About Mark

Mark Achler is a startup junkie, venture capitalist, professor, mentor, speaker, author and ardent champion for the entrepreneurial community.

Born to a librarian mother and an engineer father, Mark has always shown the kind of patience, curiosity,and a knack for problem-solving that you would expect from someone with such an inquisitive bloodline... and this curiosity – and flexibility – would serve him well in a career that has spanned industries and involved a near-fearless willingness to reinvent himself time and again.

Chronically unpretentious, Mark would likely attribute his tenacity to his father or his grandfather, Israel Achler, who took on the first name of his brother Morris, after Morris was killed fighting for the Russians in WWI, because the real Morris Achler had immigration papers and Israel had to get to America to start a new life.

Mark was not – in his own words – academically inclined. It just wasn’t his jam (again - his words). But, motivated by his hardworking father, who was the first person in his family to go to college, Mark stayed with it and earned a place at Purdue University.

At Purdue, Mark – a history buff who loved working with kids – pursued social studies education. The game plan was law school. However, in the first of the many twists of his life, Mark’s father, an early adopter of OG programming language Fortran, suggested they open a computer retail store. So, Mark pivoted. As the store grew, he became friends with the reps. And one day, one of these reps suggested that Mark apply for a job at Apple, which he did, becoming employee #600 in 1982.

Of his many adventures at Apple, a notable one was his attempt to book Michael Jackson for a 1983 promotional event. After scoffing at the King of Pop’s $5 million price tag, the Apple board went with Herbie Hancock – a decidedly different vibe – but the show was a success and Herbie allegedly still has his Apple II Plus to this day.

After leaving Apple, Mark would go on to found and run many organizations, among them Kinesoft, which developed the technology that allowed Sega and Nintendo games to work on Windows 95, and where, among many brilliant moves, his team sent wedding invitations to CEOs to get them to attend the E3 games conference, garnering an 88% success rate.

With too many other escapades and awards to list here, it’s worth noting that Mark loves to pass on his wisdom, teaching at Northwestern University Kellogg School of Business, mentoring at Techstars and other organizations, and publishing a book called Exit Right, which teaches founders how to sell their startups in a way that maximizes their returns and builds their legacy.

And speaking of legacy, Mark and wife Marcie continue to give back to various organizations and have instilled a sense of purpose and giving in their three girls, Emily, Sarah, and Haley, who, although now out of the house, are making their own waves in the world, with two of the three running their own companies and all of them focused on living a meaningful life.

Books

Lord of the Rings