Co-founder of US Digital Partners, a marketing agency in Cincinnati, OH, faithful husband of 23 years, and a father to five, David Brecount knows a thing or two about balancing the drive for business success with the drive for holiness. As he likes to put it, “holy ambition” is the key to living out an entrepreneurial calling with faith.

For several years now, David has been active in the SENT Network, contributing his wisdom and enthusiasm to our community. Check out our conversation:

What inspired you to found US Digital Partners?

Since the World Wide Web went live in the early nineties, I was hooked. Business would never be the same, but it would still take companies years to figure that out. For Lent in 1995, I gave up cable TV, built my own computer with a friend, and bought a website-building program at my local geek store. The first site I created was for The Catholic Men's Fellowship in Cincinnati, Ohio, and it was one of many factors in getting over 10,000 men to our conference the next year. My discovery was that digital marketing works, and what I did as a Lenten sacrifice changed my life.

The starting of US Digital Partners was really a continuation of my original love for the web. My amateur experience in new technologies miraculously landed me a job at a consulting firm working with Fortune 1000 companies who were trying to capitalize on the web, or at least not be crushed by a new startup (Borders Books vs. Amazon). Consulting gave me a tremendous amount of business experience and reinforced that large companies really don't know what they are doing.

To many people, 2002 was a long time ago. We were in a deep recession after the "dot-com" stock market bubble burst, September 11th had just happened, and our country was at war in Afghanistan. I was laid off by my consulting firm and had little choice but to make a run at starting my own thing. Many would-be entrepreneurs have dreams of starting a new venture on their terms, but my story is more about the collision of desire and desperation.

In my experience, digital agencies were having all the fun planning, designing, and building on the web and I wanted to do that work. As a consultant, we hired small agencies to bring our "brilliant ideas" to life. Strategists, designers, and coders working together was a beautiful thing and I wanted to do that important work for small businesses in America. So US Digital Partners (USDP), the small agency with a big name, was launched. The name was inspired by patriotism, and by partnering with our clients to accomplish their big digital goals. In my crazy mind, 2002 was the perfect time to build a company on the web when everyone else was running for the hills.

What is the mission and vision of US Digital Partners?

Many of our clients suffer from the same lack of momentum in their marketing. A stale brand, a trickle of new business, ineffective or no advertising. Most of our clients know where they need to go, but how do you scale what you don’t have? If you want different results, you need to do something different.

USDP is an execution marketing agency, helping companies accomplish more. We tend to spend less time on brand strategy than traditional agencies, and more time crafting real marketing campaigns. For two decades we’ve planned, executed, measured, and grown marketing for over 800 companies. As an execution agency, we partner with leaders to give their brand a fresh start. We invest in year-over-year relationships with our clients, so they have a bench of marketing professionals on their team.

What’s your biggest lesson from this journey so far?

Ever since I determined that my vocation was not to work within the Church, but to be a saint in the marketplace, I've been aiming for "holy ambition" with my career. Ambition is not a virtue, in fact, it's a vice. But how do you sanctify that drive to achieve?

With the help of a great team, we've built an agency that helps our clients grow and an agency that helps our families thrive. I wanted and needed to be present to my family and deeply involved in their formation, so I didn't pursue growth at all costs. Instead, we pursued deep partnerships with companies whose mission we could support and clients who are coachable. Some would call this "work / life balance," but it's so much more. It's a proper perspective on my vocation as an adopted son of God, husband, father, neighbor, and CEO.

What has been the biggest challenge as a founder? Where have you seen the Lord at work in your company?

Patience has been the biggest challenge. Starting a business and persevering over 22 years requires patience with myself, co-owners, team members, clients, everyone! Many times, you don't have any choice but to be patient and wait for circumstances to shift. This seems to be true in all aspects of life.

The Lord closed many doors in my life that gave me the freedom to pursue US Digital Partners. It wasn't a crystal clear calling at all, but a gentle invitation that would require humility, patience, and holy ambition. Discerning His will for me and the company is a constant struggle, but that's what He asks of everyone. From the beginning, our company has always been His work, for His glory. USDP is not an explicitly Catholic company, but since the beginning, we have tried to use the principles of Judeo-Christian virtue to guide us.

How have you benefited from the SENT community?

I love meeting people who are in SENT. The members are in it for all the right reasons – to grow in holiness, to struggle with big issues, to support fellow Catholics, and to not be alone in business. Leadership is a crown of thorns and we shouldn't be alone.

The SENT community has been a blessing. I've worked with these people, prayed with these people, and received a lot of good insights from these people.

One example of SENT community support is an idea that came from one of my fellowship members. He had started a virtual prayer group with his company for anyone who wanted to participate. Invite everyone, but certainly don't require participation. Now I’ve implemented his idea with my company. At 8:45 a.m. every Wednesday, we have a Google Meet to pray together for roughly ten minutes. We keep a Google Doc list of company, client, and personal intentions, and a list of prayers answered that we are grateful for. This is just one more way to internalize that we are doing the Lord's work, and to realize that He's on our team and making things happen.

Do you have any advice for others on a journey similar to yours?

Surrender your company to Jesus and consecrate yourself to Mary. SENT can connect you to some very good people who can help. It's up to you to get and stay connected to them.

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Did you enjoy hearing David’s story? Learn more about the SENT community by checking out our membership, following us on social, or reading more posts like this one.

Thank you, David, for being on the blog!

Harnessing Holy Ambition: Meet David Brecount