Stay Thirsty: A Serial Entrepreneur's Tale of Success & Failure

The business section of any bookstore is full of biographies that celebrate celebrity billionaires and superstar CEOs. While such stories can be motivational, they tend to gloss over the gritty details and therefore are not all that relatable or useful to the everyday businessperson. Mark Haertzen's memoir is different. Think of Mark as the serial entrepreneur next door - an ordinary guy who, by most standards, achieved extraordinary success - which is what makes his story so interesting, relevant, and practical.

Stay Thirsty chronicles Mark's 60-year entrepreneurial journey, which began at the age of 6, with refreshing honesty and humility. His most significant venture, Rocket Man, serves as the primary case study for his thoughts and reflections. He covers the company's 31-year lifecycle in vivid, sometimes painful detail - from a startup launched with a prototype he built in his garage to a global manufacturer and exporter of beverage dispensing equipment with sales in 65 countries.

Mark then recounts the company's bold, strategic pivot to become a leading provider of walking vendors for the stadium foodservice industry, hawking beer and other drinks at 75 venues from Delaware to California- including appearances at the NCAA Final Four, World Series and multiple Super Bowls, and Kentucky Derbies.

Few memoirs give such a raw, unfiltered account of the risks and struggles involved in building businesses and the impact they have on one's life and family. Mark describes not only his biggest wins, but also the gut-wrenching failures and insecurities he overcame to achieve them in a decades-long transformation from an impulsive and instinct-driven "born" entrepreneur into a logical, data-driven business leader. He also explores the important role mentors and partners played in his accomplishments, reinforcing his belief that entrepreneurship is a team sport. Full of instructive insights, Stay Thirsty is both a celebration of entrepreneurial ambition and a call to accept the risk, take the plunge, and write your own story.

Author: Mark Haertzen
Publisher: Old Stone Press
Published: 03/24/2026
Pages: 574
Binding Type: Paperback
Weight: 2.25lbs
Size: 9.00h x 6.00w x 1.56d
ISBN: 9781938462832


Review Citation(s):
IndieReader 03/26/2026
Foreword 03/25/2026

About the Author
Haertzen, Mark: - Mark Haertzen is a native of Lexington, Kentucky and a graduate of the University of Kentucky. During his 60-year entrepreneurial journey, Haertzen conceived more than fifty businesses, inventions, concepts, and charitable endeavors, some of which ended well and others that didn't. They include a drive-thru coffee shop, marketing service, real estate brokerage firm, residential subdivision, technology company, appliance manufacturer, line of cocktail mixes, board game, and a chain of self-storage facilities. Rocket Man, Inc. was his most significant venture and Stay Thirsty is his most recent endeavor. When Haertzen isn't writing or working on his next business venture, he enjoys playing poker, boating, and sitting on the beach. Mark lives with his wife, Debbie, in LaGrange, Kentucky. They have two grown sons and a granddaughterBrown, Mike E.: - Mike E. Brown, (a.k.a. Browny), a freelance writer in Louisville, KY, helped Mark write this book. Brown has won numerous awards, including more than 80 ADDY's during his diverse career. As a contributor to Stay Thirsty, Mike brought his own passion for entrepreneurship to the project.