# Joe Welu

> Joe Welu is the founder and CEO of Total Expert, a Minnesota-based fintech company that built the first customer engagement platform purpose-built for banks, credit unions, and mortgage lenders. He started the company in 2012 from the basement of a real estate office, hiring his first programmers off Craigslist, after a decade running one of the top-selling real estate teams in the U.S. Today Total Expert serves more than 200 financial institutions, including 15 of the top 25 U.S. banks and lenders, and its software touches roughly a quarter of U.S. mortgage production.

- **Role:** Founder and CEO at Total Expert
- **Organizations:** Total Expert, Forbes Technology Council
- **Nationality:** American
- **Education:** B.S. in Business, Kansas State University
- **Known for:** Founded and scaled Total Expert to nearly 300 employees, Total Expert named #1 CRM platform by STRATMOR Group, Earned spots on the Inc. 5000 and HousingWire Tech100 lists

## Career timeline

- **Pre-2012** — Co-founded and led one of the top-selling real estate teams in the U.S., achieving over $1 billion in sales volume over roughly a decade in residential real estate.
- **2012** — Founded Total Expert from the basement of a real estate office, hiring his first programmers via Craigslist.
- **2015** — Total Expert accelerated its vision, culture, and growth under Welu's leadership.
- **2019** — Total Expert raised a $52M Series C, bringing total funding to roughly $75M.
- **2024** — Appeared at the New York Stock Exchange on 'Taking Stock with Trinity Chavez' to discuss purpose-built customer engagement.
- **2025** — Led Total Expert's push into AI for loan officers and mortgage professionals.

## Achievements

- Founded and scaled Total Expert to nearly 300 employees
- Total Expert named #1 CRM platform by STRATMOR Group
- Earned spots on the Inc. 5000 and HousingWire Tech100 lists
- Built a platform serving 15 of the top 25 U.S. banks and lenders
- Total Expert software touches roughly 25% of U.S. mortgage production
- Co-led a real estate team with over $1 billion in sales before founding Total Expert
- Member of the Forbes Technology Council

## Latest updates

- **2025-08** — Discussed Total Expert's latest AI advances for loan officers in a YouTube feature, 'The loan officer's new co-worker: Total Expert's AI.'
- **2025-03** — Broke down real AI versus hype for mortgage professionals in 'AI & Mortgage Innovation: Joe Welu on the Next Frontier in Lending.'
- **2024-05** — Appeared at the NYSE on 'Taking Stock with Trinity Chavez' to talk purpose-built customer engagement.

## Links

- Website: https://totalexpert.com
- LinkedIn: http://www.linkedin.com/in/joe-welu-4056726
- Twitter/X: https://x.com/joewelu
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/joewelu/

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Profile page: https://yespress.io/joe-welu
Published by YesPress — https://yespress.io
Last updated: 2026-07-16