Episode Transcript
[00:00:00] Speaker A: This is the ultimate hub where the hidden stories behind the mortgage industry come to life. I'm Michael Kelleher.
[00:00:07] Speaker B: And I am Michael Zhao.
[00:00:09] Speaker A: And together, we are going to dive deep into the entrepreneurial spirit, the strategic insights and the breakthrough innovations that built the world's greatest mortgage companies. So whether you're advancing your career, scouting for mortgage leaders, or exploring opportunities in fintech and prop tech, you're in the right place.
So get ready to unlock the story behind every mortgage.
Today we're going to dive in and this one's going to be personal. So if anybody has any questions, you're welcome to chat them up. That's why we do the show live, by the way, is we hope people come in and maybe do have a question. I'm happy to go off of my questions and ask one if you are in the comments, especially on LinkedIn and YouTube. But today we have an Internet that has been with me. I even feel bad saying intern Mariana's been with me since the Easy mortgage app days. It's actually been so long, I would have to look up when she actually started and just excited to go through this.
So you were a.
I mean, I think what people are going to like is you sort of fell into the industry, and everybody says, oh, I fell into the industry. Didn't think I was going to be in mortgage. So I guess take us back there.
You're kind of still in the beginning.
You were, you were born in Mexico. You're from tcu, which is Texas. I'm from Boston. You apply, like what, what was it like after we spoke and what was the experience where you hear mortgage? Maybe a friend say, don't get into mortgage. Can you kind of take us through that day when you, when you finally said yes?
[00:01:50] Speaker C: Yeah. So a little about my background. I was born in Mexico, but raised in Canada. So I lived in Canada for 12 years. So most of my childhood was abroad. I came back to live to Mexico.
I started athletics here. Turned out I was very successful and that opened the doors for me for a full ride opportunity at tcu. And that was very hard to turn down.
But I am a go getter and that's something that I knew I couldn't let down that opportunity.
Going into tcu, I was kind of confused what kind of like, field I wanted to go to. I remember I wanted to study communications to start off with. So it was very like, oh, I don't know what I'm going to study, but I decided to go with business management. And I remember TCU has a Close partnership with Handshake. And I was scrolling down, scrolling down. And that's when I saw your job post up. And at that moment, I believe it was my sophomore year and I was very on, very interested on entrepreneurship innovation. That was my second degree that I pursued.
And I saw that the entire job posting was about entrepreneurship and it was a startup company. So just learning how to handle a lot of problems on as you go on. So that's why I looked at the job and I feel like mortgage is all about helping families, couples.
It's a big opportunity for growth, for health. And that's why it called my attention too.
I didn't know much about it at the moment because as I said, I was just getting my career started. But the more research I did about it, the more I thought this could actually make a big impact.
[00:03:34] Speaker A: Yeah, you were fantastic. Especially I was not structured at all like, because when you're in a bootstrap world, you don't really have the way to budget help, so you're putting out fires while you're trying to. And I should also point out I was in charge of sales of a category that did not exist before we came up with it, which was a mobile app in mortgage. And if you want proof, you should look at the industry right now they're all getting away from mobile, which I think is insane. So I would be off trying to either traveling to conferences or trying to sell and maybe put out fires. While you would be doing a wonderful job researching and able to work on your own.
Can you describe to others what a bootstrap environment is like, what maybe chaos is like? And then can you.
Yeah, I guess we'll, we'll start there and then I have a follow up.
[00:04:31] Speaker C: Yeah. So I think the biggest thing is always putting the customer first.
And it's a lot of experience that you get to witness along the way.
I think the uncertainty was the thing that I struggled the most with. I had to jump in a bunch of times when you weren't available because you were always busy. And since I was getting started, I was very scared of failure. And yeah, of course I failed one or two times, but that helped me create confidence in the personality that I currently have. But I want to say it was a lot of challenges to take ownership or either if you mess up or if you do it successful. But it's a lot of learning how to grow throughout the way. And I think I was around like 18, 19 years old at that time, so it was very, a very new experience that I am Happy I witnessed because it made me the person that I currently am today.
[00:05:27] Speaker A: Yeah, that's really cool. And I was going to say now on the you, you shut your laptop working with us, this is still easy. Mortgage app stays and then you have one of the most, I am guessing structured lives right between handling just being a student athlete. Can you take us into what college's life is like as a student athlete and some of the challenges of juggling everything?
[00:05:52] Speaker C: Yes. Well, I want to say being a Division 1 athlete is a full time job. It's waking up at 5am, making sure you go to lifts on time and then after trying to fit your academic schedule. So it also benefits your athletic schedule. So a day at TCU would look like I would do lifts at 6am But I would have to wake up earlier to make sure I feel properly right after I wouldn't even have time to shower. I would just rush to class, sweaty as I am.
Um, and then after I would, I would have like three classes or so I would go back to practice, to track practice, to run and then I would get back around my dorm around 6pm I'd have to get dinner and on top of that I'd have to study, I'd have to do homework and it's, it's very hard to balance it out because the most important thing about athletics is fueling properly, eating properly.
But you still have to prioritize school at all costs because that's what you're there for.
So I want to say athletics is a full time job. Academics is a full time job, especially being on a full, full ride. It even gives you more pressure to perform because that's the reason why you originally are there to perform and give a good image for your school. So it, I remember it was hectic.
Maybe if I would have had time to recover more properly, I would have been a bit more successful at track. But I handled it the way I could and yeah, it was just a very big growing experience.
[00:07:27] Speaker A: I actually have a off script question which will open up. Maybe Michael can jump in here through you. I actually got to find out.
Michael Zhao knows quite a bit about our track and field and cross country.
Loan officers in our industry are often compensated on the deals they do.
Compensation has not changed. They don't, they rarely get compensation for what other loan officers are doing.
So I, I find this interesting. Can you explain to people in longdistance running how the scoring system works and how you work as a team versus individuals and what that, what that extra pressure is being a Scholarship athlete. And why, like it might force you to feel like you have to perform more than somebody that isn't.
[00:08:18] Speaker C: Yes, of course. So a perfect example of this is cross country. Because cross country isn't, it's not, it's not individual successful rate, it's teamwork successful rates. So kind of how cross country works is that the top five finishers are the ones that give top points, but you can have seven teammates on the line, but it's just the top five that have an actual impact on the score. So the better you perform, the less points you have.
And that at the end of the day, the results from all the schools, whoever has less points wins the conference or wins the championship or wins the meet. So it's not just about focusing on yourself. Like, yes, you can get first place, you can get that five minutes of success, whatever. But in the long term, if your teammates get 12, 15th and 20th, that's 12, 15, 20 points you add to the team.
So that, that doesn't get your team anywhere. That doesn't get you to regionals, to nationals. So it's, it's not individual focus. You have to. I was personally a team captain my sophomore year, which was something rare because team captains were usually seniors.
So I got to witness this firsthand, how you have to put your teammate first before you. Like you can have everything together, but if your teammate doesn't, unfortunately that's going to bring everyone down. So it's making sure that your teammate isn't going to, isn't going out to partying, that that person is in the right, is in the right mindset, making sure that school is going properly. Because at the same time, if you don't have above a 3.0 GPA, you're not eligible to compete.
So it's, it's everything combined by hand. Athletics, academics, fueling sleeping. So it's, it's not individ.
And I think that's kind of how it relates to when, when you're working as a team, yes, your success rate can be high, but if, if it's not as a company and as an image, it's not, it's not going to be successful in the long term.
[00:10:21] Speaker B: What does that accountability look like as a leader for you, especially as a sophomore? I mean, going into leadership, what are the, what are the qualities of leadership that you need to go to in order to. Yeah, so what are those qualities that, to, to enter into that especially individual when leave 12 school?
[00:10:39] Speaker C: I feel like the biggest thing, especially on a girls team, when there's like 12 of us is MV there will always be some sort of drama or anything with the girls.
And I think it's learning how to separate any sort of conflict on the team and making sure that each teammate is held accountable of their own actions and if they were to mess up, to make sure to either address it directly with a teammate or talk to a coach about it. But I want to say accountability is all about just taking into account every single person and not being selfish and understanding that the results of everyone in the long term is what impacts the team, not just individually.
[00:11:29] Speaker A: Our industry is going through a prolonged rough patch. If you are an originator, even if you're an owner, you were not expecting it to go this long. It is painful, it is hurting and you don't know where it ends. And so you have to wake up every day with the right mindset. And so congratulations to any listener out there in the mortgage industry. It's about time you get your flowers. We probably should have said it a year ago, but just thinking of it, you earned it.
I always, it always sticks out to be the story. When we first started talking, Marian, I would always ask you about tracking or track dealer or cross country.
You talked about the time you hurt your foot. I think it was right before maybe we started working together.
And I just found it, the way you handled it, so professional. But I, I actually learned a lot from it. Can you just talk about how you dealt with an injury that limited your ability to practice, what you're supposed to be great at, and then how you heal coming back, your mindset and everything that goes with dealing with an injury that impacts the ability to train?
[00:12:42] Speaker C: Yes, of course. So my sophomore year at the end of December, we had a season opener for a track and field and I ran the mile in 4,55. And that for me was like a 15 second PR and that's, that's a really big drop in the mile. So I, I was extremely motivated.
My Coach gave me a 6,000 DOL scholarship increase.
So I was like, this is going to be my year. I'm set. Because the year before I, I had a lot of health problems. So I wasn't really racing, but I was, I was really excited to get this year up and going. I had my priorities straight. I knew what went wrong. Right. And what went wrong from the year before.
And so that meet was in December. I got the scholarship. I was super, super excited because it was my first meet and then coming back in January from Christmas break.
I run on the track once and I'm like, oh, my foot kind of hurts. Like, what is this? I've never witnessed this kind of pain, you know, and like I said, I'm a go getter. So I thought that I could run through the pain. Nothing was going to happen. I thought it was just like any, any minor sort of pain that I've witnessed before. But no, I believe I did like three full workouts with it and it turned out to be a stress fracture.
And stress fractures usually turn out to be six months to fully heal. And I knew that six months in my season was going to be fully ended, so I wasn't going to have indoor and outdoor. And I was just really frustrated because I was in a really good spot at that moment. Like I said, I just had a scholarship increase. I just ran my personal best and it was really hard to understand why this was happening to me. But I learned this experience more as a growing and learning from my self experience. That was the only time in my college career that I was injured from my sophomore year to my master's and I learned how to control what I can. At that moment I was like, I have two options. I can be really hard on myself, be depressed about it, cry about it, or I can do what I can control right now. I can, I can go to physical therapy, I can feel properly, I can sleep properly to increase my, my possibilities of recovering faster. So it was just focusing on the positives instead of looking at the negatives and trying to do everything in my hands that I could possibly do to get healthier, a faster way, in a healthier way.
[00:15:11] Speaker B: I'm gonna cross exam what you, what you just talked about your injury.
Because in the mortgage industry, we, every, every originator that's out there, even every company that was out there, we experienced a high interest rate fluctuation rapidly. It's like a stress fracture to the entire industry.
And, and what you talked about, about controlling the things that you can control, how as a captain, how do you lead somebody to control the things you can't control? And then in leadership, how do you tell your other athletes, hey, I'm through this injury, even though I'm a leader, but, but I'm injured, I'm going through this right now, but I'm also going to help lead you, even though we're going through this industry.
So for the, for the people who are in the mortgage industry that are like the stretch factor, higher interest rates, inventory, da da da da. But we're, but the leaders are going to get, get through, how do you Talk to the other athletes in leadership so that they can get through their own vocational or job stress factor that they're going through at the moment.
[00:16:16] Speaker C: So I think, I think the most important thing is staying motivated and looking at the results in the long term.
I feel like nowadays it's very easy to look at any sort of negatives and to let yourself be pushed down when something doesn't go the way you want to.
I can relate this to if anything happened to my teammates, they'd be like, oh, season's over, partying. Well, no, they, you still have three more years of eligibility, you still have so much ahead. So kind of with how it relates to the mortgage industry is that don't be too hard on yourself. You know, like yes, you can mess up, maybe you don't want, you don't give the result you want at that moment, but if you find the right motivation and you learned what went right and what went wrong in the past, that's what's going to ultimately, ultimately lead you to be successful and perform in the long term. I truly believe everything happens for a reason and not just because you have a setback right now. Does it mean you're going to stay there forever?
[00:17:15] Speaker A: So well said and positive. So on that positive note, you can always reach out to others, get some positivity, help you in the right direction. And that's why we have some great sponsors here that are just a phone call away from helping you with your business.
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[00:18:50] Speaker E: Year where the company can do the configurability. So we have no code on this. So they can go in their settings, they can set it up all the way down to loan officer if they want to. We also have a customer support team that's assigned to each account if they want. They can overhaul everything if they wanted to. They have a new product, especially dynamic apps. With dynamic apps we can fit multiple, we can fix the Fannie Freddie loans, we can new construction one time close HELOCs, you know, whatever those workflows are, they can design that workflow for each individual app. So it's not a static app. And plus two is as they're answering those questions, it'll ask them specifically what they need. So the borrower has everything at their fingertips right then and there. You know, when a question gets answered, certain documents are required and we have that engine that handles that.
[00:19:35] Speaker B: So if it uploads directly into Flow.
[00:19:37] Speaker E: 5 pushes it automatically into the LOS. If the loan officer, they are able to set it up where it looks like if the processor needs something, they can communicate as a team. So it looks like it's coming directly from the loan officer that they're already used and have that relationship with. So it's not somebody that they never talk to. Now what's going to take it to the next level is the AI and the OCR piece.
[00:20:03] Speaker A: And I think we have two new sponsors coming so we can get them by anybody listening, reaching out and saying you saw them on our show.
Even if it's just a friendly ping for us, we are looking for more sponsors all the time and want to know the people that really helps us pick up those sponsors is Mariana, our guest today who started been interning with me for a long time now at Easy Mortgage Apps when we were the mobile app dealing with a lot of white label for top lenders. A lot of sea level there. And now we're getting sea level onto the show and she's helping in so many areas as we are becoming, I would argue the most watched video and audio podcast and listen to, I should say in Mortgage with a newsletter, Ariana, which I guess I just want to ask a simple question because I think the guests kind of want to know which one did you like more? Maybe working on the Easy Mortgage Apps or the Mic dub show?
Is there a difference in what you do or a difference in what you've seen me do?
[00:21:09] Speaker C: I want to say since I started my career at Easy Mortgage Apps, I had no ex. No idea what to expect expect or how it was going to look like. I think I mentioned, but I was very scared of failure.
So Easy Mortgage Apps was kind of a challenge because it was my first experience in any sort of business in the business corporation.
So it was a lot of learning. But I felt more confident at Adopt the Brand.
I, I just felt like I was able to communicate better with the clients. I could reach out to CEOs, I could re. Reach out to people and I just, I felt, I didn't feel shy. I, I felt like if I mess up, like I can correct it or maybe I, I don't have to get as many things approved through you and I can step up.
I feel like my work had much bigger of an impact because I was assigned with more tasks and responsibilities. So I feel like I was able to work on my free time instead of having to text you every five minutes to see if it was okay because I was scared of, of failing. So definitely Adopt the Brand has been the, the best experience so far. I really liked Easy Mortgage Apps, like I said, because it's, it helped me shape me for Adopt the brand and for, for the person who I am. But I just, I feel like I had a bigger impact. I have a bigger impact within the company right now and I just, I feel like I've been able to, to get all my experiences through, into this role.
[00:22:41] Speaker B: Wow. You just mentioned that you're scared of failure. You mentioned it twice.
What are, what are you scared of in failure? I mean, I'm just curious because I mean that, that's a lot of salespeople, they're scared, they're scared of failing. So why are you scared of failing?
[00:22:57] Speaker C: Number one, I think to start off with, I was very scared of dramatically not sending, right. An email, reaching out to the wrong person, or not using a corporate language because I was very new into the TAs and I think I was scared of maybe getting fired, messing up way too much, to the point where it's like, is she really helpful? Is she really useful? And I'm a person who likes things.
I'm pretty perfectionist and I don't like to mess up. I mean, I know it's part of the process, I know it helps you in the long term, but I'm just a person who likes things in a correct Order and I feel like that's, that's helped me just have a pattern. So I feel like that's definitely why I was scared of a failure. But now that I look back at it, failure was the way to success. If I were to failed, I, I wouldn't have have learned from those experience and learned what to do and not what to do. What to do.
[00:24:01] Speaker B: Well, in getting to know us then, I mean we're not, you know, we're not the hard people. At least I don't think we are in getting to know us then what makes you feel more attached in owning each task so that instead of worrying about failure, do you what, what is it about the success that you, that you could be attached to? Because I don't know.
So tell me about what your mindset is about being, getting number one, getting to know us and then using what you know about us to lead into successful task completions.
[00:24:39] Speaker C: Well, I think both of you guys have helped me become the person I am today. If not, you guys have been a role model. You guys have grabbed my hand and showed me what's right and what's wrong. So I feel like that made me comfortable in the long term. Just know that if I were to mess up like it's not the end of the world, you guys can just show me what, what, what's the right answer if I do. So I feel like that that's definitely something that made me feel more confident going into it now. And I think I would consider my success rate with how many maybe guests I'm able to get on the show or how many sponsors I'm able to get or if I'm actually being able to get a response from, from a sponsor or if they're trying to, if they do understand that what we do and how we're just trying to tell and just promotes. So I feel like that's, that's kind of how I would rate success.
[00:25:38] Speaker A: I should be a tougher boss and say those, those should be them. But I, I, I judge your KPIs on how amazing you make our brand look. Whether it's the messaging, the crisp follow up, the ability to schedule, the ability to make landing pages, the ability to just I believe put us on a different level than others. And I think our guests show show that my, you've learned that from us. Have you learned anything from the guests? You're, you're doing so much. Have you had a chance to listen to any of the episodes where you really enjoyed a guest or maybe an interaction via email and you enjoyed them before the show. Do you have any, any tea or any inspiration that you've, you've come across?
[00:26:27] Speaker C: Well, I've realized we've had a bunch of CEOs on the company. I mean, on, on the, on the show. So that's, that's, that's been a big impact, definitely to start off with. I was very scared to reach out to the CEOs because I know they're, they're very high in the hierarchy. But I, I think I was really scared to send emails to CEOs because maybe I could mess up an opportunity for the company.
But I definitely learned along the way that every single guest is different.
I could witness firsthand that some guests were really nervous about getting on the show. And I think one of my key responsibilities was to let them know that this is just a conversation. It's very easygoing and it's just to let the world know about the, the guests experience and what they have to offer or if they've, they've written a book, like what's it about? It's just to get their, their story across.
[00:27:29] Speaker B: Do you, do you still feel intimidated now? I mean, still, I mean, you're still calling the same or not the same ones, but new, you know, new guests that we haven't yet had. Do you still feel intimidated about them by calling them, reaching out, talking to them?
[00:27:42] Speaker C: No, not at all.
I think I've kind of like known, known how to handle it. I think I've probably reached out to 200 guests at this point. So that gave me, that gave me like the confidence that I needed. I mean, we have a guest on the show every Thursday and we've been doing it for what, for over a year and a half.
[00:28:05] Speaker A: And first I was gonna say we started, I believe we started.
We're now at two years, July, August. So yeah, we're at about 26 months now.
[00:28:16] Speaker C: So imagine the amount of guests I've reached out to at that point.
So I think I've learned how to have a specific pattern for sponsors too. If I don't receive a response, I'll give a follow up and kind of, I've learned what works and what doesn't work.
And I've learned that every single guest is different. So some guests might have different approach, some guests might be more nervous. And I think it's just trying to get the point across.
But now I don't feel scared or intimidated anymore.
[00:28:46] Speaker B: Do you have a different way that you treat each CEO? In other words, are you going to Talk to the CEOs differently than you would, I don't know the guy down the street. I mean, what is, what is, how do you treat them differently as not only as an intern for us, but also as a representative of the company? What, what is your mindset and going, talking to them, treating them with what type of, I don't know, demeanor?
[00:29:11] Speaker C: I treat every single person exactly the same professional.
I always want to make them feel welcome and like adopt. The brand is a safe place. So whether it's a CEO or someone down the street, to me they have the same importance.
So yes, I treat them exactly the same. I send out the exact same email. It's not, it's not like I rank them priority, non priority. I mean I do want to have a CEO on the show. Of course it's going to make the, the company look very good, but everyone has equal importance.
[00:29:46] Speaker B: So for your generation then, would you, what kind of advice would you give them in talking to either prospective employers, hiring managers, whatever the, whatever, someone looking for some kind of position. What type of advice would you give to someone because you've talked to a lot of leaders, what would you tell them to how relax. I mean what type of relaxed type of. Or whatever. What would you tell them?
[00:30:11] Speaker C: I would say being patient and persevering because I mean CEOs or anyone in the corporate world is very, very, very busy. So if you send an email and they don't respond to you, not to take it personal at all, people probably get like spammed with 50 emails a day and it's very hard to, to confuse which one is accurate and which one is not accurate. So yeah, be patient, don't take things way too personal.
Maybe if you get a response that you didn't want to follow up, try and understand where it's coming from.
So follow up is a really big one too.
Making sure you have a pattern and to not give up to be a go getter.
[00:30:52] Speaker B: Can you expand on that? Trying to follow up on where they're coming from, understanding where a CEO is coming from. So that means you're learning to understand where's their mindset or where's their attitude or whatever. So what does that mean?
[00:31:07] Speaker C: So maybe a CEO is at a conference that weekend, that's why they're not getting back to you. I think it's trying to find different resources too. And that's something that Michael Keller has helped me learn about it too is that if the CEO can't respond to you that weekend or hasn't responded to you, in 2002 weeks. Maybe that's not the right point of contact. Maybe the right point of contact is their assistant, which you can get it throughout LinkedIn. So it's trying to find a solution and not being too stubborn about it too. If you, if the CEO is not responding throughout email, maybe cold calling, it's, it's just being very persevere as every CEO is very, very busy.
[00:31:46] Speaker A: Yeah, you got to run and go get it. Like running with a stress fracture.
Commend all, all of these answers. I think I'd be remiss for our listeners in our community if we didn't take a moment to ask.
Believe you're Gen Z. Right. So everybody wants a free focus group.
What do you think you know, with this and I don't, I, I, we, we don't teach it too much here but do you think you know more than your peers about mortgage? Do you think that the generation is afraid to fail as far as applying and getting rejected? Do you think they all think it's 20 down? Do you think it's 20 down? Just some of those. What do you think of the barrier to entries among your peers or are they even thinking about homeownership yet?
[00:32:34] Speaker C: Well, personally, when I did my undergrad and when I did my masters, I didn't know anyone that was pursuing an internship in the mortgage industry or was going to pursue it long term because I think a lot of people are very scared of failure and that's something that is a possibility in the mortgage industry.
And a lot of people just want what's easy and what, yeah. What's easier in the long term and what maybe has less of a percentage.
[00:33:05] Speaker A: So, but what do you think about.
And I think that's a perception that the lending industry needs to constantly get over and, and we go in spurts at conferences that we're going to tap, you know, the universities, but you got to stay consistent or that's the message. I'm saying going out and buying a home like somebody is getting their first job. Are they starting to think in this new world with headlines, you know, houses are not affordable, I have to start saving now. Do you think the digital process is intimidating and you think people are afraid like failure? I think in that process would be the bank's going to deny me, so I'll just keep renting. What's your view of obstacles lenders are going to have to overcome with the Gen Z?
[00:33:48] Speaker C: Yeah, that's, that's, that's a good question because I actually had like four of my Teammates where I graduated my master's from, where they really wanted to buy a house, but they just couldn't afford anything because the market is just up and it's, I mean, some people are just not getting enough money to, to be able to afford a house.
So I feel like the problem with Gen Z is that they don't do enough research.
So maybe they look at a house and they're too stubborn to look at other options because they're so set on it.
So I feel like maybe if the market was a little bit more open and I just feel like Gen Z's nowadays we're pretty lazy.
So probably a loan officer just helping them find the best option towards saving and just more options in the house market.
[00:34:41] Speaker A: Do you think those four people applied when they determined that they couldn't afford it, like was told, or do you think they went on a website, looked at what the estimated monthly payment was and said, geez, this is too expensive, I'll just rent.
[00:34:55] Speaker C: Definitely the second option.
People are lazy nowadays. They, they don't want to do research, they don't want to talk to people personally. One of my best friends, she was in that specific case and she's like, I'm just gonna rent an apartment. Like, I'm, I'm. I'll worry about it in the long. Do I have to worry about it right now? If I can just get an apartment with, with my fiance where it's relatively more affordable at that moment.
[00:35:21] Speaker B: That's super interesting to me. We talked about this with our guests last week as well.
In. In the book Richard Kiyosaki, someone says, how can I. A lot of people ask themselves, how can I afford it? When really the question should be how can I afford? Emphasizing a different word to, to an action.
And when you say, oh, I'll work, your teammate might have said, oh, I'll worry about it later. It. It stresses that the emotional impact of money and finances are a worry and that in your generation it's like, oh, well, that's stressful to me. I need a down payment. I need to worry about credit. I don't know how much. I don't know how much money I'm gonna make.
So instead of thinking about that, what do you think could change somebody in your generation and say, how can, what can I do to be able to afford it? Instead of saying, I'm worried, I'll worry about it later.
That's interesting to me because people say I'll worry about it later versus what can I do to do something about.
[00:36:25] Speaker C: It I think it's putting more awareness out there.
Like I said, a bunch of people are very lazy nowadays and when they know it's going to be too much research or maybe their credit score is just very, very low but they can find like other resources, maybe their parents helping them out. But I want to say the number one problem is just people not doing enough research and going for the first easiest and viable option when in the long term is that, is that really beneficial? Because you could be saving money in the long term. Even though it sounds scary and I.
[00:37:03] Speaker A: View your view of lazy Z as this world is so quick like you know the, the doom scroll and people move on so quick that it's just easy to land on a, a lily pad and stay there and not jump to the next one because it just makes sense.
It's almost sound like they could be like really hard working blue collar but then when they get home they just start scrolling and that's like. Is that what you mean?
[00:37:34] Speaker C: Yes, part of it. And then people nowadays, they just use their phones, they just, they just use the laptops that it's very sad to see that kind of like technology has, has influenced on people not being able to have one on ones or not being able to call and do what what, what it was 50 years ago which I feel like it might have been easier process at that time. So maybe if someone was interested and they saw it online they're just like no I'm not, I'm not going to call, I'm not going to put the time or effort in. At least that's what what I see it within like everyone that surrounds me.
[00:38:13] Speaker B: You think it would be different if someone had a mobile app? And I'm I'm just going to emphasis to digress for a moment to the mobile app but if it, if it was like a, a game for example like oh, I'm gonna score on savings instead of just using credit score. In other words score on savings and have, and have the goal be a certain down payment amount or reach a certain payment. And because interest rates change every day, those can be implanted with a, with a mortgage lender and say okay, if you're gonna reach this interest rates go down. Oh and alerts that somebody oh now you qualify for this one versus this one or this one versus this one. Now because rates went down I think do you think there would be it was gamified in that way that more gen zers would actually be open to learning about how to play the game of buying the house.
[00:39:02] Speaker C: Yes, 100%. I think the more easier it is for Gen C, the better and the more accessible it's just a win.
[00:39:12] Speaker A: You were always seeing Mariana at Easy mortgage apps. Now I'm just gonna get on my soapbox and take a 5050 chance you'll agree.
But they, these lenders would say that nobody would ever download an app to go through a 30 day process of getting a home. My rebuttal is one, in what world do you think it's a 30 day process? Just listening to you talk right now, it's a long game.
And two, yes, I, I just download a ton of apps and I'm older than you. I can only assume the younger Gen Z's do use mobile apps. Are they all on these Safari websites or are they in apps?
[00:39:53] Speaker C: I want to say 100. Yeah, 100 apps. But we have offered it easy mortgage apps that, that was definitely the way to, to go. It's just like I said, people nowadays are just scrolling in their, on their apps and they, they just don't, don't really want interaction with one on one person. So just making it modern and technologies for, for Gen Z people, I feel like that would definitely be the way to go.
[00:40:20] Speaker A: So when they say I have an awesome website where you can just put in your, your like pay stubs and license that that's. Is that just like asking to marry before going on a date?
[00:40:32] Speaker C: Well I feel like nowadays it's really easy to get scammed so a lot of people are probably like, they think about it twice and like I said, people are just crazy lazy.
So the moment they had have to read something long they're just like absolutely not. You know. So yeah.
[00:40:51] Speaker B: Referencing the question we asked before. Have you had a favorite guest or you thought that whatever that, that, that one that you listen to and you thought hey you know what, I like to listen to that one again because there's something to emulate from that. Yeah. Which one of our guests do you think you or you just appreciated the personality until they got in the show?
[00:41:11] Speaker C: I really like Patty.
Just knowing her background with Latina and how she's, she's very up there. She's trying to inspire woman.
She comes kind of from a similar background. I feel like that's definitely the person that could, I could relate the most to.
I know she's very busy so I'm very thankful she, she put a time for us. But yeah, her story is just very, very, very inspiring how she started from, from, from the bottom to go up. So I want to Say definitely. Patty was my, my favorite guest.
[00:41:47] Speaker B: She's a hard worker. Yes, she is. Did you have any actually, did you, did you actually get a chance to talk to her at least for one or two questions on your own as well?
[00:41:56] Speaker C: No, I talked to her assistant and Patty was like the, the small interactions I had with her. She was, she was very, very nice story with the questions you guys were able to provide. Just doing back background research about her. So that's definitely what inspired and obviously the show too.
[00:42:15] Speaker A: I'm curious what you think the, the direction of the show will go from here. Like, what are you seeing as far as our, our future guests? What anything you could tell the audience as they're listening to, look forward to.
[00:42:32] Speaker C: I mean, we, we already have like 10 people booked for 2026, so it's definitely going in the right direction.
We're booking people in a crazy amount of way. I know people are very invested in this. I mean, it's, it's getting to learn every single person's experience and what they. They've witnessed in their lives. So I definitely see this growing. I mean, like Michael Keller mentioned, we've been almost two years doing this. I can see this growing Ra.
We already have three sponsors and two more potential sponsors. I can, I can see us uplifting both in the short term and the long term is, it's, it's seen to be very successful.
[00:43:16] Speaker A: It'd be a wonderful gift.
Contact Mariana or somebody here, promote your CEO on the show, and then say, look, I, I can book you if you say yes, but this is a gift to you because it's just like you shouldn't have. Like, just like everybody should have an app in mortgage. Like, that's crazy to me. As I do research. The first place I go to research is YouTube and Apple podcast.
And there are some people that we are the first time they're getting any exposure. And I think I'm betting on to get Gen Z Millennial, like, millennials are still going to be changing jobs. I think long form is like, the best way to find out the place you're about to go work for is watch how they interact in these videos. Like, it's almost a reverse interview.
[00:44:06] Speaker C: I want to say it's a full growing learning and growing experience. I mean, like I said, we've had a bunch of CEOs just come in and tell their stories so we can learn how they started from the bottom to go all the way up and we get to experience what did work out for them, what didn't work out for them. And it's even like a learning video for people that are just getting or are interested about the mortgage industry.
So that's something that I would definitely recommend someone who is starting off in the field or is very interested in getting into the field because it's just very investing and it's very self learning.
[00:44:47] Speaker B: Is it intimidating to watch people go on the air? I mean people are afraid to go on video. People are afraid to put out a podcast. They might have like, like two episodes or five episodes. And so do you think it's intimidating for you to, to reach out and say and be on a podcast? And what do you think of podcast industry for somebody that wants to get into it in sales, like, like an originator?
[00:45:11] Speaker C: I would say it's not intimidating for me, but I can see their perspective for being on air as they do not know what to expect or how it's going to look like.
But as for me reaching out to them, I, I have nothing to be shy or scared about. It's more about me trying to get the message across and them trying to understand what we do here and that there's no pressure and it's just very easy going.
[00:45:38] Speaker A: I want to segue out that. Do you hear that everybody? It's so easy to come on this show.
Please reach out and sponsors, please.
It's not just a growth game. We say retention.
You want to sponsor, we'll put your best five clients on. You know, we'll get them on the show as soon as we can.
I wanted to go back. I didn't want to miss this question. I remember we were working together and at one point sophomore becomes junior, junior becomes senior and you get a new coach. And when you get a new coach, this isn't high school here. This is a college coach that comes from another Big Ten that brings their whole team in and then nil or whatever it is, they can actually transfer people in. So the culture changes.
That's a huge thing in mortgage right now. Change management, culture change. Can you talk about that experience that you went through?
Yeah, just that experience of dealing with that change and how it shaped maybe your ability to handle change in the future?
[00:46:38] Speaker C: I want to say it was very challenging because every coach has a different approach towards training and towards traveling. And honestly, just athletics is a whole.
At one point I was really scared because I signed my contract under the first coach, not the second coach. To the point where is my contract going to be?
Is it going to be, is it going to be respected?
But I think it's just not being too worried about it, kind of going with it and learning from the coach, just seeing what approaches he takes that are different from the other coach.
What worked for you in the past, what didn't, what doesn't work for you in the, in the present and just applying those things and just being full communication.
And I feel like once you communicate there's nothing you can't beat with that. But I want to say change is very, very scary, especially with how the world is evolving nowadays. And I think it's just doing research and communicating that, that you could over overcome these challenges.
[00:47:41] Speaker B: Do you, do you, when you talk to the other runners regarding the coaching change, do you, do you not just talk to the runners on your team but do you network or talk to the runners? For example, like you talk to the kids at Baylor, do you talk to the kids at Kansas State, you know, talk to them about their coaching techniques, you know, to help ease that stress of changing that coach or even learn new techniques and figuring out what they're doing differently?
[00:48:07] Speaker C: Yes, I actually made a bunch of best friends at Baylor because of that. But yeah, I mean it's also really easy to transfer. So if the coach, coach doesn't work out for you, maybe the best option is to try and find another school. I mean I did that my senior year and I had my best master's year at Elon University.
But yeah, I feel like communication is everything. I think something that's very easy to, to be turned down with is negativity.
So maybe one teammate doesn't like the coach, but you really like it. But just hearing so much negativity about that coach, about that coach from that person like makes you start believe that maybe the coach is wrong when there's nothing wrong with that coach. So I think it's also just making your own idea too about it and just not closing all the options because you've heard negative feedback.
[00:49:01] Speaker B: Do you have a favorite runner that you looked up to or someone? I mean the track and field, the sport of track and field is just blown up in records lately.
So so many events actually whether it's pole vault or the, the recent 800 meter with a 16 year old running a 142, which is crazy. But yeah. Who's your favorite runner? And, and tell us, tell us the story of how, how that came to be.
[00:49:30] Speaker C: I want to say Sydney, the 400 meter hurdle runner.
[00:49:33] Speaker B: Olympic champion Sydney McLaughlin. Yeah.
[00:49:35] Speaker C: Yes, 100%. I read her book and it's very inspiring. I'm a very faithful person in my religion. And it's just how she started from the bottom. I'm pretty sure her, her parents immigrated and I just kind of, kind of related to that how she, she met her, her current husband and how they put religion first, how she's, she's put God above everything, just trusted throughout the process.
And I really like how she's very humble. If you watch one of her races when she wins, she, she's not like Noah Lyles who like, rips his shirt off and like starts yelling at the crowd.
She's someone that takes a deep breath, celebrates in her own way, but in a very humble way.
[00:50:19] Speaker A: Thank you for sharing that and thank you for sharing some more about yourself there and personal there. Appreciate that. And thank you for joining us on this journey into the heart of mortgage innovation.
Remember, every mortgage has a story, and we're here to help you write yours. If you enjoyed today's insights, please subscribe, share with your network and connect with us on social media.
Until next time, keep pushing the boundaries and uncovering the stories that drive our industry forward.
