Jacob Marlega

As a Co-Founder and our original Chief Grower, Jacob is extremely passionate about mushrooms. In 2015 he moved to Colorado from his home state of Wisconsin. Jacob started as a mushroom farm intern at The GrowHaus, a local non-profit concerned with food security and food education.

He then moved back to Wisconsin to start working at Palm’s Mushroom Cellar, with Ned Palm, who is a legendary mushroom grower in the area. He spent two years with Ned, learning a tremendous amount about fungi growing on a commercial scale.

However, the mountains were irresistible and Jacob finally moved back - building and operating his own small scale mushroom farm in Castle Rock, Colorado. After reaching max capacity in retrofitted semi-trailers, Jacob recognized the need for a professional commercial operation and eventually attracted the interest of an angel investor. Jacob’s Mushrooms was started and the rest is history.

Jacob lives and breathes mushrooms and is a driving force behind our growing efforts and the quality of product that we grow.

Bruce Pelz

Co-Founder and Chief Operating Officer Bruce grew up in Boulder, Colorado and attended the University of Colorado for his B.A. in Environmental Studies. He received honors for his thesis on The Future Environmental Views of Children across Cultures and Socioeconomic Class. Since 2012 Bruce has been part of founding the Maji Safi Group (a non-profit focused on preventing water born diseases) and lived in Tanzania for over six years. Bruce has held many different positions within the organization, including his role as President since 2015 and is a member of the Forbes Non-Profit Council.

In addition to Bruce's non-profit work, he also has experience overseeing private investments, managing properties and supporting start-up organizations such as Jacob's Mushrooms.