Startup wemlo Aims to Reinvent Mortgage Loan Processing

As David Rogove and Steven Gelley tell it, they founded their startup company, wemloSM, to disrupt and improve the mortgage industry – not just mortgage technology.

In considering how to have the greatest impact, the entrepreneurial innovators kept coming back to the same issue: mortgage loan processing was a challenge for virtually everyone in the mortgage brokerage channel. It was a pain point that often produced a less-than-great experience for mortgage professionals and consumers alike.

So Rogove and Gelley set out to address the issue – and wemlo was born.

Solving for a Massive Need: Mortgage Loan Processing

Wemlo launched in January 2019 as a provider of third-party mortgage loan processing services and the first ever “Service Cloud” for mortgage brokers. It offers the only enterprise-grade solution of its kind in the mortgage brokerage space.

On September 1, 2020, RE/MAX Holdings, Inc, announced the acquisition of wemlo, in part to support the network of Motto Mortgage brokerages and to elevate the customer experience for borrowers.

Calling wemlo a platform that connects mortgage brokers, loan originators, borrowers and mortgage processors, Rogove says the system solves a big need by bringing processing up front, allowing everyone to communicate easily and exchange documents. Essentially, it puts originators and processors on one system leveraging a standardized workflow. It also benefits consumers through quicker turn times and better communication.

“We took a really unique approach to this business from the beginning. We built it from the inside out and built processing first,” Gelley says. Once they mastered the processing software and platform, the wemlo team moved up the funnel, tackling digital mortgage applications then automated underwriting and so on.

“We aren’t aware of any processing companies out there right now that can handle enterprise-sized pipelines for mortgage brokers in many states. And there’s never been a company that said, ‘let us solve processing with technology,'” Gelley says. “I think that’s really what differentiates us. We’re the first and only ones currently doing this for mortgage brokers.”

“It’s a very systematic approach, where everybody’s on the same playing field,” Rogove says.

Wemlo caught the attention of Motto Franchising, LLC President Ward Morrison, who says mortgage loan processing is a massive need in the mortgage brokerage space.

“Motto Franchising and wemlo are trailblazers that share a passion for the mortgage brokerage channel,” Morrison says. “Combining forces was an opportunity we didn’t want to miss. The acquisition will create more competitive advantages for Motto Mortgage franchises.”

Nailing a Concept, Driven by Passion

Though Gelley and Rogove began working on wemlo long before its 2019 launch, their story begins much earlier.

Gelley and Rogove grew up together in New York. They lived in the same neighborhood, attended the same schools, played on the same youth sports teams. Later they reconnected professionally when Rogove, who owned a mortgage brokerage, hired Gelley, a CPA with experience helping startups scale their business, to handle the company’s accounting.

“David’s passion for mortgage instantly drew my interest,” Gelley recalls. “He was at the forefront. He was tech stacking. He was trying to really disrupt how the traditional mortgage brokerage would go about its business.”

In 2016 they began writing down ideas in earnest. They’d spend hours talking about what they could do and how they could do it.

“As someone who’s done a lot in the startup community, I will say this: I have never ever seen somebody nail a concept like David has. The pain point was so massive that the second we put this product out in front of our customers, it was just everybody under the sun pounding down our door. That’s what led us to where we are today.”

Two Companies, One Goal

Acquiring wemlo fits in line with RE/MAX Holding’s mergers and acquisitions strategy of adding innovative companies that deliver value and improve the customer experience. (RE/MAX Holdings acquired booj and First in recent years.)

“The acquisition of wemlo is an investment in our high-growth Motto Mortgage business, as it helps address one of the mortgage brokerage channel’s biggest pain points – ineffective mortgage loan processing,” says Adam Contos, RE/MAX Holdings CEO.

Gelley and Rogove agree that the acquisition is a perfect fit, largely because the two companies have their sights set on offering a business-in-a-box solution for mortgage brokers. In the end, it’s all designed to make opening and operating a mortgage brokerage easier, with solutions readily available.

“Motto Mortgage as a franchise model provides the tools and services mortgage brokers need to run their mortgage brokerage,” Rogove says. “With RE/MAX, it’s basically the synergies between us. We’re both bullish on mortgage broker growth that as soon as we saw Motto Mortgage, we knew this would be a great partnership.”