We started with 3 people and a whiteboard.
May 2021. Three people. One idea: what if a mortgage company actually gave a damn about the people who work there?
How Mpire got here.
Most mortgage companies start the same way. Someone leaves a bigger company, takes some loan officers with them, puts up a website, and calls it a brokerage.
Mpire started different.
John Motowidlak had been in the industry long enough to know what was broken. Loan officers were treated like revenue units. Operations was an afterthought. Technology was whatever the cheapest vendor offered. And the borrower experience? Nobody even thought about it.
So he built something else.
Mpire launched in May 2021 with 3 people. No recruiting pitches. No MLM-style team building. Just a better model and an invitation: come see what we're doing.
People came.
In four years, Mpire grew from 3 people to 200+. Over a billion dollars in annual volume. Not because of aggressive recruiting. Because loan officers kept telling other loan officers.
Along the way, something unusual happened. When COVID shut down Disney World, John's brother Joe - who spent 15 years managing operations at Disney - came to help build the company. He brought other Disney people with him. They brought a completely different approach to operations.
At Disney, the guest experience is everything. At Mpire, the loan officer IS the guest.
That philosophy changed everything. From how ops supports the team, to how Mortgage Con (our annual industry event) runs, to how your loan gets processed. If you're working with Mpire Direct, you'll feel it.
We answer the phone at 9pm. We explain things in plain language. We have 100+ lenders competing for your rate instead of one bank handing you their price.
That's the short version. The long version involves destroyed cupcakes, a hologram machine, and a lot of trial and error. But you probably just want to know if we can get you a good mortgage.
We can.
A call center that actually cares.
We're a call center. We know it. But we're not the kind that pounds phones and shoves you into a deal. We educate. We give you options. We fight for the people other companies would turn away. If you don't fit the cookie-cutter, we don't kick you to the curb - we figure it out.
John Motowidlak
Founder & CEO, Mpire Financial
Started Mpire with 3 people and a whiteboard in May 2021. Hired his brother from Disney World to run operations. Bought a hologram machine completely sober. Built proprietary tech that other companies can't replicate. His first speaking gig he showed up late with destroyed cupcakes and got zero leads. Learned from that too.
Drives a Cybertruck. Uses it as a conversation starter. It works.
Luke Shankula
Head of DTC Marketing
Eight years in mortgage marketing taught him one thing: most companies only care about closing the deal. They don't educate. They don't follow up. And if you fall outside their box, they move on. Luke came to Mpire because the mission was different - build something that actually helps people. Give them resources. Walk alongside them. Create a brand that treats borrowers like humans, not lead numbers.
Speaks at MortgageCon, AIME Fuse, and any stage that'll have him.
Cole Brantley
Branch Manager & Loan Officer
At 24 he got screwed on his first home purchase. Cash to close changed by $5,000 on closing day. That's exactly why he became a mortgage broker. Ran a big branch in retail before joining Mpire because of John's vision. If you go through our quiz, there's a good chance Cole's the one calling you back.
Got into this industry because nobody fought for him. Now he fights for everyone.