Starting companies from scratch the right way with Andrew Wright

November 20, 2025

Andrew Wright is the founder of three companies: Franklin Street, a full-service commercial real estate firm with more than $7 billion in transaction volume over 20 years; private equity firm Ally Capital Group; and Next Level Brands, a hospitality/dining company. On this episode, Business Observer Managing Editor Mark Gordon and Andrew talked about his humble and blue-collar origin story, which led him to put a premium on work ethic and hustle. They also talked about what he looks for in leaders and his biggest investment regrets.

3 Takeaways

(10:44) Anchor in your vision, but not at the expense of personal integrity
(13:04) Leaders need to be the guarantor of culture
(17:04) Profit and growth are often on opposite ends of the spectrum

Timestamps

(00:00) Introducing Andrew Wright, founder and chairman, Franklin Street
(06:44) What are you primarily working on right now?
(08:44) What does leadership mean to you?
(10:44) Holding people accountable
(13:19) Leadership advice
(16:44) Decisions that shaped Franklin Street
(18:24) Being patient
(22:14) Storytelling in leadership
(23:19) Anything you would want a mulligan on?
(25:49) What are you looking forward to in 2026?

Join us every week as we interview business leaders to learn what makes them great, what they look for in growing leaders and much more.