A Letter from John Cannon: Transitioning Leadership at SENT Ventures

In 2019, I made the hardest decision of my life - to discern out of the monastery. I felt drawn to start something for Catholic entrepreneurs. So, I moved into my aunt's 1970s-styled basement in Virginia. At the time, I had no idea what this concept would become.

I was inspired by saint founders who renewed faith in their time to transform the world around them. Because of them, I believed that faith-forward entrepreneurship could be a vehicle for transformation of hearts, lives, and society.

I had a dream to empower a generation of saintly builders seeking to build companies and organizations guided by their faith and a hunger of excellence. But, to be honest, I had no idea how to do that. 

Moreover, since I’d been in the monastery for almost 8 years, I found that business, media, technology and more had changed radically in that time. I had a lot to learn (and re-learn). I had to build new relationships in a space totally foreign to me. And since I’d taken a vow of poverty prior to that, I had no financial resources to hire a team or even pay contractors (or even my own rent). 

But I somehow knew in my heart that it’s where I was being led. And I could do nothing else than follow that pull. 

Five years, many missteps and some successes later, we’ve been blessed to serve over 1,000 founders and CEOs through SENT. The SENT Summit which attracted almost 400 founders, CEOs, and investors this last year has become a flourishing gathering place for Catholic entrepreneurial leaders. 

We spun out the first pitch competition for startups that advance Catholic values and the first angel network (SENT Angels) to invest in these startups. And we hope to collaborate even more with other partners and allies to establish an ecosystem where Catholic entrepreneurship can thrive. 

During this time, I’ve learned a lot about myself. I thrive in seeing a vision and then creating. I’m at my best when I can create something new propelled with faith and serves a real human or spiritual need. Often I feel powerfully pulled or drawn to these projects rather than trying to force them.

For this reason, I’ve been hopeful to identify a leader who would be a better fit to lead SENT’s growth to its next stage. 

For the past several years, I’ve been encouraging Nick Madden to become more involved in SENT leadership. Nick joined one of the first SENT Fellowship cohorts in the early days of COVID when his in-person escape room business was threatened to shut down. SENT became a nourishing lifeline to him during this time and he poured into it as much as he received, helping many other founders grow. He continued his transformation of building daily spiritual routines, designing his business with values, and becoming more involved in SENT. 

As CEO of Red Door Escape Room, Nick has led the company from one store to 19 stores nationally and built a team of over 400 employees who have served over 1 million customers. He knows how to build great teams and grow companies aligned with his faith. Moreover, Nick has held multiple leadership roles in SENT the past two years and has deep knowledge of our mission and community. 

For this reason, I couldn’t imagine a better leader to take SENT to the next level. I’m excited to announce that Nick will be taking over from me as CEO of SENT this January. 

I’ll continue to remain actively involved in SENT’s mission on the Board of Directors and with a particular focus on organizational strategy, advocacy, and the SENT Summit. 

I’m also excited to invest more of my energy into other areas of the Catholic entrepreneurship ecosystem, such as the investor community. Also, I hope to continue sharing about the wisdom of the Christian monastic tradition with a wider audience through the media platform, Monk Mindset.

Lastly, I’m so grateful for all the support and encouragement I’ve received in this journey, especially the SENT members and community leaders who have committed to this mission, our Board, benefactors, teammates – former and current, and my family. 

Let’s continue to build this ecosystem together! SENT is an incredible organization and mission – I encourage you to find a way to be involved.

Please know my continued prayers and support for all connected to this mission and don’t hesitate to reach out if I may be of service to you. 

I remain grateful for the past, excited for the present moment, and hopeful for the future, 

John