Athletics to academics: Marco Notarainni tackles entrepreneurship

Marco Notarainni, starting linebacker for the Boise State Broncos, has a passion for athletics that transcends his time on Blue Turf. In addition to his role as a football player, Notarainni is also a successful entrepreneur, with a business setting out to help student-athletes across the country.

Notarainni can't remember a time when he didn't play football. His love for the game came from the relationships he built - he still stays in contact with teammates he played with in Pop Warner [a national youth football organization] and at Torrey Pines High School in San Diego. "Lifelong relationships are super important to me," Notarainni said. "I have carried that with me and know I will continue to do so after Boise State."

As a Top 10 Scholar, Notarainni maintained a 3.95 GPA while pursuing a degree in business administration with an emphasis in entrepreneurship and project management. "Being able to manage athletics alongside academics is difficult and stressful. It took a lot of plug and play and testing things out so that they work," Notarainni said. "You're going to need a lot of help along the way and reaching out to leaders, coaches and captains to learn how to improve as an athlete goes hand in hand with how you get better as a student and as a professional."

A self-described passionate, consistent and curious leader, Notarainni brings this same mindset to his entrepreneurial pursuits.

After the NCAA introduced name, image and likeness regulations in 2021, Notarainni and his brother, Thomas Notarainni - also a collegiate football player at the University of Colorado Boulder - co-founded Wealth Intel, LLC. The company seeks to help student-athletes, given their rights to control and profit from the commercial use of their name, image and personal brand.

Notarainni credits Boise State with providing a solid foundation for understanding the complexities within this space.

"Boise State has done a fantastic job helping student-athletes navigate this landscape," Notarainni said. "Their commitment to excellence in this area has played a huge role in my journey."

Notarainni graduated in spring 2025 and returned to the Blue Turf for the fall 2025 season to finish his collegiate football career. During this time, he participated in the Venture College Incubator program, where he focused on launching a mobile app to help student-athletes budget, do their taxes and otherwise manage finances.

"In addition to being able to recognize and pursue an important opportunity, success as a founder requires discipline, persistence, situational awareness and adaptability. Marco demonstrated all of these," said George Mulhern, former CEO of Cradlepoint and a Venture College instructor.

"The Incubator put a magnifying glass on our business model and gave us the ability to validate that we were taking the right steps with our business," Notarainni added. "It was helpful to build new connections and have George and the other instructors impart their experience and wisdom in the entrepreneur space. I've loved working with Venture College; the family atmosphere was really special."

After completing the incubator program, WealthIntel took its next major step by collaborating with Boise State's Athletic Department and Bronco Professional Resources Organization [or BroncoPRO, a centralized NIL and revenue-sharing solution for Boise State's student-athletes] to pilot the app with 48 student-athletes from the football and men's basketball teams. Together, they logged 42 NIL deals that further validated the product. WealthIntel is now using the pilot's results and athlete feedback to determine what a long-term partnership with Boise State may look like - and scale to other universities.

According to Bronco football head coach Spencer Danielson, Notarainni's leadership will take him wherever he wants to go.

"Marco is a guy who cares," Danielson said. "Whether it's assisting his teammates on the field or helping others navigate the changing landscape of college athletics, he's always there to be a leader. We're so proud of Marco. He consistently shows what it means to be a Bronco in all aspects of the student-athlete experience."

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