When Rob Brinkman opens his LinkedIn profile, the first thing visitors see isn’t his impressive track record of building and selling a billion-dollar company. Instead, they’re greeted with a bold declaration: “I am a man of faith, a devout husband and father.”
This intentional positioning caught the attention of Rabbi Rami Goldberg, host of Biblical Money, Israel365’s podcast exploring how faith intersects with finance and business leadership. In their recent conversation, Brinkman, now CEO of Virtual HQ, shared how his unwavering commitment to integrating faith into business has shaped both his remarkable career trajectory and his current groundbreaking work with the Trump administration.
The Billion-Dollar Foundation
Brinkman’s journey from tennis player to Wall Street executive reads like a masterclass in recognizing divine guidance in professional growth. After college tennis ended, his natural aptitude for numbers and outgoing personality led him into sales, where he discovered an unexpected truth: selling required as much discipline as art.
“I was fortunate to have some mentors that really helped me understand the techniques of selling,” Brinkman explains. “But more importantly, they helped me understand why I shouldn’t cordon off the business side from my faith. Why should I punch the clock at 8:00 on Monday, get into the office and start doing everything on my own without including God?”
This philosophy proved transformative. As Brinkman’s success in sales grew, so did recognition of his leadership abilities. His high emotional intelligence, developed partly through the resilience required in sales, proved invaluable in executive management. The company he helped build eventually employed 1,400 people before being sold to a major Wall Street firm for over a billion dollars.
The Decision Tree of Accountability
Throughout his corporate ascent, Brinkman maintained what he calls a “decision tree” approach to faith and business. When younger employees sought his advice, he would offer both professional and personal perspectives, always leading with the former to navigate HR considerations.
“I truly believe that we all go through the same decision tree,” Brinkman reflects. “You either think there’s something above you that you’re accountable to or you don’t. If you don’t think there’s anything you’re accountable to, then no matter how much God tries to reach into your life, it’s going to be Teflon.”
This accountability framework extends to how he approaches business decisions. Rather than expecting divine neon signs pointing toward every choice, Brinkman has developed comfort with bringing decisions to God first, then trusting that sincere consultation will be honored regardless of the specific path chosen.
From Corporate Success to Entrepreneurial Impact
After the billion-dollar exit, Brinkman shifted focus from managing large corporate structures to helping smaller entrepreneurs navigate the complexities he’d mastered at scale. His motivation remained consistent: helping others achieve success while maintaining greater purpose.
“When you look at the typical small business owner, they don’t have access to really smart executives that are paid a lot of money with MBA backgrounds,” he notes. “Unless they’re readers, they’re really kind of limited. They may have talent for doing something well, but there’s a lot more to operating a business than just generating revenue.”
This transition led him to his current role as CEO of Virtual HQ, where he’s applying decades of business wisdom to cutting-edge technology with profound educational and cultural implications.
Building the Future: 3D Environments and the White House
Virtual HQ’s work extends far beyond typical tech ventures. The company builds immersive 3D environments that Brinkman positions as the future of interactive engagement, learning from the shortcomings of Meta’s cartoon-like metaverse approach.
The most significant validation of this vision came when Virtual HQ presented to the Trump administration ahead of the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence in July 2026. Their proposal: create immersive 3D environments that could house all the celebration’s activities and events.
“We could create an exact replica of the White House lawn and the Oval Office,” Brinkman explains excitedly. “We could make a replica of the Lincoln bedroom and actually have Abraham Lincoln, an AI-generated avatar, just standing right there. You could walk in and have a literal conversation with Abraham Lincoln.”
The educational implications fascinate Brinkman, particularly given his understanding of how biblical wisdom influenced America’s founding principles. “We could create these environments where students can ask questions and have dialogue with the actual producers of that knowledge,” he envisions.
The Biblical Foundation of American Business
Brinkman’s enthusiasm for the White House project stems partly from his recognition of Scripture’s influence on America’s founding documents. Like many of the founding fathers who quoted Deuteronomy extensively, he sees clear connections between biblical principles and successful business practices.
“A lot of our business acumen comes from the Bible, specifically from Leviticus and what Moses was trying to explain to the Israelites,” he observes. “This is how things are going to function so they’re going to be successful, because this is God’s heart. God’s not setting you up for failure.”
This perspective aligns perfectly with Rabbi Goldberg’s mission at Israel365, where the focus on Jewish-Christian cooperation to strengthen Israel reflects similar recognition of shared biblical foundations in modern endeavors.
Challenging Others to Read the Source
Perhaps most compelling is Brinkman’s straightforward approach to discussing faith with intellectually sophisticated business leaders. When faced with typical objections about biblical accuracy, he employs a disarmingly simple challenge.
“I ask them, ‘Have you read the Bible?’ And I’ve never had anybody say, ‘Yes, I’ve read it cover to cover,'” he shares. “Then I simply say, ‘I’m confused. You seem like a really bright person, educated, and you probably read a lot. Here’s the most published book in the history of mankind and you haven’t read it.'”
This approach has led dozens of people, from age 25 to 60, to actually engage with Scripture for the first time—often because no one had ever simply suggested they read it.
Great Business, Greater Purpose
Brinkman’s story embodies the mission statement of C12, a faith-based business mentoring group he’s participated in: “Great business, greater purpose.” His success metric extends beyond financial returns to kingdom impact, recognizing that business leaders touch more lives Monday through Friday than most do on weekends.
“All of us touch a lot more people during the work week than we do on Saturday or Sunday,” he points out. “If we’re more intentional with what we believe in the workplace, there’s a lot of pain out there, and people are looking for answers.”
As Virtual HQ continues negotiations with the White House and launches their ultra-secure communication platform called Secure Call, Brinkman remains focused on the greater purpose driving these innovations. Whether creating immersive historical experiences or protecting sensitive communications, the underlying mission stays constant: using business success as a platform for positive impact.
His story is a reminder that integrating faith into business isn’t about limiting opportunities—it’s about expanding purpose. In an era when many separate their professional and spiritual lives into distinct compartments, Brinkman’s journey demonstrates the power of viewing them as inseparable parts of a greater whole.
For other business leaders seeking to navigate similar integration of faith and finance, Brinkman’s example offers both inspiration and practical wisdom. The key lies not in having all the answers, but in maintaining accountability to something greater than quarterly returns and market share.
As he puts it simply: “We wouldn’t silo off our day from our spouse and say it’s none of your business. So why would we do that with our Creator? That doesn’t make sense.”
