Founder and CEO

A lifelong entrepreneur, attracted to complex challenges and market inefficiencies, Markel specializes in private equity for startups and growth companies. By first investing his own capital, he has raised more than $100M in over 35 offerings.

After beginning his business career on wall street with Morgan Stanley, Markel became a healthcare entrepreneur sparked by his curious nature as a patient and keen interest in treatments for various challenging health arenas. 

Markel graduated from Loyola Marymount University with honors, returning later to teach entrepreneurship as an adjunct professor. He holds an MFA from NYU Tisch School of the Arts and completed the first year of his MBA at University of Southern California.

Enlisting some of the top urologists in the country, Rise marks Markel’s third medical startup, offering revolutionary treatment for patients with limited options. With Rise, by combining treatments with a robust digital/telemedicine platform, Markel hopes to bring these widely unknown treatments to men and women everywhere.

In addition to Rise, Markel has founded Pure Blue Technologies, Pure Blue Health, and MyLife Recovery with which he successfully opened addiction treatment centers in 14 different states.