Valon's CEO Sold $100M Without a Sales Team. Now They're Building a Multi-Billion Mortgage Platform
Podcast: Fintech LeadersPublished On: Tue Oct 28 2025
Description: Send us Fan MailMiguel Armaza sits down with Andrew Wang (CEO) and Linda Du (COO) of Valon, the AI-native infrastructure platform transforming mortgage servicing in America. They have quietly built a top-10 national mortgage servicer with over $100 million in revenue and more than one million loans under management, all while achieving profitability. Valon is now selling their battle-tested platform to the largest servicers in the country. They are backed by a16z, Westcap, Jefferies, and Alleycorp, amongst others.What makes their story remarkable is how they built it: $100 million in revenue sold entirely through founder-led sales, no marketing team, and a seven-year detour of becoming a servicer themselves just to prove their software works. Their journey from burning $4 million per month to 70% operating margins offers a masterclass in operational discipline and unconventional company building.Timestamped Overview00:00 Intro & Valon’s Background04:14 Finding Trustworthy Growth Partners07:55 Navigating startup licensing challenges09:55 Overcoming Loan Licensing Hurdles15:53 Proving Value Through Integration18:22 Servicing philosophy shoot higher21:23 Valenos Success Without Marketing23:21 Building Two Businesses Two Strategies27:01 Monetizing operations with efficiency30:14 Debating AGI's future impact34:52 Modern CTO Strategies Culture Infrastructure38:19 LLMs redefining productivity models41:39 Mentorship sparks business collaboration44:02 Choosing New York over SF47:55 Ali's thoughtful guidance and clarityDo you prefer a written summary? Check out the Fintech Leaders newsletter and join 80,000+ readers and listeners worldwide!Miguel Armaza is Co-Founder and General Partner of Gilgamesh Ventures, a seed-stage investment fund focused on fintech in the Americas. He also hosts and writes the Fintech Leaders podcast and newsletter.Miguel on LinkedIn: https://bit.ly/3nKha4ZMiguel on Twitter: https://bit.ly/2Jb5oBcFintech Leaders Newsletter: bit.ly/3jWIp
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