TL;DR
Mark Gordon founded Fortren Funding LLC in 2012 as a fully online, direct-to-consumer mortgage lender. I built the systems and technology infrastructure that made it scalable and acquirable. On September 1, 2016, E Mortgage Management LLC acquired Fortren's assets, retained all three founders, and used our digital platform to expand their consumer-direct footprint across 35 states. Four years. Eight-figure annual revenue. A seven-figure exit.
Background: A Post-Recession Bet on Digital-First Lending
In 2012, the mortgage industry was still recovering. Traditional lenders were cautious. Processes were paper-heavy. Consumers were underserved, not because demand was gone, but because delivery was broken.
Mark saw the gap and built Fortren Funding to fill it.
Fortren was designed from day one as a fully online, direct-to-consumer lender. No physical branches. No legacy overhead. The model required a clear go-to-market strategy, the right technology infrastructure, and the discipline to execute at every stage before anyone else caught up.
By the time E Mortgage Management came calling in 2016, Fortren had reached eight-figure annual revenue and had been publicly recognized as a digital mortgage innovator. That recognition was not after the fact. It was the reason EMM made the call.
The numbers at exit:
- 4 years from founding to acquisition close
- 8-figure annual revenue at exit
- 7-figure exit price
- 35+ states in EMM's expanded footprint post-acquisition
- 3 of 3 founders retained under deal terms
Three Moves That Built a Company Worth Buying
These are not just highlights from a past company. They are the exact capabilities Mark and I bring to every IGTMS engagement: vision, systems, and the discipline to close the deal.
01. Go-To-Market Strategy (Mark Gordon)
Finding the white space and owning it before anyone else showed up
Mark identified that the post-recession consumer was underserved by traditional lenders, not because of lack of demand, but because of how mortgage services were delivered. He built Fortren's entire go-to-market model around direct-to-consumer digital origination before "fintech lender" was a phrase anyone used.
That was not luck. It was pattern recognition combined with the discipline to execute before the market caught up.
Fortren was publicly described by its acquirer as an "innovator" in online direct-to-consumer digital lending. Not by analysts after the fact. By the company that wrote the check.
What This Means for IGTMS Clients
Mark brings this same market-reading ability to B2B founders who need to find and own a lane, not compete in one that is already crowded.
02. Systems and Technology Architecture (Nicole Gordon)
Turning a tech problem into a competitive advantage that made Fortren acquirable
Fortren ran on two mission-critical platforms: Salesforce for CRM and Encompass for loan origination. The two systems did not communicate.
The team was facing a real decision: scrap Salesforce entirely, or find a way to make the integration work. I did not accept the first option.
I drove the decision to build a custom bidirectional integration using the Encompass SDK APIs. At the time, no native solution existed anywhere in the industry. The build required deep knowledge of both systems, willingness to work at the API level, and the patience to get it right under production conditions.
The result: real-time loan data flowing between systems, zero double-entry, a unified pipeline view, and the operational capacity to scale without adding headcount. That integration became part of what made Fortren worth acquiring.
What This Means for IGTMS Clients
I build systems that remove friction from revenue: connecting your CRM, your pipeline, and your operations so nothing falls through and everything scales.
03. Execution Through Acquisition (Mark and Nicole)
Taking a company from founding to acquisition close with the full team intact
An acquisition is not just a moment. It is months of due diligence, operational documentation, negotiation, and keeping a business running without missing a beat.
Mark led the strategic positioning of the exit. He made sure Fortren was framed not as a distressed asset but as a growth platform EMM could build on. The difference between those two narratives is everything when it comes to deal terms.
I managed the operational and technical handoff through to close. Systems documented. Team continuity confirmed. No disruption to the pipeline. No surprises for the acquirer.
The outcome: EMM retained all three founders under the terms of the deal and cited their expertise as a primary driver of the acquisition's value.
What This Means for IGTMS Clients
Execution is the hardest part of any growth plan. IGTMS does not hand you a strategy document and leave. We stay in it from first move to last signature.
The Result: A Clean Exit. A Proven Playbook.
"Gordon and his talented team have successfully built a platform that meets the demands of today's ever-changing consumer."
Kevin Crichton | President and COO, E Mortgage Management LLC
On September 1, 2016, E Mortgage Management announced the acquisition of certain assets of Fortren Funding. The deal closed with the full founding team intact. EMM described it as an "extraordinary business opportunity" and positioned Fortren's digital platform as the foundation for expanding their consumer-direct footprint across 35 states.
Four years. Eight-figure annual revenue. A seven-figure exit. Not by accident. By design, discipline, and the kind of execution that only comes from people who have actually done it before.
This is the track record Mark and I bring to every IGTMS client.
What This Means for You
We have already done what you are trying to do.
If you are a B2B founder who needs a go-to-market system that actually works, not just a plan but a working system you can run and grow with, we built Fortren exactly that way. Every system, every strategy, every sales motion we install at IGTMS was tested under real conditions with real capital on the line.
The question is not whether we know how to do it. The question is whether you are ready to build it.
Book a call with Mark and let's find out.
Frequently Asked Questions
What was Fortren Funding LLC?
Fortren Funding LLC was a fully online, direct-to-consumer mortgage lender founded by Mark Gordon in Livingston, NJ in 2012. It operated without physical branches, serving consumers digitally at a time when the mortgage industry had not yet made that shift.
When did E Mortgage Management acquire Fortren Funding?
E Mortgage Management LLC announced the acquisition of certain Fortren Funding assets on September 1, 2016.
What made Fortren Funding worth acquiring?
Three factors: a proven digital-first go-to-market model ahead of the industry, a custom bidirectional Salesforce-Encompass integration Nicole Gordon engineered using the Encompass SDK APIs (no native solution existed at the time), and eight-figure annual revenue with a full founding team committed to staying post-acquisition.
What role did Nicole Gordon play at Fortren Funding?
Nicole Gordon built the technology and systems infrastructure at Fortren Funding. Her most significant contribution was a custom bidirectional integration between Salesforce CRM and Encompass, the loan origination platform, using the Encompass SDK APIs. This eliminated double-entry, created a unified pipeline view, and became a key asset in the acquisition.
What role did Mark Gordon play at Fortren Funding?
Mark Gordon founded Fortren Funding and served as its go-to-market architect. He identified the gap in consumer-direct digital mortgage lending before the market recognized it, built the company strategy around direct online origination, and led the positioning and negotiation of the acquisition by E Mortgage Management.
What happened to the Fortren team after the acquisition?
E Mortgage Management retained all three founders post-acquisition under the terms of the deal. EMM cited the founders' expertise as a primary driver of the acquisition's value.
How long did it take Fortren Funding to go from founding to acquisition?
Four years. Fortren Funding was founded in 2012 and acquired in September 2016.
What is IGTMS and how does it connect to Fortren Funding?
IGTMS (Integrated Go-To-Market Solutions) is the B2B go-to-market consultancy founded by Mark Gordon and Nicole Gordon. The Fortren Funding story is their personal track record: they built a company from scratch, exited it successfully, and took those same go-to-market and systems capabilities to help other B2B founders do the same.
