Total Expert, a financial technology software firm in St. Louis Park, has raised $20 million in its second round of institutional funding.
The round was led by Emergence Capital of Silicon Valley, with participation locally from Rally Ventures and Arthur Ventures.
"We started Total Expert to ensure banks and lenders stay ahead of how customers expect to communicate, shop and manage their financial lives in the digital-social era," said Joe Welu, chief executive and co-founder of the company. "People expect digital simplicity and real human relationships. Financial services companies too often lose these relationships when they don't engage with personalized, automated communication as people go from awareness … to [being a] lead … to a transaction."
Total Expert earlier raised $14 million in venture capital that included Rally and Arthur. After the recent capital infusion, the company said no single shareholder owns more than 50 percent of the stock.
The 175-employee company has experienced a nearly 300 percent annual compound growth rate over the three-year period ended in August 2018, and was listed on the Inc. 500 list of America's fastest-growing private companies. The company posted 2017 revenue of $5.3 million.
"We saw a massive opportunity in the MOS [marketing operating system] software category Total Expert created to turn marketing into a revenue center for lending, banking, wealth management and insurance companies," Joseph Floyd, partner at Emergence Capital, said in a statement.
"Their team of engineers, data scientists, designers and financial services veterans puts them in a rare position to modernize how financial institutions acquire, manage and grow customer relationships," he added.
Total Expert launched in 2012 to address related needs in the mortgage industry, a complex and highly regulated sector of consumer finance.
The company said it already serves about 10 percent of the mortgage industry, and since 2016 multiplied its customer base seven times, including eight of America's top 15 lenders, such as U.S. Bank, LoanDepot.com and Guaranteed Rate.
Welu, 41, formed and led a residential real estate team for 12 years before starting Total Expert.
Neal St. Anthony • 612-673-7144
