Laugh, Lend and Eat

What if loan officers could explore their options without anyone knowing?
Ellen Duncan, Founder & CEO of mLOOP and former CMO of AnnieMac Home Mortgage, joins Fobby on this week's episode of Laugh, Lend & Eat — and the conversation goes places we didn't plan.
Ellen built mLOOP after sitting in a Discovery Day and realizing something was deeply broken about how recruiting works in this industry. LOs spending their most valuable resource — time — answering basic questionnaires that should've been covered long before they walked in the room. She left that meeting and told the COO: "This industry needs the NCAA transfer portal."
What she built is being called the Tinder of mortgage recruiting. Anonymous profiles. Data-driven matches. LOs stay invisible until they choose to connect.
But this episode isn't just about a platform.
Ellen lost her husband Paul suddenly four years ago — when she was in her mid-thirties, married ten years, two daughters, thought she knew what the next fifty years looked like. She opens up about how grief cracked her open, why she sees that as a gift, and how losing Paul gave her a different relationship with risk.
One of the most honest conversations we've had on this show.

🔗 Find mLOOP at mloop.co
📲 Follow Ellen: @ellenduncanofficial
📲 Follow mLOOP: @mloopHQ

CHAPTER MARKERS
00:00 — Intro & Welcome
01:30 — Justin's out, Ellen's in — how this episode started differently
03:00 — Ellen's background: Coca-Cola, Southwest, AnnieMac
05:00 — Why she put "Mom" in her LinkedIn headline
06:30 — What surprised her about mortgage coming from big brands
08:30 — The LO marketing problem: they don't know what they don't know
11:00 — The flyer factory and what modern marketing actually looks like
13:00 — "Life can be beautiful and hard. Both can be true."
14:00 — Paul's sudden passing and how it changed everything
16:30 — Freedom, travel, and saying yes — Tanzania with her daughters
17:30 — Building mLOOP with her daughters watching
19:00 — Happy mom, happy baby — why she did it for herself first
20:30 — Grief doesn't end. And that's okay.
21:00 — Trauma, creativity, and the Leonard Cohen line about cracks and light
23:00 — "Would I be doing this if Paul was here?"
23:30 — Hello recruiting — what did she see that was broken?
24:30 — The AnnieMac Discovery Day that sparked everything
25:20 — "This industry needs the NCAA transfer portal"
25:30 — Why people call mLOOP the Tinder of mortgage recruiting
28:00 — How mLOOP actually works — the LO side
30:00 — How mLOOP works — the lender side
33:00 — Recruiters need to become agents
35:00 — Fobby's experience being recruited and why timing matters
38:00 — The human role technology can't replace
39:00 — Where to find mLOOP
40:00 — Close

71.5% of all mortgage volume. Closed by 30% of loan officers.
Is the data lying? Or are top producers just pulling away?
In this episode of Laugh, Lend & Eat, Fobby debuts a brand new segment — "Can We Stop" — calling out the conference culture posts that need to go away forever.
Then things get real.
Fobby and Justin break down the data behind the 2019–2025 mortgage market share shift, why the middle 40% is losing ground, and what separates the top 30% from everyone else.
Plus two practical AI tips any loan officer can use today.
Topics covered:
The "Can We Stop" segment — conference culture called out
Market share data: top 10%, middle 40%, bottom 30%
Why systems and mindset beat rate every time
Inspiration is easy. Implementation is rare.
AI tip of the week — two ways to use it right now
Next week's guest: Ellen Duncan, founder of Mloop
🕐 TIMESTAMPS00:00 — Intro & the "Can We Stop" segment debuts03:30 — Conference culture callout: energy in the room, full cups, and enlightenment posts07:15 — Inspiration is easy. Implementation is rare.11:00 — Ask Fabi: first car, dream vacation, ringtones19:20 — InGenius data drop: top 30% closed 71.5% of all volume in 202521:00 — The market share shift: top 10% gained 4% from 2019–202525:00 — What separates the top 30% from the middle 40%28:00 — The bottom 30%: survival mode, no trust, short-term focus32:00 — The one word the bottom 30% is missing: TRUST37:00 — Long-term thinkers vs. short-term survivors38:00 — William James: your actions control your mood, not the other way around41:00 — Coaching, accountability, and the Tony Robbins story50:45 — AI widens the gap — or compresses it, if you use it51:20 — AI tip of the week: record yourself and get feedback52:30 — Fobby's AI tip: the 5-question loan estimate tool55:00 — Next week's guest + podcast hits #4 in the rankings
🔗 CONNECT WITH USWebsite: www.laughlendandeat.comLinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/fobby/

In this high-tech mortgage world we live in, we forget how important the human touch is. In true form, Dale reminds us that we need to not only survive 2026 but to move forward with our business.
43 years in the mortgage industry. Rates at 17.5% when he started. Still closing 30+ loans a month.
Dale Vermillion has seen every market cycle there is — and his message for 2026 loan officers is simple: stop blaming the market and start building the habits that actually move the needle.
In this episode of Laugh, Lend & Eat, one of the most respected mortgage coaches and trainers in the country breaks down what separates the top 30% of loan officers — who did 71.5% of all mortgage production in 2025 — from everyone else fighting over the scraps.
What we cover:
Mortgage mindset and mental toughness for loan officers in a high-rate environment
Why high-tech without high-touch is killing your mortgage pipeline
The "1 sale a day" formula that gets loan officers to 15 closings a month
Mortgage sales tips: the Friday seed call and Monday status call that convert pre-approvals into contracts
How top-producing loan officers prospect realtors and build referral partnerships
Mortgage lead generation, follow-up strategies, and pipeline management
Time blocking and productivity for mortgage professionals
Why the bottom 30% of LOs is treating origination like a gig job — and how to break out
Mortgage recruiting trends and what the 2026 market really looks like
Timestamps:
00:00 - Intro & Welcome00:30 - Industry News with James Clyman (The Mortgage Scoop)01:00 - Rocket Mortgage vs. UWM $100M Lawsuit Breakdown03:00 - Could UWM Have a "Countrywide Moment"?05:30 - UWM Pricing Strategy & Wholesale Market Impact07:00 - Rate Predictions: Will the Fed Hike in 2026?08:45 - Mortgage Tech M&A — What's Coming in the Next 6-9 Months09:45 - Lower.com: Ambitious Play or Overreach?11:10 - Welcome Dale Vermillion | Mortgage Champions13:00 - 43 Years in the Industry: What Dale Has Seen14:00 - If Rate Mattered, I Wouldn't Be Here — Mindset Reset16:00 - Attitudes & Actions: The Two Things That Make All the Difference17:30 - The Data: Top 30% Did 71.5% of All Volume in 202519:25 - The 3 Types of People: Make It Happen, Watch It Happen, What Happened20:00 - How to Shift Your Mindset Starting Tomorrow22:00 - What Top Producers Actually Do Differently23:00 - The System Behind Mortgage Champions' Results24:00 - Why Most LOs Fail: No Process, No Plan25:00 - Stop Talking About How Bad the Market Is26:00 - The Bottom 30%: Hard Truths from Dale28:00 - High Tech vs. High Touch: The Biggest Problem in the Industry29:00 - "If You Want to Convert, You Have to Converse"30:50 - The "1 Sale a Day" Formula: How to Close 15 Loans a Month33:00 - The #1 Miss: No Follow-Up34:00 - Plan Your Follow-Up or It Won't Happen34:40 - The Friday Seed Call & Monday Status Call System36:00 - Why COVID Changed the LO Mindset (And Not for the Better)37:50 - Work Smarter: 50 Hours Max, Maximum Output38:00 - The Phone Is Your Biggest Distraction39:00 - Email Pop-Ups: The 12-Second Focus Killer40:00 - Time Blocking for Mortgage Professionals42:00 - Priority-Based Mindset: Fund Your Life First43:00 - Pain Is the Only Teacher for Some People44:00 - How to Reach Dale Vermillion45:00 - Outro & Where to Find Us
"If you want to convert, you have to converse." — Dale Vermillion

🎙️ Hosted by Fobby Naghmi, SVP at AnnieMac Home Mortgage, and Justin Neal, MBA of Summit Mortgage Corporation🔔 Subscribe for weekly mortgage industry insights, loan officer training, and leadership content👍 Like and share if this helped you

We've had meditation teachers, psychologists, nutritionists, and a psychic on this show trying to fix what's wrong with mortgage people. None of it worked. So this time we went deeper.
In this episode of Laugh, Lend & Eat, Fobby and Justin sit down with a married couple who may be the most interesting pair in any industry — Dr. Saloumeh DeGood, licensed clinical psychologist and President of the Sufi Psychology Association, and Andrew DeGood, co-founder and CEO of Ask Bob AI, the mortgage industry's leading AI knowledge platform.
One studies the soul. One builds AI for loan officers. They go home to the same house. The conversation that followed was one of the most unexpected, honest, and genuinely useful episodes we've ever recorded.

🔑 WHAT WE COVER:
✅ What Sufism actually is — in plain language, for a loan officer in Ohio✅ Why your thoughts are not you — and how that unlocks everything✅ The "As a Man Thinketh" debate — Saloumeh vs. James Allen✅ What AI fundamentally gets wrong about human beings✅ Why trauma and creativity are linked — and what that means for AI✅ The Narcissus problem: why talking to ChatGPT can become an echo chamber✅ Andrew's vision: the LO who needs nothing more than an iPhone to run their business✅ Why the loan officers who communicate always win — and AI just 10Xs that gap✅ Can AI replace a psychologist? Saloumeh's honest answer✅ How to survive the mortgage industry with your soul intact

⏱️ TIMESTAMPS:
00:00 — Intro & LinkedIn jail (the F-bomb story)03:00 — Spirit Airlines, gas prices & Fobby's RICO charge08:30 — Wedding anniversary reveal — Malibu, Tampa & two ceremonies12:30 — What is Sufism? The plain language breakdown17:00 — The "bag" of gathered experiences — how the brain actually works20:00 — Andrew: how Sufism changed how he runs his business21:30 — The dinner table: AI + Sufism under the same roof24:00 — What AI gets wrong about human beings28:00 — Trauma, creativity, and what AI can never replicate34:00 — The Narcissus moment — ChatGPT, Saloumeh's dog, and echo chambers38:30 — "Your thoughts are not you" vs. As a Man Thinketh43:00 — The brain has one goal: preserve calories44:30 — Guardrails, heroin, and cages — Andrew's AGI thought experiment48:00 — Ask Bob AI: what's next (CRUD, MCP, the text-message LO)51:00 — Will AI replace psychologists? Saloumeh's real answer53:30 — Andrew's vision: the AI version of Saloumeh56:30 — The close: AI is the brain. Sufism is the heart. You need both.
📲 CONNECT WITH OUR GUESTS:Dr. Saloumeh DeGood — drdgood.com | @sufipsychologyAndrew DeGood — askbobai.com | Andrew D. Goode on LinkedIn

ABOUT LAUGH, LEND & EAT:
The mortgage industry podcast that doesn't take itself too seriously — but takes the business seriously. Hosted by Fobby Naghmi, SVP at AnnieMac Home Mortgage, and co-host Justin Neal of Summit Mortgage Corporation. New episodes every week.

Nobody is coming to save you. The sooner you accept that, the faster everything changes.
Maria Quattrone has been in real estate for over 30 years. 10,000 YouTube subscribers. 2,800+ videos. A book of business that rings before she picks up the phone. And it all started with a 10-year-old girl, two bus tokens, and a two-mile run through Philadelphia.
In this episode of Laugh, Lend & Eat, Maria sits down with Fobby Naghmi and co-host Justin Neal for one of the most honest conversations we've ever had on this show — about victim mentality, ownership, personal brand, paying your dues, and what it actually takes to build something that lasts.
If you're in mortgage, real estate, or any commission-based business, this one will hit home.

TIMESTAMPS00:00 — Intro & selfie culture with Justin02:46 — Federal Reserve holds rates & what it actually means for your mortgage05:00 — Why the Fed cutting rates doesn't affect your mortgage rate07:00 — Meet Maria Quattrone14:00 — Personal brand, content creation & the compound effect19:00 — Building trust from a distance through social media24:00 — Victim mentality — what it is and how to spot it in yourself25:00 — Everybody gets a trophy. The kids were keeping score anyway.26:28 — The bus token story — where Maria's fight mentality was born29:47 — "The only reason you didn't do it is because you chose not to"31:00 — Our business is about choice management32:50 — The bathroom panic attack and the bad career decision36:00 — How Maria built her book of business from scratch43:36 — Paying your dues — the beeper, the payphone, Sunday dinner46:00 — Expires, cancels and repositioning — Maria's secret weapon55:44 — Maria's speaking journey and Level Up Atlanta57:19 — How to connect with Maria Q
🔑 IN THIS EPISODE✅ Why victim mentality is killing your production✅ The difference between a goal and a commitment✅ How Maria built a 30-year book of business through coaching and consistency✅ What paying your dues actually looks like — before smartphones existed✅ Why personal brand is the long game nobody wants to play✅ The compound effect of showing up every single day
📲 CONNECT WITH MARIAMaria Quattrone — callmq.comLinkedIn, Facebook & Instagram: @QuattronePhone: 215-607-3535
🎙️ ABOUT LAUGH, LEND & EATLaugh, Lend & Eat is the mortgage industry podcast that doesn't take itself too seriously — but takes the business seriously. Hosted by Fobby Naghmi, SVP at AnnieMac Home Mortgage, and co-host Justin Neal of Summit Mortgage Corporation. New episodes every week.
#MortgagePodcast #RealEstate #MariaQuattrone #LaughLendAndEat #PersonalBrand