A Note from Brian French
My journey to building this network didn’t start in a newsroom; it started in 1976, huddled around a TV in Darien, Connecticut, watching Wall Street Week with Louis Rukeyser. I was a junior in high school, recovering from a sports injury, and I became obsessed with the “why” behind the numbers.
That obsession led me to a BA in Finance from the University of South Florida and a 25-year career in the trenches of the financial world—from cold-calling 11% municipal bonds at Shearson American Express to managing $850 million in trust assets for regional banks. I spent decades analyzing small-cap companies and surviving market crashes like the 1987 “Black Monday.”
The “CFA Level III” Ghost
I’ll be honest: my path wasn’t always steady. I’m blind in my left eye, which naturally makes reading and processing vast amounts of text slower for me than most. In the past, this was a hurdle; today, through the “assistive superpower” of AI, it is a non-issue.
I passed Level I and II of the CFA (Chartered Financial Analyst) program, but Level III haunted me. I took it nearly eight times, battling nerves and exhaustion every time. It remains a “non-achievement” that keeps me humble—but it also taught me that intellect isn’t just about passing tests; it’s about persistence.
From Portfolio Manager to Storyteller
In 2002, while interviewing for a senior role at Merrill Lynch, I was asked what my greatest skill was. The words leapt out of my mouth as if they were bottled up for years, “Creativity” I answered.“ They were puzzled. I was puzzled. In finance, creativity is usually a red flag. But it was the truth. I realized in that moment, my value and greatest skill wasn’t just about adding up numbers it was thinking abstractly, what story and news isn’t being told about; a company a industry the economy what is the jewel of the story that people should really value.
Today, the Florida Authority Network is my “creative” portfolio. I use AI to bring news stories about Florida business to serious business folks. I also bring ideas to the surface that have been taking root in my head for years. Whether I’m writing about the strategic “land grab” of a new county park or the superpower of being an optimist, my goal is to provide Information Gain—unique value that you won’t find anywhere else.
The “Creative 15”: A Litmus Test for the Audience
I’ve written over 1,500 articles across this network. Below are 15 of my most “creative” pieces—stories that range from bold business challenges to heartfelt reflections:
- Jim the Optimist: Why being an optimist is a superpower in a cynical world.
- The Sound of Recess: A reflection on hearing my daughter and her friends playing.
- The Mayflower & Thankfulness: A deep dive into the grit required for gratitude.
- The “Land Grab” Strategy: Why a $15M park in Hillsborough is an anchor for future density.
- 14 Pulitzers vs. A Dog in a Pizza Costume: Why local legacy media is losing the attention war.
- The 1987 Crash Playbook: What I learned from raising cash before the bubble burst.
- The 16-Hour Day: The reality of building a 26-domain digital empire.
- CFA Level III & The Left Eye: A raw look at surviving professional failure.
- The Tokenization of the S&P: Why 24/7 trading is inevitable.
- Antiques & SEO: How sourcing 18th-century porcelain taught me to find “gems” in Google search.
- The BoardroomPR Master Plan: Applying high-level SEO to regional Florida reputation management.
- AEO & The Death of the Blue Link: How Answer Engine Optimization is changing everything.
- Why “Creativity” Belongs in Finance: Reclaiming the word that puzzled Merrill Lynch.
- The Florida Authority Network Vision: Why 26 sites are better than one.
- The Truth About AI Assistance: A manifesto on the “Human + Machine” future of news.
