I am Hasith Suriyapperuma, founder of Suri Capital. My background is not in banking — it is in chemical engineering and operations management. Before I became a mortgage broker, I spent years running complex manufacturing operations, where getting the system right was the difference between success and failure.

When I moved to Australia in 2018, I had no Australian credit history. No financial track record here. Just a clear head, a disciplined process, and the same systems-thinking approach I had always applied at work. Over the next seven years, I built three investment properties in Australia and two in Sri Lanka — by applying the same methodology I used in operations: map the constraints, eliminate the waste, optimise the path.

That experience taught me something important. The financial system in Australia is not designed for people who think analytically. It is designed for people who accept whatever the bank puts in front of them. Most professionals — especially those who are new to Australia, self-employed, or building a property portfolio — are capable of so much more than their current finance structure allows. They just need someone who can design the right system for them.