🎙️ John Frankel: From Goldman Sachs Trading Floor to Manufacturing Renaissance – Building FF Venture Capital’s Success
In this compelling episode, John Frankel, founding partner at FF Venture Capital, shares his remarkable journey from being bottom of his class to Oxford mathematics and philosophy, then conquering Goldman Sachs’ trading floor for 21 years before founding one of the best-performing seed-stage venture firms. Through personal stories of overcoming insecurity, losing his father, and building a 0% failure rate portfolio, John reveals his bold prediction for America’s manufacturing renaissance and why he believes we’re entering a Cambrian explosion of innovation. From energy transformation to AI-enabled manufacturing, John demonstrates how contrarian thinking and force of will can reshape entire industries.
✨ Key Insights You’ll Learn:
Career transformation from insecure student to Oxford success through naive persistence
Trading floor mastery: synthesizing research across all industries for 60+ hedge fund clients daily
Venture capital thesis: founder-friendly approach achieving 50% pre-seed to Series B success rate
Manufacturing renaissance prediction: AI and robotics enabling US production revival
Energy sector revolution: demand growth from 0.5% to 4% annually driving massive opportunities
Nuclear power comeback: small modular reactors and thorium technology advancement
Investment philosophy: businesses over services, early revenue validation, barrier building
Portfolio performance: 11% companies reaching $100M revenue vs industry <1% average
Personal resilience: honoring deceased father through entrepreneurship and family expansion
Human potential belief: anyone can achieve anything with proper mindset and force of will
🌟 John’s Key Mentors & Influences:
Oxford Career Counselor: Provided pivotal advice leading to chartered accountant path and business foundation
Goldman Sachs Colleague: Recognized Goldman’s potential when John received lowest-paying offer
Michael Duhman (Oxford Professor): Wickham Professor of Logic who provided intellectual validation and confidence
Leslie Frankel (Father): Entrepreneur role model whose death inspired John’s business founding decision
Trading Floor Environment: Intense pace developing mental plasticity and synthesis capabilities
Hedge Fund Clients: Stanley Druckenmiller and others demanding high-value daily insights
👉 Don’t miss this inspiring conversation about venture capital excellence, manufacturing transformation, and how personal adversity fuels professional innovation in America’s next industrial revolution.
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