I learned how to live off the land and snow. For many years we had to haul our own water from the local fire station (until we drilled a well) and often times I would miss school because our long road had fallen trees, deep snow, or was simply too icy to drive. 

My family wasn't poor, but we weren't wealthy, either. We worked for everything we had. We hunted for our food as my family had since they moved there in the 1960s. Being immersed in nature was a way of life up there, and everything in Alaska is expensive compared to the lower 48... so hunting, fishing and gathering berries are very normalized traditions.

My sisters and I grew up taking care of our father when we visited him. He was wheelchair-bound by the time I was 7 or 8 years old. It forced me to mature at a young age. My stepdad was an amazing provider, but was never home due to his job. So often times it was just my mom, sisters and I. We grew to a family of 5 kids and living up there is a family effort... we all played a part!

Ty Newman's Moose "Swamp" Buggy​. It has 52-inch tractor tires and rear steering. Eagle River, Alaska.

Other than that, my childhood was fairly normal! I played all kinds of sports and did regular school activities. I even took 12 years of Spanish Immersion (I used to be fluent). I Graduated high school in 2013 and began my college journey.

Malia & Brent Burcham , Christmas Engagement, 2015

I worked hard and lost 75 lbs, and decided to start a real estate investing company. We specialized in wholesaling homes in the Tucson area.

This is when I  first got experience with building websites. I built 5 different websites for the Real Estate business. I got very good at it and when we started paying for ads, leads were converting for us.

I was so burnt out at maintaining the business. We spent wayyy too much money through online gurus (through funnels, ironically).

Malia Burcham Riding MTB in Sedona, Arizona with Cathedral Rock in the background.

After 5 months into my pregnancy, I couldn't coach any more... and I was the head coach! We were simply out of work and decided to start fresh and put the MTB business on pause while we explored our options online. That's what led me to e-commerce.

I purchased a dropshipping course for $2,000 and dove into the training. I must have started 10 stores (and Shopify websites) until I finally came across a pregnancy product that I liked and began seeing income.

This is when I decided to see what funnels were all about again to boost sales.

One of Malia Burcham's first offer mockup as a Funnel Builder

But something deep within me told me that I knew I had to do this. Not just for me or my husband... but for my baby girl. I remember feeling so exhausted from being post-partum...  but I had to do this.

Brent was always supportive of ideas like this, but this time was different. He was nervous about the investment and rightfully so. I was spending money we didn't have all on a leap of faith investment.

I promised him that since there is a 30-day guarantee, if I don't get a client by day 25, I'll request our money back.

Malia Burcham holding up her first certifications, 2022

I remember telling my in-laws for the first time about this new venture... and I was so nervous. My entire 20s I worked and worked and worked, yet struggled making a business successful enough to sustain us.

Malia Burcham, Marchello Sciortino, and Brooke Giroux
​Funnel Hacking Live 2023 at Orlando, Florida

I brought in a project manager to help me manage clients, a graphic designer to help me create beautiful textures and awesome mockups, a copywriter and most recently, another funnel certified funnel builder. 

In 2024 we achieved the GOLD certification level by ClickFunnels. And I couldn't be more proud of my team and the people we've served.

At Funnel Fuse we've realized it's not just about building funnels; it's about crafting journeys, and every day, I'm grateful for the opportunity to share this passion with others.