Mark was raised on a farm northeast of Mahomet, IL (Champaign County). He graduated from Mahomet-Seymour High School in 1975 and the University of Illinois in 1979 and began working in the bank industry. In 1982, Mark invested in his first business venture, O’Malley’s Pub, on U of I’s campus town. Since then, Mark has been involved in several start up retail and real estate ventures, included 17 years with the Subway sandwich franchise. Realizing an opportunity to teach others about the opportunities of entrepreneurship and successful ventures, Mark obtained a master’s degree from Eastern Illinois University and began teaching at Parkland College in small business and management classes. Mark has continued to operate campus rental property as well as Eastwood Plaza, a retail center in Mahomet. Mark and his wife Tammy have been married for 43 years and have two children, daughter Anna (Frank Guzman), who is a human resource director with WabTech in Chicago and son Adam (Lauren), who owns and operates No Limit Fitness in Mahomet. Mark and Tammy are the proud grandparents of three grandchildren.