The RISE Team

Dan Markel

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.

Jonathan Saul

Chief Financial Officer

Jonathan Saul earned his Business and Economics degree from UC Santa Barbara and oversees the product technologies and brand development aspects of Rise Medical.

He is a seasoned lifestyle and medical device executive with a strong background in brand management, product development, strategic marketing, and sales excellence in high-growth companies such as Gucci, Compex, Revelar, and Cefaly.

Several of his products have achieved well over $100M in sales and he is the proud recipient of the European Consumer Choice award for a crossover medical-to-consumer device.

Saul has a deep and personal interest in medical technologies and an unwavering commitment to health and wellness.

 

Dana Hughes

Chief Operations Officer

With over 25 years of leadership roles in various corporate development areas, she has a diverse background in corporate operations and oversight. Hughes emerged into the business space via the insurance industry which led her to become a distinguished expert and consultant in new startup operations

Over the last decade and a half, her combined corporate experience and expansion into technology and product development have blended nicely to provide a high level of expertise in acquisitions, quality assurance, compliance, sourcing, and logistics.

With her 35 years of experience, she has a highly unique blend of well-rounded expertise that is amplified in all aspects of business.