Brent Franklin

Brent Franklin is from Cut and Shoot, Texas. School of Hard Knocks describes him as leaving school in ninth grade and doing lawn work among his early jobs.⁠[1][2]

His official biography describes U.S. Navy service, oilfield work in his twenties, and subsequent business ownership.⁠[3]

In a public account of his business history, Franklin dated the start of Rise Petroleum to 2019 and described participating in a natural gas project in Lavaca County.⁠[4]

Local reporting on the Conroe oilfield identified him as Rise Capital’s president. Photographs taken at the field on September 26 documented his company’s involvement in local drilling activity.⁠[1]

He signed Energy Flex Fund 1 LP’s Form D as corporate secretary. It listed a $100 million offering, zero securities sold and no first sale yet. The amount described a proposed offering, rather than $100 million already raised.⁠[5]

Houston Chronicle reported that West University Place sued DV1 LLC over events at the “Darth Vader house.” Franklin was identified as a former tenant and company representative. The city alleged zoning violations; DV1 denied the allegations.⁠[6]

The Texas Fourteenth Court of Appeals affirmed a judgment in the contract dispute between Rise Petroleum Investments and Workover Solutions. Its opinion states that Franklin signed the services agreement as president. The jury awarded $45,183.82 in damages and $142,000 in attorney fees against the company over unpaid services.⁠[7]

An amended Energy Flex Fund 1 LP filing reported $21,752,000 sold to 180 investors and dated the first sale to December 22, 2023. Franklin again signed as corporate secretary.⁠[8]

School of Hard Knocks Podcast published an approximately 1-hour-51-minute interview. Its description covers his early low-paid work, oil-well business setbacks, litigation experiences and efforts to rebuild his businesses.⁠[2]

He appeared on episode 217 of Energy Transition Solutions, hosted by Joe Batir, discussing energy project finance, vertical integration, marketing and risk. The episode runs approximately 26 minutes.⁠[9]

The latest verified amendment updated securities sold to $31,259,714 and the investor count to 258, while retaining the $100 million offering amount. These are issuer-reported figures filed with the SEC, not Franklin’s personal net worth or SEC endorsement of the investment.⁠[10]

Rise Capital Group identifies him as founder and president and describes drilling and operating businesses including RISE Drilling and Well Services and Texas Operating Partners. Marketing Hero separately lists him as chief executive; its services include lead generation, marketing, automation and media production.⁠[3][11]

Rise Capital’s disclosures describe private offerings for accredited investors and identify illiquidity, commodity price, geological and operational risks, including potential loss of the entire investment. Promotional targets and return statements do not constitute guaranteed returns.⁠[12]

Company and biographical information is available from Rise Capital Group at https://risecapitalgroup.com/ (opens in a new window) and Marketing Hero at https://marketinghero.us/ (opens in a new window). Energy Flex Fund 1 LP’s SEC filings and the interviews cited above provide additional public records of his business activity.⁠[3][11][10]