Fintech Leaders Valon's CEO Sold $100M Without a Sales Team. Now They're Building a Multi-Billion Mortgage Platform
Oct 28, 2025
In this engaging conversation, Andrew Wang, CEO of Valon and former sales founder, and Linda Du, COO with a rich background in tech and finance, share their journey in revolutionizing mortgage servicing. They discuss how Valon achieved over $100 million in revenue without a sales team by focusing on operational efficiency as their marketing strategy. They also delve into the challenges of startup licensing, the importance of hands-on early work, and the crucial pivot to AI integration that positions Valon for future growth amidst changing market dynamics.
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Bootstrapped Licensing And Manual Servicing
- Andrew and Linda manually originated and serviced loans to satisfy regulatory reporting and licensing requirements.
- They personally processed hundreds of loans by hand to break the industry catch-22 and win trust.
Lobby Vigil To Save License Application
- Andrew physically waited in the New York DFS lobby to ensure their licensing package was received during COVID disruptions.
- That hands-on persistence rescued a critical regulatory application deadline.
Prove Software By Running The Operation
- Valon built an operating servicer to prove their software's value rather than sell software first.
- They ran two companies in parallel: an operating servicer and a software OS to create undeniable product-market fit.
