With a background in coaching collegiate and high school basketball, Austin Durrett knew he was destined for something more. While he loved coaching and had immense admiration for his community of fellow coaches, he felt a deeper calling. As Durrett recalls, “I didn’t know what I wanted to do. I thought maybe ministry, possibly corporate sales—I really didn’t know. I just knew I wanted to be somebody.”

After becoming a client of a financial brokerage in the small East Texas town of Athens, he began to recognize the opportunities within the financial services industry. Despite having no background in finance, Durrett was drawn to the leadership aspect of opening and running his own business. He started part-time and quickly surpassed his full-time coaching income. Within a few short months, he transitioned to full-time and began his journey toward becoming a regional vice president with the company. Four years later, he had opened his own agency and built a six-figure income.

Though business success seemed inevitable, Durrett still felt something was missing—until he started reading about Art Williams, a former football coach who built the largest financial services company in North America. Durrett quickly connected with Williams' leadership approach, his philosophies on developing a sales force, and his unapologetic attitude toward being true to who he was and what he believed.

This inspired Durrett to create SUMMIT HQ one of the fastest-growing financial services companies in North America. In partnership with top distributor of financial products, Primerica Financial Services, “We started building a company and didn’t apologize for who we were. We knew recruiting solid part-timers and tough full-timers would be at the forefront of our movement,” Durrett explains. “We introduced everyone to our values of being ‘Family Famous, Kingdom Focused, World-Changing Entrepreneurs.’ I accepted the fact that our approach might turn some people off, but it would attract the right people.”

Today, Summit HQ has grown to nearly 600 licensed agents across 10 franchises, with expansion plans to open 5 new offices by 2027.

Durrett also finds great joy in his family. “I love them. I have the most amazing children in the world, and I get to marry the woman of my dreams in 2025.” Durrett’s children are Cavan (15), Tessa (11), Molly (9), and Jacob (7). He is set to marry his fiancée, Jenn, in October 2025.