Lodestar's Lending Leaders

LodeStar's Alayna Gardner chats with the indefatigable Liz Short, CEO of Short Solutions, about how to do more than just "Survive Till '25."

This week's guest is a new friend, Nomi Smith, Founder and CEO of PMI Rate Pro. She and Jim Paolino chat about Nomi's amazing story, her journey into mortgage lending, and her expertise in the world of mortgage insurance.

Two hosts for the price of one! Jim and Alayna regroup at LodeStar HQ to recap MBA Annual 2023 in Philadelphia. They discuss key takeaways, shifts in focus in mortgage tech, and—of course—Philly food.

This week LendingLeaders features an awesome conversation between LodeStar's own Alayna Gardner and Equity Capital Mortgage Group's Rick Rucker on how to be unbreakable in tough times and tough markets.

For this week's Lending Leaders episode, Alayna talks with Meg Bennett, AMP, CMB, on the struggle of getting those impressive letters behind her name. Meg is a champion of authenticity, and she brings that to every conversation and endeavor.

For this week's episode of Lending Leaders, Jim Paolino talks with Joel Gonzalez, Managing Partner & EVP of Sales MOR Lending, about Joel's journey into mortgage lending and the power of connection in sales.

For this week’s episode of Lending Leaders, Alayna Gardner and Dustin McClelland, EVP of Sales at Lender Price, talk about the importance of usable data, integrity and respect, and competing on more than just cost.

For this week’s episode of Lending Leaders, Jim Paolino chats with Marina Hubenova, Director of Sales at Inspect HOA. They discuss the fear of changing, navigating difficult markets, the role of tech, and how to build trust with expertise.

During this week's episode of the Lending Leaders podcast, Alayna Gardner and Skip Willcox discuss sales, time management, the importance of investing in your dreams, and the value of leadership.

In today’s episode of Lending Leaders, Heather Horovitz, the SVP of Community Development, Financial Institutions, and Impact Lending at VyStar Credit Union, joins us to discuss her journey into community development and impact lending. Heather’s transition from being a chef to working in finance might seem like an unlikely path, but it was driven by her passion for strategic planning and the desire to make a difference in her community.

In this week's episode of Lending Leaders, Alina Gardner interviews Jimmy King, CEO and Co-Founder of Banking Bridge, to discuss the importance of transparency in the mortgage industry and how it can benefit both borrowers and lenders.

Lending Leaders is back for its fourth season. We're kicking things off with Alayna, Jim, and Dave discussing how to build your business with an eye to the future.

For this week's episode of the Lending Leaders Summer Session, Jim and Alayna dissect LodeStar's much needed rebrand (see last week's episode 😬) and talk about what makes a good brand.

For this week’s episode of the Lending Leaders Summer Session, Alayna and Jim mark the beginning of LodeStar’s tenth anniversary by resurrecting some old marketing, website materials, and cringe fuel. Let’s just say we’re proud of how far we’ve come…

For this week's episode of the Lending Leaders Summer Session, we're back for the fourth and final installment of our ongoing conversation: business lessons from the hit sitcom, The Office.

For this week's episode of the Lending Leaders Summer Session, we're back to part three of our ongoing conversation: lessons from the hit sitcom, The Office.

For this week's episode of the Lending Leaders Summer Session, we're back to the next installment of last week's conversation: lessons from the hit sitcom, The Office.

To kick off the Lending Leaders Summer Session, Jim and Alayna begin a four-part discussion on the Office, the beloved TV show about a small-town paper company and the people who work there. This week’s question: is Dunder Mifflin a good company?

For this week’s episode of LLL, Jim chats with Leora Ruzin, Founder of Ruzin Creative, to talk about the mortgage industry, hiring and firing cycles, and why those are so unnecessary.

For this week's episode of LLL, Alayna sits down with Dominique Wiest, VP of Regulatory Compliance with LendingPad. Together, they discuss all things compliance, the importance of knowing how disclosures work, and why lenders can't afford not to know about state and federal requirements.

For this week's episode of LLL, Alayna sits down to talk with Steve Sussman, Chief Business Development Officer with Nationwide Appraisal Network (NAN), about the world of appraisal, the importance of data, and the value of accountability.

For this week's episode of the LodeStar Lending Leaders podcast, Jim and Alayna sit down to talk spring market, market cycles in the mortgage industry, and the perennial fear: recession.

For this week's episode of the LodeStar Lending Leaders Podcast, Alayna talks with Robert Palmer, Marketing Manager at Byte Software, to discuss the importance of branding, rebranding, and core marketing principles.

For this week's episode of LLL, Jim sits down with Babar Chaudhary, Founder of Mortgage Automation, to talk about one of the mortgage industry's most overused buzzwords: automation.

For this week's episode of LLL, Alayna and Kelsey chat about their experience as women in the mortgage space and how things have changed since they got their start.

For this week's episode of the LodeStar Lending Leaders podcast, Alayna talks with SimpleNexus CTO Lori Brewer about women in STEM and the impact that unforeseen challenges can have on your career.

For this week’s episode of LLL, Jim speaks with longtime friend, Matt Einheber, Creator of TitleBox, to nerd out over some stats and numbers. They take a look back at the 2021 and 2022 markets, and speculateabout 2023.

For this week’s episode of the LodeStar Lending Leaders podcast, Jim had the pleasure of chatting with Bob Ventola, Branch Manager, and Tim Shultz, SVP of National Sales Administration, with Draper & Kramer Mortgage Corp. Both are industry veterans who’ve seen their share of “good” and “bad” mortgage markets. We were eager to pick their brains and glean some wisdom for cutting through the doom-and-gloom headlines of the 2022 and early 2023 market.

For this week’s episode of the LodeStar Lending Leaders podcast—the very first of the new year!—CEO Jim Paolino sat down with Hoyt Mann, President and Co-Founder of Alanna.ai, a virtual assistant software for the title industry. We were excited to pick his brain about all things AI, machine learning, and technology in the mortgage and title industries.

For this week’s pre-holiday break episode of Lending Leaders, Jim and Alayna slowed things down a bit and sat down with LodeStar Co-Founder and CTO, David Spektor, to reflect on what 2022 meant for the company.

This week on LLL, LodeStar Sales and Marketing Director Alayna Gardner interviews the CEO of Lender Toolkit, Brett Brumley, to talk all things automation and the mortgage industry. They touch on scalability, layoffs, market downturns, and leveraging tech during tough times.

For this week's episode of the LodeStar Lending Leaders podcast, we were so excited to sit down with the host and founder of Love and Tacos, the indefatigable Dalila Ramos. LodeStar's Alayna Gardner chatted with Dalila about the mortgage industry, the origins of Love and Tacos, and the importance of DEI.

For this week’s LLL, Jim interviews longtime friend, Kelsey Brown, Chief Strategy Officer and EVP of WebMax, to discuss all things websites and the importance of an online presence for mortgage lenders.

For this week’s LLL, Alayna sits down with Daniel Felt, Founder and CEO of Kura Home to discuss home maintenance, changes in the housing market, and what home maintenance professionals wish first-time homebuyers knew.

For this week’s LLL, we’re excited to share some of the highlights from HousingWire Annual earlier this month! HousingWire knows how to put on a good conference, and we had some great conversations with industry friends and partners while we were there.

For this week’s Lending Leaders, Jim Paolino talks with Jordan Nutter, a loan originator with NFM Lending and a TikTok influencer with over 190K followers. They talk all things TikTok and being a mortgage lender with a huge social media following.

This week we're highlighting some our friends and partners who attended the National Association of Minority Mortgage Bankers of America (NAMMBA) CONNECT conference. We talked all things diversity, equity, and inclusion in the mortgage industry, the importance of progress, and what still needs to change.

For this week’s episode of LLL, Jim interviews Mike Yu, CEO and Co-Founder of Vesta. Together they discuss technology, the role of loan officers in a changing industry, and projecting what the mortgage industry’s future might mean for vendors and lenders alike.

LodeStar’s star Sales and Marketing Director, Alayna Gardner, interviews fellow attendees at the 2022 Digital Mortgage Conference.

Season 3 is in full swing, and we’re excited to chat with Larry Bailey, CEO of Mortgage Workflow Partners. Larry is a big proponent of rolling up your sleeves, getting under the hood, and analyzing how a business really works. Not how the CEO thinks it works, but how it actually works. Investing in workflow is critical to ensure both that your business is working the way you think it is and that you’re embracing the best possible functionality. Larry is a true veteran, and we were excited to pick his brain and swap stories.

For this week's Lending Leaders, Tim Nguyen, CEO and Co-Founder of BeSmartee, shares his thoughts on the importance of balancing good business practices with a sense of social responsibility. He delves into his family history, its impact on his business philosophy, and how that philosophy has grown with him and his company.

The LodeStar Lending Leaders podcast begins its third season with Jim, Dave, and Alayna discussing LodeStar's not-so-proudest moment in business. Here's to learning from your mistakes!

To conclude the LodeStar Lending Leaders Summer Session, we’re capping off our weeks-long discussion of how a mortgage insider buys a home. Alayna interviews Jim and his wife Sarah and invites them to reflect on their homebuying process.

Welcome to part three of Jim's experience buying a home as a mortgage professional. Today we're picking his brain about the mortgage process and how being the CEO of a mortgage software company helped him navigate the ins and outs of the process.