For Kelly Eldridge, balance isn’t about slowing down — it’s about moving with purpose. After a career that’s spanned executive support, corporate law, and now fintech leadership, Kelly has learned to find rhythm in the mix. As Chief of Staff at Quickli, she helps steer one of Australia’s fastest-growing mortgage technology platforms, managing strategy, people, and culture for a team that’s doubled in size under her watch.
Away from the startup hustle, she trades spreadsheets for saddles, raising two young kids and tending to life on a rural property filled with horses, chickens, and bees. In our chat, Kelly shares what she’s learned about building strong teams, staying grounded in chaos, and why presence — not perfection — is the real secret to balance.
You’ve had a pretty unique career journey – EA, lawyer, now Chief of Staff at a fast-growing fintech. What’s been the common thread across all those roles?
Relationships and trust. Whether I was supporting executives, negotiating complex deals, or now scaling operations at Quickli, everything comes back to understanding people and building genuine connections.
My legal background taught me that trust is everything when guiding clients through complex decisions. That translates directly to my work now – whether it’s supporting our team, working with broker partners, or building relationships with lenders.
What I’ve transferred across all my careers is an ability to think strategically, run operations effectively, and unite people around a common goal. Much of my role is negotiation, not the legal kind, but the daily act of aligning priorities, managing competing demands, and making sure systems are designed to support people, not hinder them.
Joining Quickli after the Startmate Women’s Fellowship, what drew you into the world of fintech, and what surprised you most once you were in it?
I really craved the fast paced environment of a startup. Corporate law was intellectually stimulating, but the approval processes were glacial. I wanted to actually do things, see immediate impact, and work at a pace that matched my energy.
What really drew me to Quickli was the founders, Angus and Eric, and their clarity of vision. They weren’t just building another fintech tool – they were tackling a very real problem for brokers that no one else had solved. After the Startmate Women’s Fellowship, I knew I wanted to work somewhere I could see both massive growth potential and genuine impact on people’s lives. Quickli offered both. For me, the most meaningful roles are where strategy meets people, and that’s exactly what this is. One year in, I can see how much we’ve already changed brokers’ day-to-day, and how much runway there is to do more. It’s a privilege to be part of that growth story.
Something that surprised me is the genuine camaraderie in the mortgage industry. Coming from corporate law where everyone is fairly guarded, brokers are remarkably open and supportive of each other. They really care, which sounds simple but can be rare in professional industries.
What I love most is having a real impact on businesses. We’re supporting 12,500+ brokers across Australia, and I can see directly how our work makes their lives easier so they can focus on what they do best, helping Australians get into homes.
You’ve helped scale the team to 50+ lenders and driven culture, systems, and retention – what’s your approach to building a strong company foundation without slowing momentum?
The trick is knowing when to embrace the mess and when to rein it in. We’ve got people who love to build fast and break things, and others who can’t sleep at night until the spreadsheet is colour-coded. The magic happens when both types are in the room — one pushes us forward, the other makes sure we don’t trip over ourselves. I like to think of the process as seasoning: too little and everything falls flat, too much and no one wants to eat it. My job is to get the recipe right, and when we overshoot, we adjust quickly and keep going.
As a working mum of two juggling startup life and rural living, how do you keep things steady on the home front and at work?
Some days it feels like I’m doing a dozen half-jobs badly and that’s the truth. But what I’ve learned is that presence matters more than perfection. Whether it’s showing up for my team in a hectic week or switching off to chase chickens with my kids on the farm, I try to be where I am. The rest usually sorts itself out.
My short commute (our office is in Bondi Junction) gives me more time with my family. But it also means I need to be deliberate about creating boundaries between work and home when they’re geographically close.
We have a farm property that we escape to on weekends, and that physical distance from the city is when I truly disconnect. Spending time on the farm grounds me and gives me valuable thinking space. There’s something about being in nature that forces you to be present – you can’t check Slack when you’re knee deep in the mud.
The reality is some weeks are better than others. I’m still learning to be honest about my capacity and communicate when I need support, whether that’s at work, at home, or on the farm.
You’ve spoken about the power of mentorship and championing women in male-dominated industries – what does that look like day to day for you?
At Quickli, we’re acutely aware that women make up only 30% of mortgage brokers, compared to 50/50 representation in law. That gender gap reflects real systemic barriers including access to capital, risk aversion, caregiving responsibilities that make broker entrepreneurship particularly challenging.
Day to day, it means building features like Quickli Community that provide free peer-to-peer mentoring and support. In our first week, we had 1,500 brokers sign up with a 95% question response rate. That’s not just engagement metrics – that’s creating genuine support networks for women who might otherwise feel isolated in their businesses.
It also means being visible myself. When I speak at industry events or participate in podcasts, I’m conscious that representation matters. Young women considering fintech careers need to see that it’s possible to transition from traditional fields and thrive.
My philosophy is that we need both formal support structures and informal daily assistance to help women not just enter the industry but stay and succeed.
Mentorship doesn’t have to be grand gestures either, it can be daily moments of making space, sharing context, or offering encouragement. Those small things add up to culture change.
Whether it’s in law, startups, or the paddock – how do you stay grounded and connected to what really matters?
Having the farm as a weekend escape forces me to truly disconnect from startup life. When you’re dealing with property maintenance and the realities of country life, work suddenly becomes appropriately sized. It’s important, but it’s not everything.
My family keeps me connected to what matters. When my kids want to hit the beach after school or explore the farm on weekends, work concerns fade into proper perspective.
I’ve also learned to recognise the difference between urgent and important. Startups create artificial urgency constantly – everything feels like it needs to happen now. Having physical spaces that pull me away from that helps me process what actually needs my immediate attention versus what can wait.
I lean into my peer networks, staying connected with the women I met in the Startmate program, former law colleagues, and fellow Chiefs of Staff. Those relationships provide perspective when startup life feels overwhelming. Having people who understand your challenges but aren’t in your daily work environment is invaluable.
The mortgage industry’s sense of community has been grounding too. Brokers are real people dealing with real challenges, helping families achieve major life goals. That human element keeps the work meaningful rather than abstract.
