Elevate 2026: Day 1 Panel Takeaways

March 5, 2026.

In our previous article, Elevate 2026: Where Limits Feel Smaller, we explored the powerful energy James Lawrence brought to the stage. Now, we turn to the rest of the conversations and panels from Day 1 of Elevate 2026, where industry leaders shared practical insights on strategy, growth, and the evolving landscape of private lending.

When the Same Words Don’t Mean the Same Thing

Valerie Saunders, Chief Executive Strategist at NAMB, and Kendra Rommel, Principal and Co-Founder at FUTURES Financial, opened the conversation by highlighting a reality that many in the room immediately recognized: in mortgage and private lending, we often use the same terminology while operating in completely different regulatory and structural worlds.

From forward mortgages to bridge loans, DSCR products, business-purpose lending, and consumer-purpose transactions, the panel made it clear that vocabulary in our industry is not interchangeable. What sounds identical in conversation can carry dramatically different compliance obligations depending on licensing requirements, foreclosure frameworks, and whether the transaction is borrower-credit driven or asset-based.

It was a powerful reminder that growth without clarity is risk.

From Conventional to Private Money

Adonis Lockett, Principal at Smart Money Blueprint, shifted the room with a blunt statement:

“In real estate, the money isn’t in real estate — the money is in the money.”

His focus wasn’t on replacing conventional lending, but on building a private lending vertical that transforms declined deals into funded opportunities. He walked brokers and loan officers through the ladder — brokering private loans, moving into white-label structures to protect relationships, progressing to table funding, and eventually positioning themselves to become direct lenders.

The message was clear: private lending is not a side hustle. It’s a structured ecosystem that, when understood properly, can outperform every other revenue channel in your business.

But his strongest message wasn’t about leverage or pricing — it was about culture.

He described private lending as a family — a tight network where everyone knows everyone, where lenders speak behind the scenes, compare notes, and protect the integrity of the space. One burned deal, one sloppy submission, one attempt to play lenders against each other — and your name travels fast.

He admitted openly that his own early mistakes forced him to learn the business properly, humbling him despite his success in other arenas.

In private lending, transactions come and go — relationships are what keep you alive.

Running a Lender Like a Business: P&L, Time, and the True Cost of Ownership

Bill Tessar, CEO of CV3 Financial, joined by Gina Comeaux, Vice President of Communications of CV3, brought a pragmatic counterbalance to the room. The discussion centered on the operational side of private lending — understanding P&L discipline, capital deployment strategy, cost structure, and the real responsibility that comes with running a lending platform.

The emphasis wasn’t on product innovation, but on execution: how underwriting standards, time efficiency, portfolio management, and margin awareness ultimately determine whether a lender scales sustainably or simply grows exposure.

It was a timely reminder that in this market, structure and discipline matter just as much as opportunity.

How do you find Borrowers?

Josh Stech, founder of Sundae and Just Be the Bank, addressed one of the biggest concerns circulating across the private lending industry: the growing presence of institutional capital. While many lenders feel that large funds and securitized platforms are squeezing smaller operators out of the market, Stech argued that the data tells a different story. According to industry figures he shared, roughly two-thirds of all private lending transactions are still completed by lenders originating fewer than 100 loans per year—evidence that smaller, agile lenders continue to dominate much of the market.

His message to the audience was clear: competing with institutions is not about lowering prices. Trying to win on cost against large capital sources is a losing strategy. Instead, smaller lenders succeed through differentiation—leveraging flexibility, local knowledge, and stronger borrower relationships. By identifying repeat borrowers and building smarter sourcing pipelines using public real estate data, Stech explained, lenders can continue to grow and compete effectively even as the industry becomes more institutionalized.

From Lender to Dealmaker: Reinventing Your Career When the Playbook Stops Working.

Romney Navarro, CEO of Ragland Navarro Capital, shared how he transformed his role in the industry by intentionally building community. His central idea was that real authority in private lending doesn’t come from marketing or scale alone, but from becoming the connector in the room. By creating recurring gatherings of investors, operators, and capital providers, he positioned himself at the intersection of real estate, capital, and opportunity—turning networking into a structured engine for deal flow.

Navarro explained that the model relies on three key elements: cultivating centers of influence, designing structured events with expert content and deal pitches, and building a funnel that converts conversations into real opportunities. The result, he noted, is that the person who hosts the community naturally becomes the first call when deals appear. In a relationship-driven industry like private lending, that position of trust can be more powerful than any marketing strategy.

Be sure to explore the rest of our Elevate and Activate 2026 coverage, where we break down the conversations, strategies, and stories that are moving the private lending industry forward.