About Us
Strategic Capital Advisory, Rooted in Partnership
At Axestone Capital, we believe that real estate financing is more than just numbers — it’s about aligning the right capital with the right vision. As an independent advisory firm, we operate free of institutional bias, allowing us to structure deals that truly serve the best interest of our clients.
Founded by industry professionals with decades of combined experience, our team has sourced and closed hundreds of millions in financing across residential, commercial, and mixed-use developments. We bring institutional-level expertise with a boutique service approach — agile, responsive, and relationship-focused.
What sets us apart:
Unmatched lender relationships across banks, credit unions, MICs, private lenders, and family offices
In-depth market intelligence and project feasibility insights
A hands-on, partner-driven approach from origination to funding
Creative structuring and execution under tight timelines
Our mission is simple: to be the most trusted and effective capital partner for real estate professionals in Canada.
AJ Dealwis
Founder and CEO
AJ Dealwis’s primary roles include business development, loan structuring, and market analysis. He works closely with clients to understand their goals and draws upon his plethora of experience to create custom financing solutions. He has a natural talent for making his clients feel supported through every step of the financing process and takes pride in every project he’s involved in. AJ is experienced in identifying business efficiencies, process improvement opportunities and analysing real-estate transactions.
AJ has over 15 years of experience in business operations, including his role as Partner at Abacus North Capital and business process management for National Securities, a Broker Dealer based in Los Angeles and New York City. AJ also helped co-found California Preschool Brokers; a business brokerage company that specializes in the valuations, purchase and sale of privately owned pre-school businesses and/or properties within the State of California. His interests are travelling, playing squash, golf, basketball, cricket, and tennis.
Kunal Sharma
Vice President
Kunal Sharma is a real estate lending and development professional driven by a passion for securing strategic financing for successful construction projects.
His expertise is built on leadership roles at Canadian Western Bank and Prospera Credit Union. As Assistant Vice President at CWB, he strategically managed a $600M portfolio, specializing in the structuring and execution of complex syndicated real estate transactions. His ability to navigate intricate financial landscapes and deliver successful outcomes has been a hallmark of his career. Previously, at Prospera Credit Union, he was instrumental in driving substantial portfolio growth as Associate Director of Real Estate Development, leveraging his deep market and development knowledge.
Kunal is also committed to community service, where he served as Vice-President of FVICBA and volunteers with United Way. Outside of work and community involvement, he enjoys exploring the world through travel, cheering on his favorite sports teams, and discovering new cuisines with his wife, Priya.
Matt Desjardins
Vice President
Matt is a seasoned commercial real estate financing professional, who started his career 15 years ago at Canadian Western Bank in Victoria, before moving to Vancouver in 2018. His experience underwriting, structuring and managing mortgage financing spans a number of asset classes including hotel, office, retail, industrial, redevelopment lands, multifamily and mixed-use properties, with particular expertise in structuring land, bridge & construction financing for large single family & townhouse subdivisions, as well as low, mid and high-rise multifamily developments for both strata-titled projects and CMHC-insured, purpose-built apartment projects.
Prior to Axestone, Matt worked with a small team at CMLS Financial Ltd. in Vancouver for 4 years as the exclusive service provider for CMHC's Apartment Construction Loan Program (formerly the Rental Construction Financing Initiative, or 'RCFi') for purpose-built apartment projects, managing over $10 billion in approved & funded loans across Canada from inception through to construction completion. Combining this experience in the ACLP program with his thorough knowledge of CMHC's popular MLI-Select program, Matt has become an authority on CMHC financing; by assisting clients with ensuring inputs, assumptions and technical requirements are correct when completing internal project ROI & IRR assessments, and weighing the cost/benefit of the different CMHC financing options & implications, Matt is able to assist groups in minimizing risk & uncertainty, expediting financing approvals, and maximizing a project's financial success.
In his spare time, Matt's hobbies include house renovations and getting outside to hike, climb, mountain bike and snowboard anywhere between Whistler and Vancouver's North Shore, where he is grateful to call home.