The Mark Haney Podcast

“The day I took my first dollar. I was 100% in, and I promised myself that I would never stop until this was successful based on the money that was taken. So, when I think about success in business, the only time you fail is when you quit.” -- Neville Boston, Founder of Reviver Whether you are a founder, an investor or…a car owner, you’ll want to tune into this segment! Mark talks with Neville Bos...

In this episode, Mark has a fascinating discussion with the dynamic and talented Ross Haley about entrepreneurship in the Cannabis space.  Ross shares a little about his journey that includes growing up in a Northern California community of cannabis growers, to an early job selling Kirby vacuums, to tremendous success via the sale of his company, General Hydroponics, to Scott’s Miracle Gro (SMG) f...

  Nobody builds a truly great company alone.   This “Markism” has been the driving force behind the work at HaneyBiz over the last many years and is now serving as the guiding light for a new venture called the Growth Factory that Mark and the team are launching.  The Growth Factory is a nonprofit startup accelerator and an accompanying early-stage venture fund with a mission to build an entrepren...

Scott Drummond, President, and Founder of Party Center Software has a winning mindset, a successful track record, a passion for entrepreneurship, and a desire to pay it forward.    His entrepreneurial career effectively started with the launch of a web design firm in 1998 (pre-Google) when he was just 1 year out of high school! In 2005, Drummond and his wife purchased a small indoor children’s pla...

 Mark talks about founding, failing, funding and exiting companies with the amazing Sacramento entrepreneur, Sonny Mayugba, whose new adventure as VP of Growth at Swimply has him on the company building journey once again. Swimply is the world’s first marketplace for homeowners to rent out their underutilized pools to local swimmers. Prior to Swimply, Sonny spent a year in venture capital, first a...

PRIDE Industries, based in Roseville, CA, is a social enterprise founded in 1966 with the mission to create employment for people with disabilities. Through its innovative and entrepreneurial approach, PRIDE has grown into a world class organization that provides facilities operations and maintenance services, custodial services, contract manufacturing, supply chain management, packaging and fulfi...

In this episode, I am joined by Lokesh Sikaria, founder of local venture capital firm, Moneta Ventures and his younger brother, Hemant Sikaria, founder of Sibros, a rapidly growing connected vehicle software company that Moneta is invested in. In this wide-ranging discussion, we cover everything from family to founding companies to value-added investors. As they share their unique insights and exp...

 From the romanticized college drop-out to the mid-life corporate exec who makes the leap, startup founders come from a wide range of backgrounds. Is there an ideal path to becoming a successful entrepreneur? In the episode, I talk with Sabya Das, a partner at Moneta Ventures, who shares his journey from pre-med student at Berkeley to interning at tech startups, and then becoming a partner at a Sa...

Entrepreneurs are the heroes of the American economy and now, more than ever, they are on the front-lines in the battle to revive our economic vitality.   For the past 7+ years, I’ve shared my passion for entrepreneurs via this podcast, my investing activity, as president of Entrepreneurs Organization and more.  In the wake of COVID, I am excited to dive into efforts that elevate the importance of...

In this classic interview I talk with my good buddy Taro Arai, the Chief Dreaming Officer of Mikuni Restaurant and Sushi Bar and Scott Syphax,  President of Syphax Strategic Solutions.  Enjoy! 

 According to AngelSpan ( https://angelspan.com/ ), 83% of investors agree that founders who communicate perform better. Why is this and when and how should startup founder approach investor communications? In this episode Julie Arsenault, Founder of Panty Drop and Che Voight, CEO of Altwork, talk with Mark about the value of investor communications. They talk about how it's helped them to lead th...

A bit of a throw back today.  Here are a couple classic interviews.  The first is my very first interview from our old show Entrepreneurs Unlimited, Urijah Faber.  The second interview is with my good buddy Tom Kandris.  I hope you enjoy.

 For first-time founders, in particular, raising capital can be a daunting task. Just learning the what, when, and hows of venture funding is a challenge. Then, factor in the mindset piece. Taking other people’s money to fuel your vision can feel weighty or as Chris Peacock, Founder and CEO of Aquaoso say in this episode, “terrifying.” So, how do founders overcome their fears, create a plan, find...

 Originally a term used to describe investors in Broadway shows, "Angel" now refers to high-net-worth individuals who invest their own money in exchange for equity in an entrepreneurial company (unlike venture capitalists, who invest other people's money). About $24B is deployed via Angel Investors in the U.S. each year. While these investments are high risk, they can be high reward. Several reput...

From fund managers and accredited investors to startup founders and their boards, diversity has been severely lacking in the venture capital community since inception. As a result, the US has lost billions of dollars of untapped economic opportunity and sidelined immense amounts of valuable human capital. In this episode, Mariah Lichtenstern, Emerging Manager and Founding Partner of DiverseCity Ve...

Starting a business in Sacramento has become easier with entrepreneurs having access to multiple programs and resources. Building and scaling that business is still hard. In addition to raising capital, which is a challenge, founders also need support in finding customers and building operational capacity.  In this episode, I am joined by Steve Boyle, Founder, and CEO of Essential Aero, and Rick S...

In this episode, I sit down with Margaret Strong, the President of NAWBO (National Association of Women Business Owners) as well as President at Afineol IT consulting.     Margaret and I talk about the important work that NAWBO is doing in connecting, promoting, educating, and supporting women entrepreneurs. She’ll share a little about her own journey and talk about how empowering female founders...

Today, as we celebrate Veterans Day, I sit down with my main man, the Marine entrepreneur Marcus Haney, to share the latest updates in his journey from serving our country as a marine to building his company as an entrepreneur.  We talk about the opportunities and challenges he has faced on and off the battlefield and reflect on our book called” ALWAYS BY YOUR SIDE” which documents Marcus’ story w...

Sacramento has come a long way from relying primarily on government jobs to drive the economy and is beginning to gain recognition for key accomplishments in both the public and private sectors. Unfortunately, Entrepreneurs in the region still struggle to find local capital and revenue. In this episode, James Beckwith, President and CEO of Five Star Bank, will share his assessment of key regional...

In this episode, I talk with Matt Rollens, the Founder and CEO of Dragon Glassware, an innovative lifestyle brand offering a variety of handmade, artisan glassware for the home and kitchen.   Born and raised in the Sacramento region, Matt attended Sac State graduating during the great recession.  Facing a tough job market and with the encouragement of family and friends, he was inspired to start h...

In this episode, I sit down with Scott Alvord, Roseville City Council Member and the founder and CEO of Advanced Development Concepts, LLC . ADC is a 34-year old consulting company that helps businesses break through the barriers that are holding them back, whether it be techniques to increase revenue, gain business exposure, reach target customers, or solve problems. He also has been voted “ Favo...

Can you use your mission to create a better world? I often talk about Rockstar Entrepreneurs. As far as legends go, Elon Musk is at the top of the mountain for Entrepreneurs. So, it often surprises many people to learn that he wasn’t the Founder of Tesla. In fact, he was their fourth CEO.   In this episode, we meet Marc Tarpenning, co-founder of Tesla, and Venture Partner at Spero Ventures. Marc t...

With all the challenges of this year, we can tend to overlook progress. For most businesses in the US, leaders are taking a hard look at their diversity shortcomings, and why making diversity part of their strategy is good for business. As these companies outline their path, they are intentionally designing the policies and systems that will combine the collective capabilities of people from diffe...

In this episode, I talk with Paul Shapiro, author of the national bestseller book called “Clean Meat: How Growing Meat Without Animals Will Revolutionize Dinner and the World”. Paul is also the CEO of The Better Meat Co., a four-time TEDx speaker, and the host of the Business for Good Podcast.   Paul and I talk about Health, food innovation here in the region of Sacramento, and how plant-based nut...

2020 has turned into a year of crisis and hardship for many. When it seemed that we couldn’t take any more, our state was engulfed in historic wildfires. Whether we are dealing with a pandemic, social injustice, or disaster like wildfire, it can be hard for young people to imagine a world that is getting better. However, from ashes, something new can grow, if we build it right.  In this episode I...