Chasing Excellence

Chasing Excellence is a podcast for founders, operators, and leaders focused on building high-performing businesses. Each episode features in-depth conversations with top performers across industries—with a strong focus on the mortgage industry, where success depends on consistent deal flow, efficient systems, and sharp execution. We break down: What’s driving revenue right now The marketing and sales systems that actually convert The real bottlenecks that are slowing down growth How top mortgage brokers and lenders scale in a competitive, regulated market This isn’t theory or recycled advice—these are real conversations with people actively building and scaling. If you're in the mortgage industry and want to grow smarter, simplify your systems, and close more deals consistently, this podcast is built for you.

Chasing Excellence is a business podcast hosted by Tony Thompson, with 18 episodes on record and a Required Pod Score of 80. PitchCentric scores this show on Booking Probability, Listen Score, and live audience signals refreshed every 24 hours.

Tony Thompson hosts Chasing Excellence, a business show with 18 episodes published.

Our AI reads these to draft pitches. Use them as grounding for a pitch that cites a real guest and a specific topic.

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  Episode #18

  $30M and Still Self-Processing: Mario Escobedo's Relationship-First Playbook at Sienna Mortgage

  Aug 18, 202612 min

  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/ Subscribe to Chasing Excellence for more conversations with the mortgage industry's top producers and broker-owners.

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  Episode #17

  300 to 2,000 Units a Year: Corrina Carter's Servant Leadership Playbook at CMS Mortgage Solutions

  Aug 11, 202623 min

  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/ Subscribe to Chasing Excellence for more conversations with the mortgage industry's top producers and broker-owners.

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  Episode #16

  34 Years in Mortgage: Jeff Dettelbach on Building a Husband-Wife Top Producer Team in Indianapolis

  Aug 4, 202616 min

  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.

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  Episode #15

  From YouTube Burnout to #1 Broker Under 30: Shawn Malkou's Journey to X2 Mortgage in Chandler, AZ

  Jul 28, 202622 min

  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.

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  Episode #14

  From Processor to President in Utah: Emily Rowley on Building a Culture-First Mortgage Company

  Jul 21, 202632 min

  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/ Subscribe to Chasing Excellence for weekly conversations with the leaders, originators, and operators shaping the future of the mortgage industry.

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