Home on Mark A. Cleveland

Born to Fly: Lessons From My Grandmother’s Fearless Spirit

Fri, 05 Dec 2025 12:42:24 +0000

Some stories follow you through your whole life. My grandmother, Esther “Betty” Warner Cleveland, is one of mine.

She earned her pilot’s license at just sixteen—at the time, the youngest licensed pilot in the State of California. Her uncles, both Army Air Corps veterans, trained her in an Alexander Eagle Rock biplane they’d converted from a World War I fighter into a trainer. It’s the kind of origin story Hollywood would overplay, but she lived it without a trace of drama.

Exit Strategy While You Scale: Why Planning to Sell Early Matters

Tue, 14 Oct 2025 10:12:50 +0000

Most founders don’t think about selling their business in the early days. The focus is survival, then growth. But here’s the reality: every company has an exit, whether you plan for it or not.

If you design your business with a future buyer in mind, you unlock two major advantages:

A more valuable company — with clean systems, recurring revenue, and defensible advantages.
Greater freedom — the ability to sell, scale, or step back on your own terms.

Wait until you feel “ready to sell,” and it’s too late. By then, the fundamentals are already baked in.

The First Pilot of Air Force One

Fri, 11 Oct 2024 10:24:58 +0000

I’m related to a pioneer pilot, Archibald “Arch” Hoxsey.

After the Wright Brothers flew at Kitty Hawk, North Carolina they started a flight school and Arch was one of their first four graduates. He was considered in his time to be the most daring of professional aviators.

“Arch was my grandmother’s 2nd cousin several times removed,” my Aunt Marjorie would tell me when reflecting on our great grandmother. “He was one of the Wright brothers’ first 5 students. Incidentally,” she adds, “Teddy R. was the first American President to fly in an airplane, and his pilot was Archie.” Hoxsey set the American record for sustained flight across country, making the non-stop 190 mile flight from Springfield, Illinois to Clayton, Missouri on October 6th, 1910.

My Aunt Marj the Stunt Pilot and Mr. Winston’s Alexander Eaglerock

Fri, 11 Oct 2024 10:18:37 +0000

My Great Aunt Marjorie Winston Parker has been gathering old photos helping me to better understand our rather distinguished family heritage in aviation.

Like my grandma, Marjorie was a true aviation pioneer. Her father was Grandmother’s flight instructor and, of course, taught his daughter to fly too—sparking a passion for flight that led her to become a stunt pilot!

One of the photos shows a larger view of the Alexander Eaglerock. The plane has a tiger painted on the side—it was the mascot for the College of Pacific flight school.

Telemaster Aircraft: an all purpose drone for STEM Education in High Schools

Fri, 11 Oct 2024 09:49:49 +0000

Just say the word “Drone” and imaginations run wild. Since I acquired Hobby Lobby, International (now Hobby Express) the Radio Control industry has enjoyed about five complete cycles of technology revolution. As exciting as it is, my team never lost focus on the pilot who was also an expert builder, dedicated to the craftsmanship required to build one of our airplanes.

The shift to mass produced craft commonly called “drones” expanded access and inspired a lot of commercial applications for the Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (“UAV”). Right out of the box, even a micro drone offers integrated HD video and it’s so easy to fly that everyone wants one for a birthday or Christmas gift. That’s all great—right—but it’s no challenge and you don’t really learn much about the technology and systems behind the vehicle. Is this an opportunity lost? Jobs are being created to fly drones that serve commercial needs and there is a national awareness that we need to be more competitive in Science, Technology and Math.

Accessibility Statement

Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000

Last updated: July 10, 2026

Mark A. Cleveland is committed to ensuring that markacleveland.com (the “Site”) is accessible to as many people as possible, including people with disabilities.

Our goal

We aim to conform to the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.2 Level AA where practical. Accessibility is an ongoing effort as the Site’s content and design evolve.

Measures we take

The Site is built with practices that support accessibility, including:

Semantic HTML structure and landmark regions
Keyboard-accessible navigation and interactive controls
Visible focus styles for keyboard users
Text alternatives for meaningful images where provided
Sufficient color contrast targets for text and primary interface elements
Responsive layout that works across a range of screen sizes
Respect for prefers-reduced-motion for decorative animations (for example the footer call-to-action starfield)
A “Skip to content” link to bypass repeated header navigation

Known limitations

Some content may not yet meet every accessibility target, for example:

Awards & Achievements

Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000

Bio

Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000

None of it should fit together. All of it does.

I’ve spent most of my life building things that, at first glance, probably shouldn’t fit together.

Transportation technology. Maritime shipping. Consumer products. Software systems. Manufacturing. Logistics. AI strategy. Athletic socks.

And yet somehow, they do. Because underneath every venture I’ve been part of is the same question: How do you build companies, teams, and systems that create momentum instead of friction?

Contact

Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000

Endorsements

Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000

Press

Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000

Privacy Policy

Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000

Last updated: July 11, 2026

This Privacy Policy describes how Mark A. Cleveland (“I,” “me,” or “we”) collects, uses, and shares information when you visit markacleveland.com (the “Site”) or contact me through the Site.

Information we collect

Information you provide

When you use the contact form, email, or phone number on the Site, you may share:

Name and email address
Phone number (if you include it)
Message content and any other details you choose to send

Contact form submissions are processed and delivered by Formspree (Formspree, Inc.), our form-handling provider. Formspree receives what you submit, along with technical data such as your IP address, in order to deliver your message and prevent spam. Formspree’s handling of that data is described in the Formspree Privacy Policy.

Speaker

Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000

Terms & Conditions

Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000

Last updated: July 11, 2026

These Terms & Conditions (“Terms”) govern your access to and use of markacleveland.com (the “Site”), operated by Mark A. Cleveland (“I,” “me,” or “we”). By using the Site, you agree to these Terms. If you do not agree, please do not use the Site.

Who we are

This Site is a personal professional website for Mark A. Cleveland, based in Nashville, Tennessee. It shares background, writing, speaking, press, and ways to get in touch. It is not a banking, brokerage, or licensed professional services portal unless a specific engagement says otherwise in a separate written agreement.