Why I Left Big Tech to Help Strangers Reclaim Their Home Equity: The Birth of Heritage Surplus Solutions

This is Part 5 of a 5-part series on the journey of Kristie Baker, founder of Heritage Surplus Solutions. If you missed the earlier parts, we’ve traveled from the hospitals of East Alabama to the front lines in Korea, and through the high-stakes halls of the FBI and Google.

If you had told me five years ago that I’d be leaving the world of Big Tech, the "golden handcuffs," the high-flying titles at places like Google and Netflix, to spend my days tracking down government records for people I’ve never met, I probably would have laughed.

But life has a funny way of leading you exactly where you need to be, even if the path looks like a giant detour.

When I left Netflix in 2025, I was pregnant with my daughter and facing a transition I hadn’t planned for. What I thought was a detour turned out to be exactly the redirection I needed. Life handed me an unexpected opportunity to take everything I’d learned and pour it into something that truly mattered. But instead of jumping right back into another Silicon Valley interview loop, I took a breath. I looked at my son (then just a toddler) and my soon-to-be-born daughter, and I thought about the kind of legacy I wanted to build.

I already had a foot in the door of the housing world. For years, I’d been building a portfolio of rental properties with a very specific mission: providing affordable housing to people who didn't yet qualify for a mortgage or couldn't get a lease at those big corporate apartment complexes. I loved being a landlord who actually cared.

But then, I stumbled upon a statistic that made my blood boil.

The "Aha Moment" That Changed Everything

While researching real estate trends, I learned about something called foreclosure surplus funds.

Here is the simple version: When a home is sold at a foreclosure auction (either for unpaid taxes or a mortgage), it often sells for more than what was actually owed to the bank or the county. By law, that extra money, the surplus, belongs to the person who lost the home.

But here’s the kicker: Most people have no idea this money exists. And the government? They aren’t exactly knocking on doors to hand over five-figure checks. If the money isn't claimed within a strict timeframe (sometimes just months), the government gets to keep it.

I saw families who had lost their homes, their memories, their stability, their safety nets, and they were walking away from $20,000, $50,000, or even $100,000 that could have helped them start over.

It felt like a second tragedy on top of the first. And I knew right then, I was the person to fix it.

Why Me? (The Army, The FBI, and Google DNA)

You might wonder why a tech manager thought she was the right person to fight the government for unclaimed money. But when I looked at my resume, it finally made sense.

• The Army taught me grit. When you’re a Staff Sergeant in the Signal Corps, you don’t stop until the mission is done.

• The FBI and the Pentagon taught me how to navigate complex, scary systems. I spent years working in high-security environments where everything is buried in red tape. I know how to find the person behind the desk who has the keys.

• Google and Netflix taught me how to scale. I learned how to build processes that are efficient, secure, and professional.

I realized I could take all that "big league" experience and use it to help a single mom in Georgia or a retired couple in Florida reclaim their life savings. I didn't need to be at Netflix to make an impact. I needed to be in the trenches with people who were being overlooked.

Building Heritage Surplus Solutions: Integrity, Expertise, Care

I founded Heritage Surplus Solutions with a very simple promise: No risk. No upfront cost. No excuses.

I wanted to build a company that felt like the "southern hospitality" I grew up with in Opelika and Auburn. When we call a client, we aren't just a business; we’re an advocate. We handle the attorneys, the notaries, the mountains of paperwork, and the back-and-forth with the court clerks.

We take on all the financial risk ourselves. If we don’t recover the money, the client doesn’t owe us a dime. It’s the only way I could sleep at night, knowing my target customers are already going through one of the most stressful financial ordeals of their lives.

I even wrote a guide to help people understand the process because I believe that education is the first step toward empowerment. Whether someone works with us or tries to DIY their claim, I just want them to get their money back.

The Full Circle

Looking back, every step was leading here.

The 18-year-old girl joining the Army to take the burden off her family? She’s the one who makes sure our clients aren't burdened by legal fees.
The candy striper at East Alabama Medical Center? She’s the one who brings the compassion to the phone calls.
The single mom who decided to have two beautiful kids via IVF on her own? She’s the one who understands that "family" is what you fight for, no matter what.

Leaving the high-tech world wasn't a step back. It was a step forward, into my purpose.

At Heritage Surplus, we say "Always Forward" (my personal motto). We can’t change the fact that a foreclosure happened, but we can change what happens next. We can make sure that the equity you worked years to build stays in your pocket, where it belongs.

If you or someone you know has lost a property to foreclosure, please don’t wait. The clock is ticking, and that money is yours. You can reach out to us here or check out our FAQ page to see how it all works.

Thanks for following my story through this series. It’s been a wild ride from Alabama to the Pentagon and back to my roots, but I wouldn't trade a single mile of it.

Always forward,