Brent Franklin
Brent Franklin's career in the oilfield did not start in a boardroom. It started on a drilling rig.
After serving in the United States Navy, Franklin spent his twenties working hands-on in the patch, on the rig floor, around the iron, learning the business the way the best operators in Texas have always learned it: from the ground up. The lessons that came out of those years, how a well actually gets drilled, what a good crew looks like, how problems show up downhole and how they get solved, are still the foundation of how he runs capital today.
From the rig floor, Franklin built his way up. He moved into ownership, into operations, and eventually into capital, founding and growing Rise Capital Group and the Energy Flex Fund, an allocation-style co-investment vehicle that has quickly become one of the more talked-about new structures in the oil and gas alternatives space. Along the way, he has built out a vertically integrated platform that includes RISE Drilling and Well Services, the company's in-house rig fleet, and Texas Operating Partners, the operating arm staffed with engineers, geologists, and production professionals who run the wells the fund participates in.
Today, Franklin is widely regarded as one of the fastest-growing entrepreneurs in oil and gas, with a portfolio that spans operated and non-operated working interests, re-completions, new drills, and acquired production across South Texas. He has drilled successful wells, divested assets to publicly traded buyers, and turned down substantial offers on projects he believes still have meaningful upside ahead of them.
His track record is rooted in something the industry respects: he has done every job in the chain. From the deck plates of the Navy, to the doghouse on a drilling rig, to managing capital on behalf of accredited participants who trust him with their portfolios, the through-line has always been the same. Build something real. Drill good wells. Take care of your partners. And keep going.
By every available indication, there are no signs of him slowing down.