The Mark Haney Podcast

What if some of America’s best future entrepreneurs and leaders are already being trained inside the U.S. military? Ryan Micheletti is a military veteran, entrepreneur, startup ecosystem builder, and Co-Founder and General Partner of The Veteran Fund, a venture capital firm investing in veteran-led companies developing critical technologies. In this episode of The Mark Haney Show, Mark sits down w...

What if the biggest opportunities in your business aren’t about finding better answers—but asking better questions? Justin Leech, founder of Curiosity Benefits Consulting, joins Mark Haney to talk about entrepreneurship, employee benefits, healthcare innovation, and why digging deeper can uncover solutions others miss. After 15 years in the benefits industry, Justin launched Curiosity Benefits aro...

Sacramento business, entrepreneurship, downtown development, AI, real estate and the future of local media are all changing fast. Bryan Flaherty, Publisher & Market President of the Sacramento Business Journal, joins Mark for a wide-ranging conversation about the biggest stories shaping the Sacramento region and where the local economy goes from here. Bryan shares his path from advertising and...

In this episode, we sit down with CBS Sacramento news anchor Tony Lopez to talk about communicating under pressure, public speaking, and the changing media landscape. Drawing on more than 35 years in television news, Tony shares how he stays calm during breaking news, handles unexpected moments live on air, and delivers a clear message when emotions are running high. He also discusses his growing...

Brandon Robinson opened Tipsy Putt's first location in downtown Sacramento on November 1, 2019. Four months later, the world shut down. He'd already built and sold a multi-state med spa chain. He'd discovered an indoor mini golf bar in Kirkland, Washington on a packed Monday night and written a $150,000 check for a one-page license agreement to bring it to California. Then COVID took the whole thi...

Jay Ezzell joins the Fatherhood, Finance and Patriotism series for a conversation about raising a strong family, building financial discipline, and appreciating the freedom and opportunity that make America worth protecting. Jay is the Founder and Managing Director of Natoma Wealth, where he helps families, entrepreneurs, and business owners think through investing, portfolio construction, risk, p...

Success is not just about money. In this episode of the Fatherhood, Finance and Patriotism series, Brad Frisk shares a powerful way to think about life priorities through what he calls the four cups framework: faith, family, business, and health. For entrepreneurs, fathers, and high achievers, the challenge is not just building wealth — it is learning how to keep those four cups full without losin...

AI-agent technology is changing startup fundraising, and Pitch Protocol is building a fundraising platform designed for the next era of venture capital. In this episode, Mark Haney sits down with Rick Spencer and Josh May from Growth Factory Ventures to talk about Pitch Protocol, an agent-to-agent fundraising platform that could change how founders pitch, how investors evaluate deals, and how capi...

Achieving six figure trading results at 19 years old requires more than luck. In this episode, Alan Cordano breaks down the trading strategy, discipline, and risk-taking mindset that helped him go from $300 in his bank account to over $100,000 in prop firm trading payouts. Alan is a former Division I football player who walked away from the University of Hawaii, quit football, and chose entreprene...

Distraction is everywhere. Our attention span is getting shorter. And mindfulness may be one of the most important skills a father, leader, or entrepreneur can practice today. In this episode of the Fatherhood, Finance and Patriotism series, Colin Roe shares a powerful reminder: proximity does not equal presence. Being in the same room with your kids is not the same as being fully engaged. Being h...

Invest in family first. Ray Cordano built wealth through real estate, entrepreneurship, and a contrarian approach to life — but his biggest investment has always been his time with his family. In this episode of the Fatherhood, Finance and Patriotism series, Ray shares how reading Rich Dad Poor Dad shaped his path, why he built businesses to create freedom, and how that freedom allowed him to beco...

The District Attorney’s office, local security, police leadership, and the fight against crime all play a major role in whether a community feels safe enough for families, businesses, schools, and neighborhoods to thrive. In this episode, we sit down with Placer County District Attorney Morgan Gire, Placer County Sheriff Wayne Woo, and Rocklin Mayor Dave Bass for a conversation about public safety...

Fatherhood, finance, and patriotism — three things that shape how families are built, how futures are protected, and how communities stay strong. This conversation with Marcus Haney launches a new series centered on the values that matter most: showing up as a father, taking responsibility for the future, and loving America enough to strengthen it from the inside out. Marcus is a Marine veteran, e...

Robby Morin, owner of Lux Powder Coat and candidate for U.S. Congress, joins the show for a candid conversation about housing, healthcare, energy, taxes, small business, and government accountability. Coming from different political perspectives, the conversation stays focused on what actually matters: making it easier to build, work, hire, live, and believe in the American Dream again. This episo...

Multifamily real estate is down ~30% — and it may be a bigger reset than 2008. So is this a crash… or the best buying opportunity in years? In this episode, we sit down with Forrest Jinks (Founder & CEO of Altus Equity Group) to break down what’s really happening in the real estate market and housing market, and why smart investors are leaning into multifamily investing right now. They cover:...

What if cancer could be treated without destroying the rest of your body? In this episode, biotech founder Brad Niles (CEO of ARIZ Precision Medicine) breaks down a potential breakthrough in cancer treatment—one that targets cancer cells with precision instead of the “poison everything” approach of traditional chemotherapy. In early testing, his team saw: 👉 90% cancer cell kill rate 👉 With only...

Shari Fitzpatrick built one of the most iconic gifting brands in America—Shari’s Berries—from a $1,500 credit card in her apartment. What started as a simple idea turned into a multi-million-dollar national brand. Then… she lost it all. After 22 years of building her company, Shari faced one of the toughest challenges an entrepreneur can experience—losing control of the business she created. But i...

In this episode, we dive into one of the most overlooked strategies in entrepreneurship: buying businesses instead of starting them. Kasey Cotulla, owner of Delta Print Group, built a $65M+ company (on track for $75M+) not by launching startups—but by acquiring and scaling existing businesses across Northern California. Starting as a forklift driver in a Sacramento print shop, Kasey worked his way...

What does it really take to build a custom dream home? In this episode, we sit down with Paul and Rachel Hills—award-winning designers and builders behind some of the most impressive high-end custom homes in Northern California, Tahoe, and beyond. From architecture and construction to interior design, they walk through what separates an average home from a truly exceptional one. We also explore a...

Entrepreneurship can feel like you’re on an island—but the truth is, you don’t have to build alone. In this episode, Thom Schildmeyer shares why building relationships is one of the most powerful advantages an entrepreneur can have. We dive into the real role of networking—not just collecting contacts, but creating meaningful connections that actually move your business forward. Through the lens o...

They told him it couldn’t be done… but Mathew Magno built a company that’s transforming how cities, universities, and hospitals manage parking. In this episode, the Co-Founder and CEO of Japa shares how his frustration with spending 20–30 minutes searching for parking turned into a smart parking startup now used by major institutions like UCLA and UC Berkeley—and expanding across the United States...

Angel investors are playing an increasingly important role in startup funding, raising capital, and supporting entrepreneurship—especially for people interested in investing for beginners and learning how early-stage investing really works. In this episode, Monique Brown and Cameron Law discuss how NorCal AngelCon is helping activate a new generation of angel investors while giving founders access...

Defense technology is advancing rapidly, and the rise of the autonomous drone is at the center of the latest wave of military innovation. In this conversation with Jeffrey Wright and Alistair Xhayet of SplashOne, we explore how new startups are rethinking aerial combat and the economics of modern warfare. SplashOne is developing an autonomous drone designed to hunt and intercept other drones in fl...

A 6th grader’s video clip recently went viral, racking up over 11 million views across social media. Henry McCarley, known online as  @HeyHenryTV , saw his platform take off after posting a behind the scenes look at packaging orders from one of his Whatnot live streams. What started as a simple video quickly gained traction, picking up over a million views per day and changing the trajectory of hi...

Debt service is now consuming a massive share of the federal budget — and that has serious implications for economics, the broader economy, and how we think about long-term budgeting in America. In this episode of The Mark Haney Show, economist and wealth manager Sanjay Varshney breaks down what’s really happening beneath the headlines. We cover: • Why the U.S. economy proved more resilient than e...