, get the family to join in, and join us as we celebrate 15 years of Quantus!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XU6l-JM9eFA

So… how did Quantus actually begin?

Paul:

Todd and I met when I was working at a national brokerage. I had a fairly large team at the time, and Todd was hired as the Regional Vice President. He came in to help oversee things, and that’s really where our relationship started.

At the time, we were both learning the business, figuring things out, and seeing some limitations in the structure we were working in. Originally, we had talked about starting a mortgage investment company. That was the first plan.

But then regulations changed. New requirements came in, things got more restrictive, and it forced us to rethink everything. What started as one idea slowly shifted into another. It wasn’t accidental, but it also wasn’t perfectly planned.

Todd:

There was a lot of planning behind the scenes. On my end, it was probably about a year of thinking, preparing, and quietly lining things up before Paul’s team was ready to come along.

A lot of those early conversations happened in the extra bedroom of Paul’s rental property. That was the “office” before Quantus really existed.

What do you remember most about that first year?

Todd:

Honestly? Being, and I mean this literally, broke.

There was a long gap between starting the company and actually making money. We were incredibly frugal. We did everything ourselves: brochures, marketing materials… I taught myself Illustrator because we couldn’t afford to outsource anything.

We scraped together just enough to get the legal work done and then waited for that first year to pass.

Paul:

There were days when we were both so busy that we’d walk past each other, nod, and keep working. That was it.

How did you select the people you wanted to work with?

Paul:

We wanted to build a brokerage with people we trusted and genuinely wanted to work with.

At the time, I had about 55 people reporting up through me. When we decided to start Quantus, we said: Let’s take the people who align with us, who share our values, and who want to grow together.

And the biggest thing was trust. People trusted us enough to come along on something that didn’t yet exist.

Todd:

It still surprises me how many people said yes at the start.

Some of the first conversations were just coffee meetings. I remember pitching the idea to Jacqui Edwards at Starbucks. All we had was a logo (not even a good one) and an idea.

By the end of that first summer, we had about 23 people. That critical mass mattered. And a lot of those people are still with us today.

What are some of your most proud moments as owners?

Todd:

For me, it was one Christmas party we held at the Canmore Golf Club in 2022. The place was packed. There wasn’t room for another chair.

I remember standing there, looking around, thinking: Wow. We actually built something pretty cool. All these different personalities, all in one room, genuinely enjoying themselves.

That was a proud moment.

Paul:

That was also around the time when people like Dan and Stacey Mass joined us. It’s really a story of good people always finding a way to work together.

We worked together earlier in our careers, and even back then, it was obvious we approached the business the same way. Integrity mattered. Relationships mattered. Taking care of people mattered. We just weren’t in the same place at the same time.

Everyone went their own direction, built their own businesses, and did really well. And that was okay. 

Fast forward to one of our Quantus conferences. We bumped into Stacey at the airport as we were coming back from our conference in Victoria. She said she was interested in coming over to Quantus, and not long after that, Stacey, Martin Jensen, Carola Singer, and David Sahibzada all joined the team.

For me, that moment meant a lot. It wasn’t about growth or volume. It was about alignment. It felt like things were coming full circle.

Any other proud moments over the last 15 years?

Paul:

Winning Brokerage of the Year early on was huge. It was national. We didn’t expect it.

Todd was there. I wasn’t. He called me, and his voice was… elevated. That doesn’t happen often.

Starting Community Key is another big one. We’ve been doing it for over ten years now, and it still feels like it’s just getting started, even though we’ve helped over 200 families and given more than $340,000 in housing payments.

Todd:

That first award mattered because we were small. It showed that what we were doing was being noticed.

And Community Key… that’s one of those things where you realize it’s bigger than the business. It became part of who we are.

What have you learned over 15 years?

Paul:

Culture always wins.

Every time we’ve compromised on culture for volume, we’ve regretted it. Every single time.

We’re not volume-driven. We’re people-driven. And that applies to brokers, lenders, partners, everyone.

Todd:

We’ve also learned that you can’t always predict who will thrive.

We’ve been wrong both ways, thinking someone would struggle and watching them succeed wildly, and vice versa. You learn to trust your gut, but you also accept that you’re still learning.

One thing that hasn’t changed is relationships. While we’ve always known that, at our annual conference in Ottawa this year, it was something we heard over and over again.

Relationships, picking up the phone, going for a coffee… these things matter.

What makes Quantus different?

Todd:

We don’t rank brokers by volume. We asked our team recently if they wanted volume-based recognition, and every single person said no. That changes everything.

Paul:

I think of us as cultivators. We create an environment where people feel safe, supported, and invested in each other’s success.

There are a lot of strong personalities here; we’re very driven people, but our focus isn’t beating each other. It’s lifting each other up.

Looking ahead, what excites you most?

Todd: 

The next generation. We’re seeing brokers’ kids entering the industry, new brokers in their twenties stepping up, and fresh energy coming in. That’s exciting.

We’re also excited about what independence has unlocked for us behind the scenes. There’s a lot happening that people don’t see yet.

Paul:

I’m excited about growth, not just size, but depth. Doing things better. Continuing to build something we’re proud of.

Final thoughts?

Paul:

We’re incredibly grateful. To our team, our partners, our lenders, and the people who’ve trusted us from day one, to those who joined last month.

Every time someone chooses Quantus, we don’t take that lightly.

Todd:

It doesn’t feel like 15 years. 

And that’s probably the best sign we could ask for. We couldn’t have asked for a better team or a better way to cap 15 years.