From Collapse to Reinvention: How the GFC Pushed Mendy Pollock Into the Note‑Buying Business

From Collapse to Reinvention: The Moment That Changed Everything

Confronting the Impossible - Episode 10.2 with Mendy Pollock

Some career pivots are intentional. Others hit you like a tidal wave.

In Episode 10.2, Leo Jacobs sits down again with Mendy Pollock of Ironwood Capital CRE to unpack one of the most dramatic turning points in his career — the moment the Great Financial Crisis (GFC) wiped out his client base, crushed deal flow, and forced him to reinvent himself entirely.

This episode is not about theory. It’s about what happens when the floor drops out and you either stay down… or rebuild.

When the Market Collapses - and So Does Your Book of Business

By the time the GFC hit, Mendy had already spent years grinding through mortgage brokerage at Eastern Union.
He had finally gained traction through a single major client - a client whose deals were complex, creative, and gave him the intellectual challenge he craved.

Then that client was indicted, went bankrupt, and vanished from the market.

“When he went down, I had to restart. And by the time the financial crisis hit, I hadn’t rebuilt enough of a book of business to survive.”

The timing couldn’t have been worse.
The entire industry was melting:

• Equity was gone.
• Properties were upside down.
• Loan-to-values made no sense.
• Lenders weren’t lending.
• Brokers were cutting themselves because there was “nothing to do.”

Mendy wasn’t just losing deals - he was losing his place in the industry.

And yet… he wasn’t surprised when it became clear:

“It wasn’t a hard decision to stop being a mortgage broker. It wasn’t serving my purpose. It wasn’t serving any purpose.”

Creativity vs. Survival - The Internal Battle

Before the crash, Mendy began to realize he wasn’t a commodity‑type broker.

He wasn’t built for:

• Selling interest rates
• Dialing 100 people a day
• Begging owners to refinance

He was wired for creativity - solving weird problems, structuring unusual deals, thinking his way through challenges.

But creativity alone doesn’t feed a family of seven.

He describes the tension perfectly:

“I wanted to work on the hard stuff - the creative stuff. But then your pocket gets hit. You’re not making money. So you have to choose between purpose and survival.”

It wasn’t immaturity.
It was identity.
He simply wasn’t built to do “boring deals.”

But he also couldn’t afford to do deals that didn’t pay.

He needed a path that satisfied both sides - the provider and the creator.

The Unexpected Door: Distress, Foreclosure & Note Buying

Ironically, the door opened through chaos.

When his big client fell apart, bankers, lawyers, and investors started calling Mendy nonstop - not to refinance, but to understand the fallout:

• Which loans were at risk?
• Which properties might hit bankruptcy?
• Which assets were heading to foreclosure?
• What opportunities existed underneath the wreckage?

“I was front and center with everything - foreclosures, workouts, bankruptcies. I never knew any of that world before.”

For the first time, Mendy saw an entirely new lane:

Distressed debt.
Workout advisory.
Note buying.
Deep‑value investing.

Not glamorous.
Not easy.
But creative.
Strategic.
And - when done well - profitable.

This was purpose and income.

The Pivot: From Broker to Buyer

The final turning point came when he reconnected with a friend, David Stanger - someone already buying foreclosures and short sales on the residential side.

Mendy brought the commercial knowledge.
David brought the foreclosure and auction experience.

Together, they realized:

“You’re seeing distress on the commercial side. I’m doing it on the residential side. Let’s go after this together.”

Before officially leaving Eastern Union, Mendy and David were already:

• Working on CMBS workouts
• Approaching banks with distressed borrowers
• Exploring commercial note purchases
• Learning how to underwrite non‑performing loans
• Stepping into a world most brokers feared

It was messy.
It was uncertain.
It was nothing like the brokerage grind.

But it was his.

Final Thought

This episode is about more than the GFC.
It’s about the moment you look at your career and realize:

“The old path is dead. Now what?”

For Mendy, the answer wasn’t quitting - it was transforming.

He took:

• The creativity he always had
• The resilience he built over 7 hard years
• The insight he gained on the front lines of collapse

…and forged an entirely new identity as an investor, problem solver, and distressed‑debt strategist.

If you’ve ever felt stuck between what pays and what fulfills - this story is your reminder:

The pivot usually isn’t a leap.
It’s a moment of absolute clarity.

🎧 Watch Episode 10.2 now

See how a financial crisis didn’t end his career - it rebuilt it.

PODCAST - Confronting the Impossible with Leo Jacobs.

Leo Jacobs, Founder and CEO of Jacobs PC

Known for finding creative, expedient solutions to complex and high-profile cases, Leo excels in matters including distressed investment and asset management, real estate law, corporate law, dispute resolution, business divorces, negotiation, and more. Leo’s extensive expertise in debt and equity structures enables him to employ a full spectrum of legal tools to achieve swift, optimal results for clients. His practice, Jacobs P.C., bridges commercial litigation, corporate transactions, and financial rehabilitation, handling cases across federal, state, and bankruptcy courts, as well as administrative tribunals.

If you would like to join the podcast email requests to pr@jacobspc.com