From Relationships to Results: How Sanomi Built an Award-Winning National Brokerage with Fintelligence.
In an industry increasingly driven by lead generation and transaction volume, Sanomi has taken a different approach.
No paid leads. No aggressive sales model. Just relationships.
Founded by former automotive and finance leader Sam Jolley, Sanomi was built on the belief that brokers, accountants and advisers needed a genuine asset finance partner. One that could enhance client relationships rather than compete for them.
Just over two years later, that partnership-first model has helped Sanomi grow from a one-person operation into a national brokerage with a seven-person team, major referral partnerships, and recognition as Best Newcomer at the FY25 Fintelligence Broker Awards.
Behind that growth was another critical decision: finding the right aggregation partner to scale with.
Building a Relationship-First Brokerage
After more than 20 years across automotive, asset finance, residential lending and business development, Sam identified an opportunity to better support referral partners.
Having spent years working closely with mortgage brokers, accountants and advisers, he recognised many businesses wanted to offer asset finance solutions to their clients but did not want to lose control of those relationships in the process.
“We’re a relationship business,” Sam says. “We put a huge emphasis on genuine relationships and how we can add value to other referral partners.”
Founded just over two years ago, Sanomi was created to become an extension of those businesses, supporting their clients while protecting the trust they had already built.
“Our role is to enhance their businesses, not compete with them,” Sam explains. “We take the time to understand how they want us to speak to their clients, and from there, we build repeat and referred business.”
Today, Sanomi operates nationally, supporting referral partners across Adelaide, Sydney and beyond.
Remarkably, the business has achieved this growth entirely through referrals and partnerships.
“We don’t do paid leads,” Sam says. “We’re 100% a client relationship business.”
Building with the Right Platform
When Sam first launched Sanomi, he quickly realised that choosing the right aggregator would play a major role in how fast the business could grow.
Coming from a dealership background, where access was often limited to one or two lenders, the transition into broking brought an entirely new level of complexity.
“What was new to me was having access to 40-plus lenders and understanding where each deal fit,” Sam says.
Initially, Sanomi partnered with another aggregator, but it quickly became clear the business needed more than just lender access.
“I wanted something simple, scalable and easy for the team to use,” Sam explains. “We were growing quickly and needed technology and support that could grow with us.”
After making the switch to Fintelligence, the difference was immediate.
“Fintelligence has been a huge part of our growth from almost day one,” he says. “The platform, the support, the reporting, the relationships, it all aligned with how we wanted to build the business.”
For Sam, the partnership extended well beyond technology.
“When I connected with Fintelligence, I felt genuine care. They were proactive, relationship-driven and genuinely excited about helping us grow.”
That alignment became an important part of Sanomi’s growth strategy as the brokerage expanded nationally.
Growing with Purpose
Sanomi’s growth has been intentional.
What started with Sam has now become a team of seven brokers, supported by a dedicated partnership manager who plays a key role in managing referral relationships and helping partners deliver asset finance solutions to their clients.
“We’ve seen strong growth over the last 12 to 18 months, largely driven by referrals and partnerships,” Sam says.
The business has also expanded well beyond car loans, now supporting clients across personal loans, commercial finance and larger asset finance opportunities.
“We’ve diversified into personal loans and a lot of heavy commercial work as well,” he says. “We’ve become the go-to for some of the bigger commercial ticket opportunities.”
At the centre of that growth has been a strong internal culture.
“As I brought on the first person, then the second, it was all about team and culture,” Sam says. “We put a huge effort into building a team that is proactive, accountable and genuinely cares about outcomes.”
That internal culture has become one of the business’s biggest strengths.
“We’ve built an amazing team,” he says. “We have a heavy focus on communication, speed and education. When we say we’re going to deliver, we make sure we do.”
Award-Winning Momentum
Sanomi’s performance has already been recognised across the industry.
At the FY25 Fintelligence Broker Awards, Sanomi was named Best Newcomer, recognising the group’s immediate impact, strong performance and ability to embrace the Fintelligence technology suite to deliver results.
The team was also named a finalist for Best Small Group 2–5 Brokers and Best Commercial Brokerage, highlighting the strength and breadth of the business Sam and his team have built in a short period of time.
Alongside these achievements, Sanomi has also received broader industry recognition through finalist and winner acknowledgements across leading finance and small business awards.
Looking Ahead
Sanomi’s ambition is clear: to become the number one referral partner in Australia for brokers.
With a strong team, a relationship-led model and the backing of Fintelligence, Sam believes the business has the foundation to continue growing nationally.
“Our whole team is invested in that goal,” he says. “We want to be a partnership for life.”
For Sanomi, success comes down to doing what it has done from the beginning: building trust, delivering outcomes and helping partners look good in front of their clients.
