EPISODE 117

Using Persistence to Pierce Through

John Ruffolo

Founder, Managing Partner, Maverix Private Equity

July 27, 2022

John chats with us from his place in Toronto. John comes from a family – like many of us – that left their country in poverty to make a better life in a new place. John tells us about growing up, living and working in a cocoon of a 2km radius… until he began to poke a hole in his bubble.

In the 90s, John worked relentlessly for his firm fulfilling his billable hours, but spending 1000 hours / year trying to build a business with future tech-giants like Microsoft and Oracle. But before they were giants John bet his future on this space, perplexing all of his superiors… until the tech space exploded and he became the authority in the country in this industry.

We discuss being on top of the world… until his firm became embroiled global scandal and he lost everything. We discuss in detail a horrific accident, near-death, his comatose state… until Pavarotti, a stage, a white light and the perennial chip on his shoulder brought us to this conversation. Talk about piercing holes in the universe…

John Ruffolo:

Website: https://www.maverixpe.com/

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/joruffolo/

TW: https://twitter.com/ruffoloj