Behind the Inc. 5000: Patrick Dillon on WISE's Growth

Since announcing our third consecutive appearance on the Inc. 5000, I've received questions from clients, colleagues, agency owners, and other business leaders about what the ranking means and what it took to achieve it.

Some are questions about the award itself. Others are really questions about growth, leadership, and building a business that lasts.

Here are my answers.

Q1. Congratulations! What's the first thing that went through your mind when you found out WISE made the Inc. 5000 for a third consecutive year?

This is where most people expect me to say I was excited. And I was. But my first thought wasn't about the ranking. It was about the people who made it possible. I thought about our team. I thought about the clients who trusted a relatively young agency with their businesses. And I thought about how difficult sustained growth actually is.

One year can happen. Three consecutive years requires consistency. That's what makes this recognition meaningful to me.

Q2. Is making the Inc. 5000 three years in a row very different from making it once?

Absolutely.

Making it once proves you experienced significant growth. Making it three consecutive years suggests you've built something capable of sustaining that growth.

Every year you're growing from a larger foundation. Every year expectations are higher. Every year your systems, people, and leadership are tested differently. That's why I think consistency tells a more meaningful story than any single ranking ever could.

Q3. What's one decision you believe had the biggest impact on WISE's growth?

Choosing specialization. Early on we made a decision not to become another agency trying to serve everyone. Instead, we focused on becoming exceptional for professional services and home services businesses.

That decision influenced everything. Who we hired. How we built our processes. What expertise we developed. What content we created. What technology we invested in. Focus creates clarity. And clarity creates stronger results.

Q4. Many agencies try to offer everything. Why didn't WISE?

Because saying yes to everyone usually means becoming average at everything.

I'd rather be known as the agency that truly understands a few industries than one that claims to understand every industry. When our strategists sit down with an accounting firm or an HVAC company, they're not starting from zero. They already understand the competitive landscape, customer behavior, common challenges, and what success actually looks like.

That experience compounds over time. I think our clients feel the difference.

Q5. Has the definition of great marketing changed since you started WISE?

Completely.

When we launched, most conversations centered on websites, SEO, and paid advertising. Those still matter. But today, visibility means something much bigger. People are asking ChatGPT. They're asking Gemini. They're using AI before they ever visit Google.

Businesses need to be discoverable across an entirely new ecosystem. That's changing how we think about authority, trust, and content strategy. It's one of the biggest shifts I've seen in my career.

Q6. What's something business owners misunderstand about growth?

They often assume growth is the result of one big decision. In reality, it's usually hundreds of small decisions made consistently over time. Hiring the right person. Improving one process. Listening to clients. Refining your positioning. Making your website a little better. Writing another article. Following up one more time.

Growth compounds. That's true for marketing. It's true for leadership. It's true for businesses.

Q7. What metric matters most to you today?

Retention. Revenue is important. Growth is important. But retention tells you whether you're consistently delivering value.

Clients don't stay because of presentations. They stay because their businesses continue growing. When clients choose to work with us year after year, that's one of the strongest indicators that we're doing something right.

Q8. What's the biggest lesson you've learned over the past three years?

Don't confuse momentum with permanence. Success can create the illusion that you've figured everything out.

In reality, every stage of growth introduces new challenges. The companies that keep growing are usually the ones that stay curious. They keep learning. They continue adapting. They don't assume yesterday's strategy will automatically work tomorrow.

That's something we remind ourselves of constantly.

Q9. So...what happens next?

Tomorrow we go back to work. That's really the answer. Awards are wonderful moments to celebrate. But they don't build next year's business. The work does.

Our focus remains exactly where it's always been. Helping professional services and home services businesses grow through better strategy, stronger execution, and a willingness to stay ahead of where marketing is going.

The ranking recognizes where we've been. Our attention is already on where we're going next.

WISE Digital Partners was named to the Inc. 5000 for the third consecutive year in 2026. See our Inc. 5000 profile or read the full announcement.