Mic Drops to Millions: 10 Business Lessons Learned After 600 Episodes.

Mic Drops to Millions: 10 Business Lessons Learned After 600 Episodes is more than a keynote. It’s a behind-the-scenes look at the wins, losses, pivots, failures, and breakthroughs that helped transform a simple podcast idea into one of the mortgage industry’s most recognized platforms.

In this powerful and vulnerable presentation, Dustin Owen shares the real lessons learned while building The Loan Officer Podcast episode by episode. Some lessons came the hard way. Others came from conversations with billionaires, bestselling authors, elite sales professionals, entrepreneurs, and top producers who have all sat behind the microphone.

Attendees will walk away with practical, hard-hitting lessons on perseverance, partnership, leadership, content creation, personal growth, and thinking bigger. Dustin dives into why you should never wait until you feel “ready,” why hiring experts changes everything, how one piece of content can become five, and why mastering one-to-many communication is the future of influence and scale.

This keynote challenges audiences to stop playing small, embrace discomfort, and start building the business and life they were actually meant to create.

BIO
Dustin Owen, also known as D.O., joined the mortgage industry in 2004 as a Rookie LO. Within two years, he was funding over 100 units per year in personal production. Owen leveraged his success as an originator into a career as a mortgage sales executive. Most notably, he grew his production operation from one branch funding $40 million a year to seven branches funding $70 million per month.

Dustin is the creator and host of The Loan Offi cer Podcast. With over 1 million downloads per year, it is the most popular podcast in the mortgage industry. The success of The Loan Offi cer Podcast led Dustin to launch TLOP’s Originator Coaching, which is known as the #1 value for business coaching and sales training in the mortgage industry.

Outside of work, Dustin enjoys traveling and competing in Ironman races. He is a University of Central Florida alum and die-hard UCF football fan.

The AI Advantage

In this session, Rider Harris will conduct a deep dive on one of the most underrated AI tools in the world: Claude by Anthropic. ChatGPT has everyone's attention, but Claude offers unique
features that make the AI feel human-like. Rider will demonstrate live use cases, cover each feature, and leave time for Q&A. Expect to leave with an elite understanding of how to use Claude to boost productivity and efficiency in your day-to-day.

BIO
Rider Harris did not start in technology. He began in inside sales and saw the power of artificial intelligence long before it went mainstream. That background lets him speak the language of the business leader and translate complex AI into practical moves any team can use.

As Founder of GoBananas.ai, Rider has spent the past three years traveling the United States helping companies design AI strategies that actually work. His focus is simple: clear results, sustainable adoption and tools that fit the way people already work.

State of the State

Hear from Robert Broeksmit, President & CEO of MBA, about where our industry is currently and where we're going. Stay for a short Q&A following his session.

BIO
Robert (Bob) Broeksmit is President and CEO of the Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA). Bob is a senior finance executive and corporate officer with a 35-year career in the mortgage sector. He has directed all aspects of lending activities, including marketing, sales, operations, secondary marketing, loan servicing, and default management. He has also served as a mortgage underwriting expert testifying on many large, high-profile cases.


Prior to joining MBA in 2018, Bob served as President and Chief Operating Officer with Treliant, heading the firm’s mortgage litigation support practice and serving diverse financial services clientele including large banks, independent mortgage lenders, community banks, credit unions, and service providers to the mortgage industry. As a Washington-based financial services consultancy, Treliant’s mortgage practice included strategic advisory for executive management and corporate boards; litigation defense, including file reviews, litigation strategy, expert reports, and expert testimony; CFPB examination preparation and implementation of mortgage regulations promulgated by the CFPB and other regulators; and operational aspects of mortgage banking, ranging from origination to servicing and loss mitigation.


Before Treliant, Bob held senior leadership positions in the mortgage business, including fourteen years with Chevy Chase Bank (including after its purchase by Capital One), where he was Executive Vice President and President of its B.F. Saul Mortgage Company subsidiary. Bob also was a Vice President at Prudential Home Mortgage for seven years. He has overseen annual originations of $9 billion, a balance sheet of $10 billion in residential mortgages, and a servicing portfolio of $20 billion. He also held positions at Great Western Mortgage, Krupp Residential Mortgage, and The Money Store.


Bob has served as the Chairman of the Mortgage Bankers Association’s Residential Board of Governors and as a member of its Board of Directors. Firms under his leadership have garnered multiple awards for servicing operations excellence, including Freddie Mac’s Tier One and Hall of Fame designations. He is a Certified Mortgage Banker (CMB) and a graduate of Yale University.

Stay in The Deep End

Former NFL Coach Daron K. Roberts shares powerful strategies to elevate your leadership game. From personal and team optimization to vulnerability, empathy, and time prioritization, this fast-paced session delivers practical tools you can apply immediately. Get ready to lead stronger, think deeper, and Dive into the Deep End.

BIO
Daron K. Roberts is a former NFL coach and award-winning college professor. Named as a “Top 20 Global Speaker” in 2024, Daron’s clients range from professional sports teams to Fortune 100 companies.

Daron is the author of three books, Microwins, A Kids Book About Empathy, and Call an Audible.

A Kids Book About Empathy was named to “Oprah’s Favorite Things” list and Call an Audible was tabbed as a #1 New Release and Best Seller by Amazon. Sports Illustrated selected the book as one of its “Best Sports Business Books”.

A former venture capital partner, Daron is an active investor and private equity advisor and board member. His weekly leadership series - “This Is Not About Sports” - prompted LinkedIn to name Roberts as its #1 Top Voice in Sports.

Daron is a graduate of the University of Texas, Harvard Kennedy School, and Harvard Law School.

He and his wife, Hilary, chase five children through the streets of Austin, Texas.