Chasing Excellence

Mario Escobedo is the Broker/Owner and Senior Mortgage Advisor at Sienna Mortgage in Henderson, Nevada, and he does something most high-level originators avoid: he's simultaneously the top producer, the broker-owner, and the one still processing his own loans.

Mario grew up around the mortgage business, stepped away for a stretch, and came back to it in 2016-2017, bringing a corporate sales background with him. He named the company Sienna Mortgage after his niece Sienna, his wife's goddaughter — reasoning there was no better name for a business built on family and trust.

Today Sienna Mortgage does more than $30 million a year in production, almost all of it purchase business, growing 15-20% year over year. Mario credits relationship-based sales as his edge, running quarterly realtor masterminds with 15-25 agents to keep those referral relationships sharp.

His view on sales is simple: it's the ability to build trust with somebody — nothing more complicated than that.

🔑 What You'll Learn:

• Why Mario treats sales as "the ability to build trust with somebody"
• How running quarterly realtor masterminds keeps referral relationships alive
• Why staying hands-on as a self-processor makes him a better broker-owner
• What it took to grow Sienna Mortgage 15-20% year over year

Connect with Mario Escobedo: https://siennamortgage.com/ | https://www.linkedin.com/in/mario-escobedo-2a6b37132/

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Corrina Carter is the CEO and Owner of CMS Mortgage Solutions in Virginia Beach, Virginia, where 29 years in the mortgage industry — 21 of them running her own company — have taught her that growth stops the moment a leader tries to do it all herself.

Corrina got her start in mortgage almost by accident: a family medical crisis pulled her out of her prior job, and she took an administrative role in the industry before working her way up to loan originator and, eventually, founding her own brokerage.

For years she carried 60-70% of her company's production personally — until around 2022, when she made the deliberate choice to step back from selling and reinvest her profits into building out her team instead. The result: CMS Mortgage has grown from roughly 300 closed units a year to about 2,000, now operating across 27 states with 120 loan officers, 68% of them women.

Corrina's advice to originators trying to grow faster is simple — don't go at it alone, and find people further down the path who can help shorten yours.

🔑 What You'll Learn:

• Why the biggest constraint in this business is bandwidth, not effort
• How to make the shift from top producer to servant leader
• Why letting go of yesterday keeps you sharp today
• What scaling a brokerage to 27 states actually requires

Connect with Corrina Carter: https://cmsmortgage.com/ | https://www.linkedin.com/in/corrina-carter-4216907/

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Jeff Dettelbach is a senior mortgage loan originator at Hallmark Home Mortgage Powered by Fairway in Indianapolis, Indiana — 34 years into a mortgage career that started in 1992, still ranking in his company's top five producers alongside his wife and fellow top originator, Julianne.

In this episode of Chasing Excellence, he joins host Tony Thompson for a conversation about longevity, service, and what it takes to build a husband-and-wife top-producing team. Jeff graduated from Indiana University in 1991 and got his start calling alumni for donations at the IU Foundation — a role he credits with turning him from an introvert into a skilled communicator — before moving into mortgage telemarketing and, within his first year, management and then origination.

What You'll Learn:

• How Jeff went from calling alumni for donations to 34 years as a mortgage originator
• How he and his wife Julianne built a team that ranks top five in their company
• Why "good old fashioned service" and due diligence still separate top producers from the rest
• Why 92-95% of clients need personal guidance no automated process can replace
• Jeff's "rifle approach" to networking, and why persistent follow-up is where the real business gets built
• Why reinvesting in your own development is non-negotiable for long-term originators

Connect with Jeff Dettelbach:

Hallmark Home Mortgage: https://myhhm.com/jeff-dettelbach/

Subscribe to Chasing Excellence for weekly conversations with top mortgage professionals and industry leaders sharing what it truly takes to go from good to great.

Shawn Malkou is the CEO and broker-owner of X2 Mortgage in Chandler, Arizona — named the #1 Mortgage Broker in the Country Under 30 for 2024, and projecting around $70 million in personal production this year.

In this episode of Chasing Excellence, he joins host Tony Thompson for a candid conversation about an unlikely path into the industry: 8-9 years as a YouTube content creator before burnout, a volleyball coach's tip that changed everything, and a job offer that collapsed right after he got licensed — which turned into the best break of his career at a small three-person brokerage. He founded X2 Mortgage in 2021 and has since grown it to a team of about 20.

What You'll Learn:

• How Shawn went from burned-out YouTube creator to broker-owner of X2 Mortgage
• Why the IMB job that fell through led him somewhere better
• How he named X2 Mortgage for SEO and phone clarity during the 2020-2021 boom
• Why his weekly Monday sales meetings focus on metrics, not motivation
• His "lead by doing" approach to running a team
• Why he tells new originators to master production before starting a company
• How AI is freeing up time for originators to close more loans

Connect with Shawn Malkou:

X2 Mortgage: https://x2mortgage.com/shawn-malkou

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/shawnmalkou/

Subscribe to Chasing Excellence for weekly conversations with top mortgage professionals and industry leaders sharing what it truly takes to go from good to great.

Emily Rowley is the president of the retail division at First Colony Mortgage — a Utah-based company founded in 1984 that she joined in 2004 as a processor. Over 22 years, she worked her way from processing to originating to leading, building deep relationships and an even deeper conviction that culture is the foundation everything else gets built on.

In this episode of Chasing Excellence, Emily joins host Tony Thompson to talk about what it takes to grow through hard markets, why the mortgage industry needs to start betting on young talent, and how First Colony is positioning itself for the future with a full ecosystem play that includes their own AI tech company, Tidal Wave AI.

She also gets candid about what it's like to be a woman in a male-dominated industry — and why helping other women develop self-belief is one of her biggest priorities.

What You'll Learn:

• How Emily went from being talked out of getting her license to running the retail division of a growing national company
• What the law of generosity looks like in practice — and how it shaped First Colony's growth during the 2008–2009 crisis
• Why the industry's average originator age is a quiet crisis, and what First Colony is doing about it
• How to build a "customer for life" approach through revenue stacking and ecosystem thinking
• What Emily believes is the greatest challenge for mortgage companies right now — and why being ready to sprint is non-negotiable
• Her honest advice for women in the industry who are letting the difficulty of a male-dominated space affect how they see themselves

Connect with Emily Rowley:
First Colony Mortgage: http://www.FirstColonyMortgage.com
Follow Emily on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/emily-gappmayer-rowley-66214894/

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Oliver Orlicki is the founder of The Orlicki Group — a Tampa, Florida-based mortgage team with over 75 years of combined experience, consistently closing around $70 million annually.

In this episode of Chasing Excellence, he joins host Tony Thompson for a fast-paced, high-energy conversation about what it takes to stand out, stay motivated, and capitalize on the AI wave reshaping the mortgage industry.

Oliver's journey started far from mortgage — a journalism degree, dreams of sports broadcasting, and a detour into financial planning before 9/11 sent him into the industry in 2001. Twenty-five years later, his philosophy is simple: be pleasantly persistent, never quit, and surround yourself with people who push you to excel.

What You'll Learn:

• Why differentiation — not interest rates — is the real competitive battlefield in mortgage today
• How AI and social media are creating massive opportunity for originators willing to use them
• The "pleasantly persistent" philosophy and why it takes 7 contacts to make a sale
• Why being great at what you do is the only real defense against losing business to AI
• How surrounding yourself with high-producing people becomes addictive — in the best way
• Why buying a home remains one of the few reliable paths to generational wealth
• Oliver's #1 advice for originators trying to reach the next level: don't quit

Connect with Oliver Orlicki:

Follow Oliver Orlicki : https://www.linkedin.com/in/oliver-orlicki-6a9b8931
The Orlicki Group: https://orlickigroup.com/

Subscribe to Chasing Excellence for weekly conversations with top mortgage professionals and industry leaders sharing what it truly takes to go from good to great.

Nathan Howry is the President & CEO of Mortgage Inc. — a New Braunfels, Texas-based brokerage five years in the making, built on a broker-first philosophy, in-house operations, and a team culture laser-focused on helping every loan officer reach six figures. Licensed in five states with 13 LOs and a personal production volume of $35–50 million a year, Nathan has built a company that doesn't just survive tough markets — it finds opportunity in them.

In this episode of Chasing Excellence, he joins host Tony Thompson, CMB for a practical, no-fluff conversation about what it really takes to build a mortgage brokerage that grows its people and outlasts market cycles.

Nathan spent nearly two decades in the industry — moving through restaurant management, a decade in real estate, and a rapid rise from LOA to branch manager — before making the deliberate move to broker ownership. What followed was a brokerage built on process, fairness, and a relentless focus on the investment property lending niche that's now become their signature.

What You'll Learn:

• How Nathan went from a failed real estate career and the restaurant business to running a multi-state mortgage brokerage
• Why he rebranded from "Mortgage Maniac" to Mortgage Inc. — and what the process taught him about building a company that can recruit and scale
• How Mortgage Inc. became the exclusive mortgage team for one of the largest build-to-rent developers in the country
• Why Nathan shifted focus to DSCR and investment property loans — and how it positioned the company perfectly in a slow purchase market
• The accountability system behind his weekly one-on-one calls with every LO on his team
• Why over-communication is the single most important habit for any originator trying to reach the top level of this business
• How Nathan built a full ecosystem — development, property management, tenants, and individual investor financing — that keeps clients coming back
• The difference between broker and retail — and the real reason Nathan made the switch
• The three pillars Nathan credits for his success: Family, Faith, and Fitness
• Why mental fitness — cutting out the noise and the vices — is what truly moves the needle for top producers
• Tony's "Corporate Athlete" framework and why every serious originator needs to hear it

Connect with Nathan Howry: https://www.linkedin.com/in/nathan-howry/

Mortgage Inc. : https://mortgage-inc.com/

Subscribe to Chasing Excellence for weekly conversations with top mortgage professionals and industry leaders sharing what it truly takes to go from good to great.

Alec Conrad is the co-broker owner of Carolina Mortgage Advisors in Charlotte, North Carolina — a brokerage built on a simple but powerful philosophy: do the basics better than everyone else, find your niche, and protect it with consistency.

In this episode of Chasing Excellence, he joins host Tony Thompson, CMB for a candid conversation about what it really takes to build a mortgage business from scratch, why he became the VA loan go-to in a market with no military base nearby, and how a FaceTime call with his toddler son changed the entire trajectory of his career.

Alec didn't come from mortgages — he came from mergers and acquisitions, traveling constantly, closing high-stakes corporate deals. But when his son Cooper asked why daddy was always so far away, he was on the next flight home, canceled his contract, and never looked back. What followed was a humbling first year of near-zero income and a decade of building something real — a brand, a niche, a partnership, and a brokerage now on track for 30–40% production growth in 2026.

What You'll Learn:

• How Alec left a high-paying M&A career to be present for his son — and built a mortgage brand around being "Cooper's dad"
• The origin of Carolina Mortgage Advisors: how a difficult situation at a prior brokerage turned into the momentum to go independent
• Why the originators winning right now are the ones focused on fundamentals — not headlines, not tech, not what Rocket just acquired
• How Alec became a VA loan authority in Charlotte by teaching nearly 1,000 realtors since 2018 — without living near a military base
• Why consistent messaging over years turns niche expertise into a self-sustaining referral engine
• The post-mortem review Alec runs every year to track where new referral partners came from — and how to replicate it
• How a simple Tuesday update habit turned listing agents into his #1 source of new business
• Why knowing what to refer out is just as important as knowing what you're great at
• How to use RETR to build a targeted list of realtors who don't have a dedicated lending partner
• What Alec is most grateful for: a business partnership that accelerated his growth by nearly a decade
• Why the broker channel's product access can work against you if you haven't committed to a niche

Connect with Alec Conrad:

Carolina Mortgage Advisors: www.carolinamortgageadvisors.com
Alec Conrad: https://www.linkedin.com/in/alec-edward-conrad/

Subscribe to Chasing Excellence for weekly conversations with top mortgage professionals and industry leaders sharing what it truly takes to go from good to great.

Chris Musso is the president of West Park Mortgage Group — a Tampa, Florida-based brokerage five years in the making, built on servant leadership, data-driven coaching, and a team culture that produced growth for every single LO in one of the toughest mortgage markets in recent memory.

In this episode of Chasing Excellence, he joins host Tony Thompson for a deeply practical conversation about what it really takes to lead a mortgage team — and how to build one that actually stays.

Chris spent 23 years in the industry before opening West Park — running refi call centers and large retail operations before making the deliberate pivot to purchase business and broker ownership. What followed was a brokerage named after his own neighborhood, rooted in community, and built to outlast market cycles.

What You'll Learn:

• How every West Park LO grew their business year-over-year in a down market — and the coaching system behind it
• The 3 pillars of LO success: consistent activities, consistent processes, and qualified referral partners
• How AI is being implemented at West Park right now — and why it sets LOs up to beat competitors who aren't using it
• The data framework Chris uses to show each LO exactly how many credit pulls they need to hit their goals
• Why LOs closing one loan a month are almost certainly not working 75-80% of their day on business building
• Tony's "are you a buy, sell, or hold?" question — and why every originator needs to answer it honestly
• Why servant leadership — not micromanagement — is what keeps top producers around for over a decade

Connect with Chris Musso:
Follow Chris Musso: https://www.linkedin.com/in/chris-musso-b6618016/
West Park Mortgage Group: https://westparkmortgagegroup.com/

Subscribe to Chasing Excellence for weekly conversations with top mortgage professionals and industry leaders sharing what it truly takes to go from good to great.

Brian Tewes is the president and CEO of Tewes Lending — an Orlando-based mortgage brokerage recognized in the top 5% nationwide by HousingWire and the top 2% in the country by Scotsman Guide.

In this episode of Chasing Excellence, he joins host Tony Thompson right in his home city for a conversation about building a mortgage business on legacy, competitive fire, and daily social media consistency.

Brian didn't plan on being in mortgages. After watching the 2008 crash devastate his family, he swore the industry off entirely. Nearly a decade later, after a conversation with his father — a 31-year mortgage veteran — changed his mind, he went all in, sank for a season, and came out the other side as one of Florida's top producers.

What You'll Learn:

• How Brian went from "I will never do mortgages" to top 2% nationwide in under 10 years
• The family legacy behind Tewes Lending — and why "Let's Get You Home" means more than a tagline
• Why affordability is both the biggest challenge and the biggest opportunity in mortgage right now
• The Warren Buffett mindset Brian uses when rates climb and other originators head for the exits
• Why Brian loves Monday mornings — and what that tells you about building a business worth showing up for
• The daily social media system that turns closings into referral magnets
• Why being a partner — not a vendor — is what gets clients and realtors across the finish line

Connect with Brian Tewes:

Tewes Lending: https://teweslending.com/

Follow Brian: https://www.linkedin.com/in/brian-tewes-mba-ab02283a

Subscribe to Chasing Excellence for weekly conversations with top mortgage professionals and industry leaders sharing what it truly takes to go from good to great.