AUSTIN, Texas, Sept. 1, 2026 — FirstClose™, a leading fintech provider of data and workflow solutions for home equity and mortgage lenders nationwide, announced today that John Aslanian, chief revenue officer, has been named a 2026 HousingWire Vanguard. The award recognizes C-level executives across mortgage, real estate and homebuilding for leadership that has driven measurable impact on their organizations and the broader housing economy over the past year.
Since joining FirstClose as chief revenue officer in March 2025, Aslanian has driven substantial growth across the business. Annual client retention has increased from 88% to 97.4%, bookings are up 170% year over year and professional services revenue has grown 501% year over year. Aslanian has also nearly tripled FirstClose’s go-to-market staff, growing the sales, account management, marketing, customer success, implementation and solutions engineering teams.
“When we brought John on to lead revenue for FirstClose, we knew he’d help take this company into its next chapter,” said Tedd Smith, chief executive officer of FirstClose. “Watching him build that out with our team over the past year and a half has been incredible to see, and this recognition is well deserved.”
Aslanian’s career in mortgage technology spans more than 25 years, including leadership roles at Del Mar DataTrac, Encompass® by ICE Mortgage Technology® (formerly Ellie Mae) and nCino (formerly SimpleNexus). He is active in the Mortgage Bankers Association, the California MBA, ACUMA and America’s Credit Unions.
“I’ve spent 25 years in this industry, and it means a lot to be recognized this way,” Aslanian said. “None of it happens without the team we’ve built here. We’ve nearly tripled that team in under two years, and that group is why FirstClose is winning in the market right now.”
The full list of 2026 HousingWire Vanguard winners is available at https://www.housingwire.com
About FirstClose
Headquartered in Austin, Texas, FirstClose, Inc. provides fintech solutions to home equity and mortgage lenders nationwide. The company’s mission is to increase profitability and reduce costs for mortgage lenders. FirstClose makes this possible through offering systems and relationships that enable lenders to assist their borrowers more effectively, reduce closing costs and ultimately shorten closing times. For more information, https://firstclose.com/.