The Mark Haney Podcast

Building wealth is one thing. Making it last—for your family, your business, and the next generation - is something entirely different. In this episode of The Mark Haney Show, Mark sits down with Jay Ezzell and Alec Fisher of Natoma Wealth, a locally owned fiduciary wealth management firm built specifically for business owners, families, and institutions. Jay and Alec share how Natoma Wealth helps...

This episode closes out an incredible year on The Mark Haney Show with a special year-in-review compilation — highlighting the conversations, ideas, and people that made it such a meaningful season. As part of our ongoing 10-year anniversary celebration, we look back on a year defined by growth, collaboration, innovation, and winning — while setting the tone for what’s next. From entrepreneurship...

In this episode of The Mark Haney Show, entrepreneur and author Daniel Baarns—founder of Baarns Detailing—shares the mindset behind his book Just Start and why action beats perfection every time. Daniel wrote Just Start to challenge the fear, overthinking, and perfectionism that keep so many people from ever taking the first step. Drawing from his experience building a mobile detailing business, h...

Kids today don’t just need places to play — they need positive environments where they can learn, compete, and grow. That’s what the National Academy of Athletics is trying to restore. In this episode, CEO Aaron Locks and Area Captain Marcus Tolibas break down how their talk.teach. PLAY !® method gives kids the same lessons many adults learned growing up on playgrounds, parks, driveways, and neigh...

Dive into the incredible story of Sub Sea Systems — a family-owned company in Northern California that creates some of the most innovative underwater attractions in the world. In this episode, Mark Haney sits down with Jim Mayfield and the next generation of leaders — Hannah de Bie, Kyle Mayfield, and Keenan Mayfield — to explore how this remarkable family built SeaTREK, Aquaticar, SolarCat, and a...

Today on The Mark Haney Show, we sit down with Ryan Duey — Co-Founder & CEO of Plunge — the Sacramento-built wellness company that went from a garage prototype during COVID to one of the fastest-growing cold-plunge and sauna brands in the world. In this episode, Ryan walks us through: 🔥 The float-tank experience that changed his life 🔥 How COVID shut everything down — and sparked the idea fo...

Meet Jordan Darling, a serial entrepreneur whose journey spans from building the first electric stand-up jet ski to disrupting the $200B building materials industry with his new company, Supersede. In this episode of The Mark Haney Show, Jordan shares how he turned his early passion for engineering into a successful startup that was acquired by Nikola, what he learned during hyper-growth, and why...

Today, on Veteran’s Day, we’re honoring the men and women who never stopped serving. In this conversation, we sit down with Jeremy Thompson and Ian Boeye from the Special Operations Association of America (SOAA) — an organization fighting to ensure America’s elite warfighters are never forgotten, neglected, or left behind after their service. SOAA is doing what most people don’t realize still need...

What if you actually knew where every sprinkler line, valve box, tree, drain, wire, and irrigation zone was on your property? That’s the problem that Arik Levy set out to solve when he built YardPro — a GPS-based property mapping and maintenance app designed for homeowners, landscapers, and property managers who are tired of guessing what’s underground. Arik isn’t new to solving real-world problem...

Sacramento State is thinking differently — and it’s changing the game for the entire region. In this conversation, Mike Reza, Vice President for University Advancement at Sacramento State, shares how the university is taking an entrepreneurial approach to higher education. From fundraising and alumni engagement to athletics, AI, and new campuses, Sac State is proving that innovation doesn’t just b...

Placer County isn’t just growing — it’s thriving. In this episode, Supervisor Bonnie Gore breaks down what’s fueling that momentum: strong local businesses, great schools, strategic leadership, and a community that actually shows up for one another. This conversation dives deep into what makes this region a magnet for entrepreneurs, families, and builders who want to be part of something bigger....

AI is completely changing how people find and engage with brands — and traditional marketing strategies aren’t enough anymore. In this episode, I sit down with Josh Hanosh, VP at Three29, to unpack how artificial intelligence, machine learning, and new AI tools are reshaping marketing, search, and lead generation. We talk about the rise of Answer Engine Optimization (AEO) — why it’s different from...

This week on The Mark Haney Show, I sat down with Dr. Luke Wood, President of Sacramento State, and I’ll tell you — this conversation will change how you think about higher education. Dr. Wood isn’t just running a university. He’s rebuilding what college looks like. Under his leadership, Sac State has launched the nation’s first Black Honors College, introduced a bachelor’s degree in Business Admi...

Thinking about selling your company — now or in the next few years? In this episode, Bradley Frisk (Cypress Creek Capital Group / Raymond James) lays out the full exit playbook every founder should hear before taking a call from a buyer. We cover: • Prep that creates real enterprise value (often adding millions before you ever go to market) • How the deal process actually works — IOIs, LOIs, dilig...

What does it take to go from CIA officer to founder of one of the world’s fastest-growing AI startups? In this episode of The Mark Haney Show, I sit down with Brian Raymond, Founder & CEO of Unstructured.io , to unpack his remarkable story and the explosive growth of his company. • Brian’s journey from UC Davis → CIA → Investment Banking → Startup Founder. • Why 90% of enterprise data is usele...

Amy Berry, CEO of the Tahoe Fund, shares how her team is driving sustainability at Lake Tahoe through innovative partnerships and community support. The Tahoe Fund has raised $30M in private donations to unlock $200M+ in public funding, fueling projects that protect the lake, improve access, and inspire eco-friendly travel. From the East Shore Trail to large-scale forest restoration, Amy explains...

Donation Link:  https://capitalcup.mightycause.com/event/L5investments-2025 The L5 Investments Capital Cup isn’t your average golf tournament — it’s Sacramento’s Ryder Cup–style showdown where 32 business leaders compete head-to-head while raising millions for local charities. Now in its 11th year, the Capital Cup has crossed $20 million raised, with more than $2 million this year alone. Players f...

In this episode of The Mark Haney Show, I sit down with Derek Chase, founder of OnSight Technology and now VP of Robotics & AI at Nextracker, following OnSight’s recent acquisition. Derek reveals how his team developed AI-powered robots that are changing the way we manage solar farms—from inspecting millions of panels to predicting failures and reducing costly maintenance. He also explains how...

Is AI already in a bubble, or are we just in the first inning of something bigger than the internet, railroads, or electricity? This is Episode 3 in our continuing series on artificial intelligence and venture capital, where Rick Spencer and Ali Mackani join the conversation to explore the AI hype cycle, the rise of large language models (LLMs), and why the real moat isn’t just data but context. W...

Your brain is wired for greatness—you just have to find the right highway. In this episode, Melissa Ortiz, Founder & CEO of Activate Human Capital Group, reveals how our brains are built with natural talent pathways—what she calls super highways. By age 15, these highways are already paved. The problem? Most people spend their careers on the wrong road. Melissa breaks down how to identify and...

n this episode of The Mark Haney Show, we sit down with Gabriel Covarrubias, CEO of MSC Integration—a company transforming how businesses secure their people and property with cutting-edge technology. Gabriel’s story is remarkable: from navigating a challenging upbringing in foster care to building a national security firm that deploys AI-powered surveillance trailers, cloud-based systems, and int...

What if one of the most advanced pharmaceutical manufacturing facilities in America was quietly being built in Sacramento? In this episode, Jay Shukla, founder and CEO of Nivagen Pharmaceuticals, shares the incredible story of how he went from a broke student with a borrowed plane ticket to leading a fast-growing pharma company reshoring production in the U.S. This is more than just a business suc...

AI is no longer just a buzzword — it’s fueling a productivity revolution that’s reshaping how companies are built, how people work, and how investors make decisions. In this episode, the discussion dives into what the AI boom means for the future of work, startups, and venture capital. 🔑 What You’ll Learn in This Episode: • Why productivity per employee is the new gold standard for business succe...

Fengru Lin left a high-powered tech career at Google and Salesforce to take on one of the biggest challenges in food: reinventing milk—without cows. As the CEO and Co-Founder of TurtleTree, Fengru is using precision fermentation to produce lactoferrin , a powerful protein that boosts immunity, gut health, and iron absorption. In this episode of The Mark Haney Show, we dive into: The $1,000/kg mole...

In this episode of The Mark Haney Show, we sit down with Dave Shurtz, Amber Shurtz, Gary Shurtz, and Jen Matulich — the powerhouse team behind Solace Enterprises, one of Sacramento’s fastest-growing commercial HVAC, plumbing, and solar companies. We dive deep into: ✅ How Dave risked it all at 26 with no business experience ✅ How Amber and Dave scaled Solace into a multi-million dollar family bus...