The Insight Interviews - Powered by Rewire

Curtis Wood is from Jacksonville, Florida. He is CEO & Co-founder of Bee Mortgage App, a mobile app for the mobile generation, with an end-to-end mobile mortgage experience, from shopping through closing. Curtis considers himself a Purpose Driven Capitalist.

In this episode Jason and Curtis discuss:

• The future of business through mobile
• Providing service with comfort 
• Purpose driven capitalism
• The output of blockchain 

Key Takeaways: 

• Implementing a way to access a service through a mobile interface is the best way to make your product more convenient and accessible, therefore making it a better fit for today’s modern needs. 
• The current generation will more than likely be more comfortable interacting with an app to process a mortgage rather than talking to a person. Besides being comfortable, it’s also quicker, easier, and would require less effort. 
• At some point a business or a career has to have a purpose behind it that’s more than just making a profit. Wealth creation often starts with home ownership. 
• Focus on the output of blockchain, not the nuts and bolts. We’re all going to be benefitting from blockchain in the future. Because of it, many redundancies will be removed resulting in a faster and more convenient way to access services. 

“The wealth gap is the biggest crisis of our generation. If you’ve got a dream and a goal, go after it. We should live in a country that lets you do that, and we do.” - Curtis Wood 

Connect with Curtis Wood:

Website: https://www.beemortgageapp.com/

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/beemortgageapp

Connect with Steve and Jason:

LinkedIn: Jason or Steve

Website: Rewire, Inc.: Transformed Thinking 

Email: [email protected]

Show notes by Podcastologist: Justine Talla

Audio production by Turnkey Podcast Productions. You're the expert. Your podcast will prove it. 

Currently the HR and Payroll Manager at Flagsource, Samantha has focused on creating development sessions and training techniques for the leadership team she has worked with, aiming to improve internal growth. Having gone from a VIP Bartender to HR Manager, Samantha recognizes the importance of being able to identify talent and translatable skills on a deeper level rather than just what is written on a resume. 

In this episode Steve and Samantha discuss:

• Finding courage within 
• Basing stability on work ethic
• Reflecting on what you want
• Choosing the scarier option

Key Takeaways: 

• Find courage from within or draw it from the people around you that you’ve allowed to influence you. 
• Don’t let your stability come from external circumstances, but rather, from within. Cultivate a good work ethic and have some courage in facing the unknown. 
• Look and reflect on what you want for your career. What do you want to learn? What do you want to be better at? 
• When deciding on what to do between two options: one a less scary option and another a scarier option, always choose the scarier option. Surely, that scarier option will bring growth. 

“You’re not going to progress if you’re not learning new processes, procedures, reporting styles. If you have the same type of experience, you can’t grow.” - Samantha Parga

Connect with Samantha Parga:

Website: www.Flagsource.com

LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/samantha-parga-msml

Connect with Steve and Jason:

LinkedIn: Jason or Steve

Website: Rewire, Inc.: Transformed Thinking 

Email: [email protected]

Forbes Contributor on Cyber Defense National Security and Board Strategy, named CEO of the Year 2020 by CEO Monthly Magazine, Mr. Cetnarski is a national & cybersecurity strategist and Founder & CEO of Cyber Nation Central®, a global cyber defense ecosystem bringing:

(1) breach-prevention-focused cultural transformation training from the Board-down, 

(2) incident response capabilities to even the most complex cyberbreaches, and 

(3) investment capital into cybertechnologies. 

Through the ecosystem’s breach prevention training, Mr. Cetnarski has helped strengthen the cybersecurity of hundreds of teams globally from those of UN officials and heads of state to global CEOs, Board Directors, investors, and entrepreneurs.

Mr. Cetnarski brings nearly two decades of experience as cybersecure-nation-building global leader and advisor to industry and government leaders globally; as cybersecurity public-private partnership innovator; Board Director and CEO; turnaround executive and as cybersecurity technology mentor and investor; and speaker and author in the areas of cybersecurity future-tech innovation, defense, regulatory policy, and diplomacy.

Previously an investment banker with UBS technology, defense & real estate groups as well as Chairman and CEO of a global tech & hospitality venture and US Congressional staffer, he holds 3 Ivy League degrees from Harvard, Wharton, and UPenn, and an Honors BA in Economics from the University of Chicago.

His global viewpoint has been forged by living and working nearly a third of his life across each of US, Europe, and Asia, thus bringing a highly global perspective to the challenges of cyberspace defense.

In this episode Steve and Andrzej discuss:

• Resilience and mindset 
• Cybersecurity is all about behavior 
• Cyberdefense is everyone’s responsibility 
• Supporting an increasingly better version of you

Key Takeaways: 

• The journey towards success is one that is filled with a lot of difficulty. Which is why you’ll need a strong mindset that is built up out of resilience. 
• It might surprise you that most conversations about cybersecurity are not about technology, but about behavior. Most security breaches are not caused by cyber insecure technologies, but cyber insecure behaviors. 
• Cyber defense isn’t only the tech department’s responsibility, it’s the responsibility of every member in the organization. Every member is a potential breach, so it’s important that everyone is in the same page. 
• If you are an entrepreneur, you have to be an optimist. Business is not for the faint of heart. You also have to have a routine that supports an increasingly better version of you everyday. 

“The weather outside doesn’t matter, it’s what your weather inside you is and how you look at every single thing.” - Andrzej Cetnarski

Connect with Andrzej Cetnarski:

Twitter: https://twitter.com/ACetnarski

Website: https://cybernationcentral.com/

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

Email:  [email protected]

Connect with Steve and Jason:

LinkedIn: Jason or Steve

Website: Rewire, Inc.: Transformed Thinking 

Email: [email protected]

Show notes by Podcastologist: Justine Talla

Audio production by Turnkey Podcast Productions. You're the expert. Your podcast will prove it. 

John Seib is the co-founder and Chief Revenue Officer of Electus Global Education. After 20 years in the financial services world watching firsthand the effects of financial illiteracy on our society, he started researching to find a solution. The results of his research revealed a few basics about what a solution would have to look like. 

In this episode Steve and John Seib discuss:

• How to solve financial illiteracy 
• The limits of teaching 
• Waking up without an alarm 
• Formation rather than modification 

Key Takeaways: 

• The best solution to address people’s financial illiteracy is to start young. Educating people while they are still young is what’s going to break unhealthy generational habits. 
• Though it’s almost impossible to teach work ethic to a person who’s hard-wired to be lazy, that doesn’t actually mean that a lazy person will not be successful. They will always find a way to do things in the easiest and fastest way and there’s a market for that. 
• Success means different things to each person. It could even be being able to get up in the morning to go to work without needing an alarm because of the fulfillment you feel from what you do. 
• It’s difficult to modify behavior that has already been cemented through the years. Therefore a child must learn how to earn, save, spend, give, and invest while in their most formative years.

“Teach a child to earn, teach a child to save, teach a child to spend, teach a child to give, and teach a child to invest” - John Seib

Connect with John Seib:

Website: https://lifehubjobs.com/

Connect with Steve and Jason:

LinkedIn: Jason or Steve

Website: Rewire, Inc.: Transformed Thinking 

Email: [email protected]

Show notes by Podcastologist: Justine Talla

Audio production by Turnkey Podcast Productions. You're the expert. Your podcast will prove it. 

Mike Loftin is the CEO of Homewise, a New Mexico-based social enterprise that has been closing the racial wealth gap through homeownership for nearly 30 years, and a Nonresident Fellow at the Urban Institute.

In this episode Steve and Mike discuss:

• Finding meaning and purpose 
• Not selling anyone short 
• Helping people escape poverty 
• Telling people that it’s doable 

Key Takeaways: 

• Everybody wants to find work that’s meaningful and purposeful whether they know it or not. 
• People care about their self-interest but we have to be careful not to short-sell anyone. People want to do good things, people want to find meaning in their life, people care and are happier when they know they’re helping others out. 
• It seems like people are more comfortable helping people survive homelessness than helping them escape it. Giving people a chance to escape poverty is a difficult thing, but it’s the only way to create real sustainable change. 
• Sometimes, all people need is for someone to tell them it is doable and that they can do it, that it is possible for them to transition into better circumstances. 

“The path to happiness is being content with your life and finding purpose. When you just focus too much on yourself, it’s unsatisfactory. We get meaning outside ourselves.” - Mike Loftin

Connect with Mike Loftin:

Website: www.homewise.org

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mike-loftin-a780468/

Connect with Steve and Jason:

LinkedIn: Jason or Steve

Website: Rewire, Inc.: Transformed Thinking 

Email: [email protected]

Jeffrey Walker is the Co-Founder and CEO of CredEvolv, a fin-tech platform that revolutionizes the way consumers achieve and maintain good credit. CredEvolv’s mission is to turn “no” into “not yet” by breaking down the barriers to credit equity and guiding consumers seeking improved credit on a journey to sustainable, lifelong credit well-being.Prior to founding CredEvolv, Mr. Walker held a number of mortgage industry leadership positions, most recently with Fannie Mae. Mr. Walker’s responsibilities with Fannie Mae included SVP/Co-Chief Customer Officer and SVP for Strategy, Insights, and Business Enablement. In these capacities Mr. Walker leveraged his passion for customer loyalty and customer experience innovation.

In this episode Jason and Jeffrey discuss:

• Making a difference even if it’s hard
• Doing the right thing while making a profit
• Beyond just checking the box
• The best kind of customer 

Key Takeaways: 

• Do well AND do good even if it’s difficult to make a difference. If you see a need in your industry, do something about it. 
• There’s nothing wrong with making a profit. However, it is better to make a profit while also being able to do the right thing for society at large.
• Instill in your team a passion that goes beyond just “checking the box” to really serving people and making their work meaningful. 
• The best customer is an informed customer. Do your best to provide tools, resources, and the education that they’ll need in order to make the best decision they could that will benefit them the most. 

“Every lender wants to do the right thing, it’s just hard to figure out how to do it. So in our small way -  we won’t solve every redlining and underserved issue - but we can take our experiences and understand what’s important for our lender and what they need to do to benefit and feel value in this and help consumers become credit well-being capable consumers for life.” - Jeffrey Walker

Connect with Jeffrey Walker:

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/CredEvolv/

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/credevolv/

Website: https://credevolv.com/

Connect with Steve and Jason:

LinkedIn: Jason or Steve

Website: Rewire, Inc.: Transformed Thinking 

Email: [email protected]

Show notes by Podcastologist: Justine Talla

Audio production by Turnkey Podcast Productions. You're the expert. Your podcast will prove it. 

Adam P. Smith is the President and founder of The Colorado Real Estate Finance Group, Inc., a commercial and residential real estate firm, and owner of Just The Tips Coaching. During his lending career he has helped thousands of clients, both individuals and corporations, in their goals regarding real estate finance as well as both personal and corporate finance. He has written billions of dollars in mortgage and finance deals. Adam has also coached hundreds of sales professionals on lead generation, client retention, repeat and referral sales prospecting, and zero cost marketing. 

In this episode Jason and Adam discuss:

• How everyone can get what they want
• What we can learn from change 
• Doing hard things first 
• Why coaching is essential 

Key Takeaways: 

• When we help people get what they want, we’re also going to get what we want. 
• You’ve got to be flexible and malleable. You cannot stay stagnant; you need to keep an eye on the near future and the distant future and look at things that are going to change. 
• Whenever you’re finding it difficult to do something that you need to do, just eat the frog. Do the hard things first. Knock them out early, that’s the easiest way to go about it. 
• There’s usually something that somebody else has seen, experienced, has other ideas about that you can learn from - if not all those, you can even learn from their mistakes. 

“Everybody is a potential client, leader, advocate - they could do business with you, they could eventually do business with you, or they could refer business to you.” - Adam Smith

Connect with Adam Smith:

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/adampsmith/ | https://www.facebook.com/JustTheTipsCoaching

Website: https://corefinancegroup.com/ | www.justthetipscoaching.com

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

Podcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/how-i-met-your-mortgage/id1533760121

Connect with Steve and Jason:

LinkedIn: Jason or Steve

Website: Rewire, Inc.: Transformed Thinking 

Email: [email protected]

Show notes by Podcastologist: Justine Talla

Audio production by Turnkey Podcast Productions. You're the expert. Your podcast will prove it. 

In his role as President of The Mortgage Collaborative (TMC), Rich's primary responsibility is to be fully engaged and to develop the framework to plan, direct, and coordinate all financial, operational, and cultural objectives of TMC's national network of lender members and preferred partners. And to provide effective and satisfactory leadership, ensuring impactful benefits and services to its members and partners, while meeting financial and operational goals and objectives

In this episode Jason and Rich discuss:

• Pouring yourself into something new
• Recognizing your team members 
• Gatekeeping new members to ensure alignment
• Utilizing technology to serve clients better

Key Takeaways: 

• If things are getting tedious and repetitive and what you do doesn’t give you any joy anymore, then maybe it’s time for a change. Don’t be afraid to fail or take risks.
• Believe in people. It takes more than a good idea to create a successful project. Appreciate and recognize the people that help you and your business succeed. 
• The best way to make use of everybody’s time is to make sure there’s alignment in terms of intention and values. There’s nothing more important than the caliber and the intent of the people.
• Hire a few highly effective people and then automate a good fraction of the process. Utilizing new technology and automation is essential for making the user experience smoother and easier. 

“My mindset at the end of the day was if the Mortgage Collaborative does not succeed, it won’t be because of my effort. I’m gonna pour everything I am into this and my hope is that even if it fails, people will see that.” - Rich Swerbinsky

Connect with Rich Swerbinsky:

Website: www.mortgagecollaborative.com

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

Email: [email protected]

Connect with Steve and Jason:

LinkedIn: Jason or Steve

Website: Rewire, Inc.: Transformed Thinking 

Email: [email protected]

Show notes by Podcastologist: Justine Talla

Audio production by Turnkey Podcast Productions. You're the expert. Your podcast will prove it. 

Sue Villanova is the Vice President of Operations for Republic State Mortgage based out of Houston, Texas. Over the past 25+ years, her Servant Leadership philosophy along with her vast knowledge in multiple areas in the mortgage industry allow Sue to create a cohesive, intelligent, efficient team of experts across organizations. When she is not "making it happen," Sue enjoys creating various pieces of art, reading, hiking in the Arizona desert and spending time with her husband and kids.  

In this episode Jason and Susan discuss:

• Leaning into communication 
• Getting everybody to work together 
• Pushing people into success 
• Valuing each individual 

Key Takeaways: 

• Lean into communication. Overcommunication is better than nothing or a lack of communication. Ask intentional questions and open up conversations with the purpose of finding solutions to current issues. 
• You’ve got to get everybody’s buy-in. You need to get everybody together, work out your problems, make the company better while making yourself better. If you’re able to do all that, there’s nothing you can’t do. 
• You have to be compassionate with people but at the same time push them. Explain clearly what you want them to do and give them the freedom to choose how they would do it. 
• Never make people feel like you have favorites. See each individual and let them know that they have value. When they are chosen for projects, tell them why they’ve been chosen. 

“A big thing about servant leadership is that you have to look at each person individually, what do they need, what are they looking for.” - Susan Villanova

Connect with Susan Villanova:

Website: www.republicstatemortgage.com

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/republic-state-mortgage

Connect with Steve and Jason:

LinkedIn: Jason or Steve

Website: Rewire, Inc.: Transformed Thinking 

Email: [email protected]

Show notes by Podcastologist: Justine Talla

Audio production by Turnkey Podcast Productions. You're the expert. Your podcast will prove it. 

In this episode Steve and Jason discuss:

• Beginning and continuing on your why
• Involving other people 
• Motivation through the possibility of mastery 
• What coaching is and is not 

Key Takeaways: 

• Begin with the end in mind. Start with your why and continue on it. 
• If you really want to get something done, involve other people in it. Let somebody know or let somebody in. 
• You’ll be motivated to continue provided that you believe that you can improve on something or get better - this is called mastery. 
• Coaching is not teaching, consulting or counseling - it’s helping people create an insight through thoughtful, thought-provoking, and different types of questions.

“What dawns on them is of far greater benefit than any advice that I can give. And that’s not just a cute-sy little theory, that is neurobiology.” - Steve Scanlon

Connect with Steve and Jason:

LinkedIn: Jason or Steve

Website: Rewire, Inc.: Transformed Thinking 

Email: [email protected]

Show notes by Podcastologist: Justine Talla

Audio production by Turnkey Podcast Productions. You're the expert. Your podcast will prove it.