“The best leaders create conditions where good judgment can scale. Give people the context, trust them with the decision and hold the system accountable rather than the individual.”

David Trost didn’t set out to work in equipment finance. He joined a fintech drawn by its approach to connecting small businesses with lenders — and discovered, almost by accident, that faxed applications were still routine. That gap became a calling. As director of product at Northteq, Trost has spent his career working to close the gap between where the industry is and where it could be, building products that help small businesses access funding and enable dealers to move more equipment. What’s shifted most over time, he says, is who’s paying attention to the borrower experience. Obsessing over customer experience was once the differentiator of fintechs and niche independents; today, mainstream lenders have made it central to their strategy — a development he sees as unambiguously good for the industry.

His proudest recent achievement reflects both dimensions of his work: building great products and building great teams. The launch of Aurora Apply — a dynamic, personalized application experience designed to lift conversion and reduce back-and-forth — was notable not just for what it delivered, but for how Trost deliberately stepped back, giving a product manager their first opportunity to lead a full release with the development team, working directly with customers and internal stakeholders. The experience reinforced a conviction he holds firmly: the strongest thing a leader can do isn’t solve the problem — it’s ensure the right people are set up to solve it together.

That belief shapes everything about how he leads. Transparent, adaptive and empowering — he shares context freely, adapts to what each person needs and pushes decision-making as close to the work as possible.