Buying a house should be an exciting process. Yet, according to the FBI, business email compromise (BEC) scams targeting real estate transactions pose a real threat to homebuyers. In 2022, total losses of real estate victims reached an all-time high of $446.1 million.
One night in 2017, Abby White came home from her Texas real estate brokerage and told her husband, Andy White, that one of their homebuyers had almost lost a large sum of money that day. They had almost wired closing funds to the wrong account because of a targeted phishing email.
This led Andy to investigate the Whites’ own homebuying experience, discovering that they, too, could have easily made the same mistake. “I dug through my emails to figure out how we bought our home a year earlier,” White said. “I realized I had blindly wired off our down payment to an account I had gotten from an email.”
When White saw that he and his wife could have lost their life savings, he did extensive research and found there really was no established method for emailing sensitive transaction information. Together they founded Closinglock, hoping to create a more secure method for moving money in the homebuying process.
It takes ‘grit’: Building a successful company
The demand for a wire fraud-prevention product like Closinglock was clear, but the road to success wasn’t easy. Competing against six other companies pursuing the same systemic problem, White and his wife initially worked on the project alongside their primary full-time jobs.
Realizing the need for a deeper commitment, they decided to go all-in. Confident in their vision, they cashed out their 401(k) accounts and dedicated countless hours transforming the startup into a successful business.
“Being a founder is 10 times harder than you can imagine. You have to have a lot of grit and be prepared for a difficult and long process.”
–Andy White, CEO and co-founder of Closinglock
For White, grit involves carefully navigating the best path forward despite numerous challenges—even when it’s tempting to give up the project entirely.
One early obstacle Closinglock faced was a hiring misstep. They brought on a salesperson who struggled to connect with the right audience.
“It had me and my wife wondering if we had a bad product,” White said.
But they continued to research the market, gather feedback and retool their approach with potential customers—even as the pressure built up and resources ran low.
The experience led White to reach out to one of his connections, Weston Conway, for advice. Intrigued by what White was building, Conway, now Chief Operating Officer, joined. “He has been by far the most crucial and pivotal early hire,” White said. “We took off like crazy after that.”
Another obstacle, a common one for startups, was raising capital. Although Closinglock raised a successful seed round in 2022 and a Series A in early 2024, White says they faced a lot of rejection along the way.
“For our Series A fundraising, we had an incredibly successful fundraiser and we still saw rejection 75% of the time,” White said.
The key to raising capital is remembering it’s a sheer numbers game: Rejection doesn’t amount to failure.
To learn more about how we support fintech and startups like Closinglock, connect with a Startup Banking expert.
Pioneering a unique payments system
With a Ph.D. in computer engineering, White is no stranger to problem-solving or software. From early on, he knew he wanted to create a payments solution that would allow users to purchase real estate, pay earnest money deposits and cash to close—all on the same platform.
“My background certainly helped me solve the technology side of the problem. I like to solve problems creatively, so I enjoyed trying to develop this system,” White said. But convincing others took some work.
“When I said, ‘Hey, let’s build this payment system where people can move their money electronically,’ I met a lot of banks and people who said that’s not possible,” said White. There was one bank that didn’t dismiss the idea.
“J.P. Morgan took a chance on us. When it was just me, my wife, a handful of customers and an idea, they still invested time into that relationship and helped us actually build out this payments system over time,” White said.
White delivered the vision and the technical understanding, and J.P. Morgan came to the relationship with the infrastructure and industry connections to bolster and grow it.
“Working with J.P Morgan has helped us access a large network of other founders and CEOs,” White said. “They are also at the forefront of certain payment rails and have given us capabilities that maybe wouldn't have been possible with other banks.”
The payment system took years to refine, but it eventually allowed Closinglock to embed payments into its platform. “It’s a very unique offering, and it’s really cool that we’re the only company that offers it,” said White.
White is excited about potential developments with real estate transactions and an ongoing relationship with J.P. Morgan. Recently, J.P. Morgan also helped Closinglock with a venture debt deal.
Build your future with J.P. Morgan
With centuries of experience, a robust professional and venture capital network and scalable money-management solutions, J.P. Morgan offers many solutions for startups of all sizes. Visit our Innovation Economy page to learn more.
JPMorgan Chase & Co. and its affiliates ("JPMC") are not affiliated with, and do not endorse or sponsor, the services or products offered by any third parties referenced in this material. Any use of JPMC's name, logo, or materials by such third parties does not imply any relationship or endorsement by JPMC.
JPMorgan Chase Bank, N.A. Member FDIC. Deposits held in non U.S. branches are not FDIC insured. Non deposit products are not FDIC insured. Visit jpmorgan.com/cb disclaimer for disclosures and disclaimers related to this content.
