Legacy. Camaraderie. Family. These three words are at the core of what inspires me.

As a young kid, I had no specific career aspirations, but I did know that whatever I set out to do, I wanted to have the people I loved alongside me. Fortunately, I had a template for achieving just that.

In the 50s and 60s, my dad, two of his brothers, and my grandfather worked together in the Madrid Pharmacy, a family business located in downtown Phoenix.  I’ve heard countless stories of my grandfather filling prescriptions while his sons greeted people, worked the soda fountain, and drove all over the valley delivering drugs to their customers. The pharmacy also happened to be where my parents first met and flirted their way to a high school courtship and eventual marriage. In my mind, it was something right out of the movies, an almost Truman-esque setting that served as a community hub and, more importantly, the place where those four men grew to be best friends.

The pharmacy served as the foundation for my dad’s career in pharmaceutical sales, which spanned his entire adult life. After graduating from Northern Arizona University with a finance degree, I was recruited by Abbott Laboratories, where I experienced firsthand my dad’s alter ego, “Roberto,” in all his salesman glory. Not only did we work together, I joined his football referee crew and spent virtually every weekend with him until his unexpected passing.

Fast forward to today, I organically created my own version of the family business. In 2013, I went to work for VIP Mortgage and befriended Stuart Crawford, the most humble, hardworking, and brilliant mortgage banker I’ve ever met. Our friendship quickly morphed into a brother-like business partnership, and together, we created one of the foremost respected and successful mortgage teams in our region. The alchemy lies in our complementary skill sets – I am out in the community making friends, developing referral partnerships, and recruiting industry talent while he leads the team in delivering an unparalleled mortgage experience for our valued clients and partners.

We rounded out the Bison Ventures founder triad with Jeremy West, Stuart’s childhood best friend who brings twenty of years of executive-level financial services to the table. Together, the three of us created a company based on the shared common belief that Expertise Without Empathy is Failure. With a diversely talented team of professionals, we are heading into the storm on a mission to be THE leaders in informed mortgage lending. Just like the Madrid men before me, I get to work closely with my sister, Trisha, on both business development initiatives and our Into the Storm (formerly Real Talk) podcast.  My dream would be to keep it in the family and have my four kids, nieces, and nephews all run the business for me so that my fiancé Lana and I can ride off into the sunset.