Mark Merchen
Managing Member

Mark Merchen started his first business at age twenty and for 40 plus years since has been active in corporate, economic, and organizational development. Mark’s experience includes working with the Department of Defense, energy sector, corporate finance, production agriculture, real estate project development, project visioning and planning in multiple other sectors — all resulting in pragmatic implementation of projects into real world results.

Implementation of the vision is something Mark has excelled at throughout his career. “It’s fine to have vision, but who gets up on the mountain - like Mt. Rushmore - every day and carves the vision? You have to match talent with tenacity in order for vision to become reality.”

Mark has conceived and shepherded a number of private and public endeavors from start-up to multi-million dollar balance sheets and income streams.

Mark was active in the Black Hills of South Dakota becoming a site for a national laboratory, produced and edited the Black Hills Technology Corridor Roadmap and has served as advisor to fintec software developers and media executives. Mark is a recipient of the South Dakota School of Mines and Technology community leader of the year award.

Mark has held Series 7, 63, 65, and 3 securities licenses and has a passion for corporate finance.

Mark recently completed the development of CFO role for one of South Dakota’s largest family farms operating over 50,000 cropland acres and a feeder cattle backgrounding / finishing operation.

Mark has extensive experience in public and government relationships and helped conceive of, organize, get legislation passed by the SD Legislature, and then acted as the initial executive director of the South Dakota Ellsworth Development Authority — which later received the prestigious Association of Defense Communities Outstanding Community of the Year Award.