Chris Grimes
CEO and co-founder of FundMore.ai, building AI-powered underwriting technology. Chris brings experience across mortgage origination, brokerage, and lending technology to the workshop.
Join 15 senior lending and financial-services leaders to build Birchwood, a fictional bank. Work alongside AI coaches, build a working prototype, and develop the judgment to put AI to work in your business.
October 16, 2026 · Calgary · CAD $1,995 + applicable tax
No coding experience required.
No payment required to apply. Payment follows acceptance.
Not sure it’s right for you? Get in touch with us for a 15-minute conversation.
“How simple the tools are to use. I left knowing it’s far less daunting than I expected.”
Jenn Ruso · Head of Residential Lending, Manulife Bank
Participant feedback from the previous AI Lending Lab
You set the direction, explain the workflow, and judge the output. An AI coach helps you turn that thinking into a working prototype. No coding background is needed.
Work in a small department team, test your assumptions, and connect your build to the rest of the fictional bank. You’ll see where AI helps, where it falls short, and what still needs human judgment.
One question guides the day: if you were building your business today, what would you do differently with AI?
Choose the function closest to your work. Each team builds a prototype using synthetic borrower data, then brings it together with the other departments for a live demonstration.
Build a prototype that reviews a synthetic borrower file and drafts a credit recommendation. Inspect its reasoning and challenge its assumptions.
Credit recommendationExplore a sample loan book and build a prototype that flags potential risks for a person to review.
Risk flag raisedTurn a sample application packet into a structured summary and underwriting recommendation. Check what it captures and what it misses.
Structured recommendationBuild a prototype that qualifies sample borrower inquiries and routes them to the right person.
Lead scored & routedCreate a prototype that drafts campaigns for different borrower segments, ready for human review.
Campaign draftOne synthetic borrower walks through all five departments — sourced, qualified, underwritten, decisioned, and watched — live, on stage.
Birchwood is openBuild a lending workflow with your team, test it with sample data, and understand how the pieces fit together.
Practice directing AI, checking its output, and recognizing where human review matters.
Identify one workflow or assumption to revisit with your team, grounded in what you’ve tried yourself.
The builds are workshop prototypes, not production-ready lending systems.
Senior Canadian lending leaders share what they took from a previous AI Lending Lab.
Being hands-on with Claude and actively experimenting with the tool.
Knowing others were in the same boat, with similar challenges, and how easy it was to create solutions.
The hands-on experience, working alongside an AI power user, made me realize this is real, and something we need to move on. Now!
Built for senior leaders in lending, credit, risk, operations, digital, and innovation who want firsthand experience with AI. Bring your knowledge of the business and a willingness to experiment. We review applications to shape a relevant peer group.
Business-building experience, lending expertise, and a practical approach to learning AI.
CEO and co-founder of FundMore.ai, building AI-powered underwriting technology. Chris brings experience across mortgage origination, brokerage, and lending technology to the workshop.
Co-founder and CEO of Deeded. Reuven previously co-founded MoveSnap and held senior roles at SAP. His work focuses on helping leaders apply AI, evaluate its output, and put it to use with their teams.
Birchwood is an AI build experience by The Variable, an operator-led AI advisory firm.
No. You’ll direct AI, evaluate its output, and work with a coach. Your knowledge of the business is what you bring to the table.
We review your application and follow up about fit and availability. No payment is due with your application. If accepted, you’ll receive payment or company-invoice instructions. Applying does not reserve a confirmed seat.
CAD $1,995 plus applicable tax. The day centres on coached building, a live demonstration, and peer discussion. Final booking details and terms will be shared before payment.
Friday, October 16, 2026 in Calgary. The agenda starts at 8 a.m. and the closing discussion begins at 4:45 p.m. Venue details will be shared before payment.
Bring a laptop and your knowledge of a lending workflow. The workshop uses synthetic borrower data; you do not need to bring customer files.
Yes. Book a 15-minute fit call to talk through your questions. Payment and cancellation terms will be provided before you commit.
Apply for one of 15 seats, or book a short call to discuss whether the day is a fit. No payment is required to apply. If accepted, you can pay by card or request a company invoice.