Jay Vaghela supports Propel Holdings through exponential growth journey in his 10 years as GC

When Jay Vaghela joined Propel Holdings as general counsel 10 years ago, the Toronto-based fintech company was still a fledgling business, having been founded in 2011.

“I was drawn immediately to the culture and energy,” says Vaghela, who left private practice behind for his first in-house role at Propel. “Propel’s mission to build a new world of financial opportunity really resonated with me.” The company aims to provide access to credit for underserved customers through its proprietary online lending platform.

Vaghela was an Excellence Award winner for Law Department Leader of the Year at the 2023 Canadian Law Awards. 

Joining as general counsel in a start-up environment, Vaghela supported the company’s exponential growth, ultimately helping to take it public on the Toronto Stock Exchange in 2021.

“Seeing that growth and being a part of that growth over 10 years was an unbelievable experience,” he says. “It’s rare to see so many driven people and motivated people working together for so long and genuinely enjoying what they do in building this business.”

Vaghela quarterbacked the process of taking the company public, which involved liaising with bankers and external counsel, as well as the Securities Commission and the TSX.

As general counsel and corporate secretary, Vaghela ensures strong governance in a highly regulated industry. He navigates all corporate commercial matters, securities law matters and public company reporting, as well as taking accountability for litigation, intellectual property, cybersecurity and equity raises, among other things.

Monitoring the modernization of financial services is top of mind for Vaghela this year, particularly given the current uncertain economic situation and high-interest rates, which makes a company like Propel high in demand. He also continues to keep a close eye on cybersecurity.

“We are seeing a paradigm shift with the proliferation and exponential growth of generated AI,” says Vaghela. “It makes cybersecurity critically important for all businesses, especially those that have the burden or privilege of safeguarding consumers’ data. Not adequately protecting consumer data jeopardizes relationships with consumers, shareholders, and investors, and exhausts tech and legal resources.”

While the big five banks in Canada serve prime and super prime customers, a large segment of the population falls into the ‘subprime’ financial category, which often means they are overlooked by traditional financial institutions, and denied access to credit, Vaghela says. Fintech companies like Propel offer services to banks which allow them to enter the subprime space and offer access to credit to this segment.

“One of the things I’m proud of is providing these modern solutions like Lending as a Service,” says Vaghela. Through this model, Propel provides traditional financial institutions with a platform and technology to automate and streamline their lending processes in order to serve underserved consumers.

In the spirit of diversity, equity and inclusion, Vaghela runs a lean team, consisting entirely of foreign-trained lawyers, with the exception of himself.

“We have helped them along their individual legal journeys, either by providing opportunities to learn and grow with the company, or by facilitating their path to accreditation,” he says.

Vaghela encourages his team to lean into their strengths and passions and to embrace the entrepreneurial culture of the business. He also ensures they develop cross-functional skills by learning the ropes in all different areas of the business.

As Propel continues to grow and expand, Vaghela aims to keep his team agile as they evolve and pivot to accommodate the rapid growth of the business, and the modernization of the financial services industry.

“The world is shifting with generative AI,” he says. “I’m pushing my team and myself and the business to embrace that entrepreneurial spirit, while being prudent risk managers. I think that is critical, especially in our roles as lawyers, where we sit as business advisors and legal advisors.”