Mark's journey with business, entrepreneurship, and coffee has been somewhat unconventional. After college, Mark began his career in commercial real estate in San Diego where he gained valuable business experience and learned from some of the best in the industry. After realizing the corporate grind was not what he wanted, he knew he needed to work for himself. "I remember the first time I went to Coffee & Tea Collective in North Park in San Diego. After visiting that place, I knew I was going to eventually work in coffee". Mark spent the next few years selling real estate and honing in on coffee. Over time, he became great friends with Daniel Kam and Kevin Kim, the founding owners of Solid. Eventually, he became the third owner and Managing Partner. On the experience, Mark says, "We all kind of knew right away that it would work out. We joke and call ourselves the triple-braided cord: 'for a triple-braided cord is not easily broken.'"