There are men who build businesses from opportunity, and there are men who build them from pressure. Dan Nieto knows pressure.
Before he was CEO and founder of Powerhouse Investing Group, before the capital raises, the portfolio, he spent years learning what happens when you stay steady while everything around you is moving. That lesson began long before P.I.G.
Nieto spent 26 years in the mortgage industry, building a career and learning how money moves. One of those investments was in a friend’s first restaurant in Orange County, California. When the opportunity came to fund a second location, the amount was too large for him to take on alone, so he brought a few friends with him. Then the SEC called.
If he was going to raise money, he needed to be licensed. So, the intent was to get licensed for one single restaurant.
And, what followed was something far greater.
Friends began investing together in vodka, solar, coffee, liver care and other companies. In less than three years, Powerhouse Investing Group has raised more than $15 million in capital, with a portfolio Nieto says is valued at more than $500 million at Exit values.
But numbers alone don’t explain or encapsulate Powerhouse. Trust does.
P.I.G. was built around the idea that accredited investors should have access to diversified opportunities without being locked into six-figure minimums. By pooling capital, the group can create entry points across companies and sectors. Yet as the business has grown, Nieto has protected something he refuses to sacrifice: the feeling that this is personal.
It started with a handful of friends. Then his wife, Jessica, stepped in.
Nieto has been married to Jessica for 18 years, and when P.I.G. began growing faster than he could carry alone, she became COO.
“She has been the most valuable asset our company has ever and will ever have,” he says.
Today, the leadership team includes a CFO, head of marketing, a large legal team, board of directors and several key leaders Nieto describes as some of the smartest men and women he knows. More importantly, many are close friends, people he trusts. That matters to a man whose life has been shaped by knowing who’s beside him when the pressure hits.
Nieto began training in jiu jitsu in 2013. What started with a friend encouraging him to compete became a relentless pursuit. He went on to become an eight-time national champion, three-time Pan American champion and world champion. In 2023 and 2024, he earned No. 1 world rankings in the super heavyweight and absolute divisions in both Gi and No Gi.
And you know what? Jiu jitsu does not reward panic.
It rewards preparation. Patience. Discipline. The ability to remain calm when another person is trying to force you into a position you never intended to be in.
Those same qualities now sit at the center of Powerhouse.
The group partners with a dozen companies including Golden Eagle Vodka, De-Liver-Ance, Elevest Capital, Strong Coffee, AKKRUSH bone broth and Land Run Whiskey. Every other Friday, Nieto hosts an Investor Hour of Power at P.I.G. headquarters near Moxies, where people gather to talk strategy, build relationships and sample portfolio offerings.
But the deeper story isn’t what Powerhouse is building. It’s what Dan wants that success to make possible.
Some investments are intensely personal. One portfolio company is connected to curing hepatitis (VIRION). Another focuses on liver care, (De-Liver-ance) a mission that carries weight after Nieto lost his mentor and best friend to liver cancer.
Then there is P.I.G CARES.
Through his foundation, the community has raised more than $155,000 for people in need, including $55,000 raised in 24 hours for Gold Star families. P.I.G. also sponsors young athletes in Southlake, supports 413 Jiu Jitsu professor Pedro Rocha and Dallas-based Jesus and Jiu Jitsu, and has hosted PIGFEST in Southlake for three years.
At home, Dan and Jessica are raising daughters Serenity, 22, and Stella, 14. Their life is filled with Southlake dinners, summer days on the boat and family trips to Mexico.
It’s a softer picture than strangers sometimes expect.
Dan knows his impression can be intimidating. He has heard “scary looking” more than once. Then you sit across from him.
And he talks about his wife. His girls. His team. His friend who died. The families his foundation has helped. The people he hopes will build wealth because he opened a door.
Suddenly, Powerhouse makes sense.
This was never simply about money. It was about building something strong enough to hold other people’s dreams alongside his own.
His biggest financial goal is to someday give away $1 million every year.
Because Dan already knows what he wants left behind when the deals are done and the numbers no longer matter.
Not how much was made.
But how many lives were impacted because he was here.