Cardone Ventures help Aaron Mariscal thrive in 21st century business development
By Terrance Thornton | Digital Free Press
He never knew his father. His mother was kidnapped and killed by a Mexican cartel.
At the age of 15 Aaron Mariscal was, for all intents and purposes, left alone to fend for himself in Michoacan, Mexico.
Alone and addicted on the streets of Michoacan, Mr. Mariscal tells a story with passages akin to a Greek tragedy, but while he was toiling in despair, anger and resentment, he knew he wanted more for himself.
“I grew up in poverty and surrounded by cartel members,” he told the Digital Free Press in September 2024.
“After my mom was kidnapped and killed, I turned to alcohol and drugs and became addicted to alcohol. A lot of it was due to my environment, but where I was you really don’t have the resources to see a way out, to pull yourself out of it. A lot of it came down to what I could not control.”
But Mr. Mariscal was given a chance when, through his extended family in Michoacan, immigrated into the United States with a final destination of Fresno, California, to live with his aunt.
The year is 2017 and Mr. Mariscal, at 17 years old, found himself in a better environment, but still facing steep hurdles for where he wanted to go — and the success envisaged by his mind’s eye.
“My aunt who took me in, she couldn’t really provide me with any resources, but she did give me a place to stay and I started working in the fields picking grapes,” he said. “That is when I started reading books.”
During the period of time from 15 to 18 years of age, Mr. Mariscal describes his life as lost in translation.
“That changed for me when I got to the United States where I learned — and found the resources — that if you want to be successful and you want to make that change, you have to make that change,” he said of his personal resolve forged in the grape fields of Fresno.
“I began to believe that I could make a difference, I mean really make a difference in my life. I can be bitter about what happened to my mom, but when you first come over, you see life through another lens where you can put yourself in the right scenarios, which was not available to me in Mexico.”
These personal revelations came at the age of 18 when Mr. Mariscal finished high school but without the experiences of team sport or a sense of community around him.
“That is when I drew a line in the sand,” he said of his own personal resolve hardening inside of him. “America is a country of opportunity and you can make your life what you want it to be here — I didn’t have that privilege.”
From the grape fields of Fresno to the board rooms of Scottsdale
Today at the age of 24, Mr. Mariscal is a business development professional at Cardone Ventures, which is based in Scottsdale and focuses on business growth and development under the guise of the ideas presented by co-founder Brandon Dawson.
“I started watching his content,” Mr. Mariscal points out of his time just a few years ago in the grape fields of Fresno. “At the time, I didn’t speak a lick of English, but I started to watch the content and through that message I found that car dealership and eventually got into Cardone University.”
From there Mr. Mariscal — who is an excellent conversationalist — taught himself English through Google Translate.
“Although I was a top performer as a sales assistant at this car dealership, I was only bringing in a few thousand dollars a month,” he said pointing out he reached out directly to Cardone Ventures, Mr. Dawson specifically.
“He had the spark and confidence in his calls that told me he had so much potential,” Mr. Dawson said. “I told him, if you come meet me up in Washington, you’ll have a job waiting for you.”
Two weeks later, Mr. Mariscal surprised Mr. Dawson at the company’s then Vancouver, Washington offices, driving up from California and living in his car until he could afford an apartment. Three years later, Mr. Mariscal is now topping the sales scoreboards at Cardone Ventures and on track to make $700,000 this year, Cardone Ventures representatives contend.
Cardone Ventures is a business development company now based in Scottsdale.
“When you have an opportunity like this, you have to take it and make the most of it,” said Mr. Mariscal, who is now 24 years old. “Surrounding yourself with the right people, good values and hard work will let you tap into that potential as long as you are motivated to reach it. For me, I’ll always be motivated to make my mom proud.”
