Background
Marcus specializes in business startup cost analysis and small business economics across US metropolitan areas. He combines academic training in business economics with firsthand operating experience โ Marcus founded two small businesses (a coffee shop in Austin and an online retail venture in Denver) before transitioning to research, which gives him direct insight into how location affects everything from lease deposits to working capital requirements. His research focuses on the intersection of local regulations, labor markets, and commercial real estate pricing, and he has consulted with the Small Business Administration on regional cost benchmarking for new-venture programs.
Education
- MBA2019UT Austin McCombs School of Business
- B.S. Business Administration2013Arizona State University
Areas of Expertise
Coverage at CostOfCity
Business startup cost guides for 301+ cities across 12 business types
Editorial Independence
Marcus Rivera's work at CostOfCity follows our editorial policy: cost estimates are sourced from federal data, peer-reviewed by our team, and never influenced by advertisers, cities, or service providers. See our full methodology for how city-level numbers are calculated.