At just 19 years old, Greg Daily found himself navigating the harsh realities of homelessness. Broke and unable to secure steady work in Minneapolis, he spent six months relying on the generosity of acquaintances to sleep on their sofas—and when those ran out, the hard tiles of a kitchen floor.
Today, the 43-year-old's reality couldn't be more different. Daily is the driving force behind Science in Advertising, a Denver-based digital marketing agency that directs online campaigns for everyone from Fortune 500 titans to local family-owned shops.
The entrepreneurial spark was lit early in Daily's life, despite a tumultuous upbringing. Raised by a single mother in Denver, his family faced severe financial strain after the death of his grandfather. To keep the family afloat, his mother sold clothes and jewelry. However, it was his late grandfather—a man who sold brooms out of a van—who gave Daily his most enduring business lesson: commerce is what feeds a family.
After spending his early adulthood bouncing between states and couches, a construction job in Colorado led to a serendipitous meeting at a local church. There, he met the woman who would become his wife of over two decades. Recognizing that her stable income was tied to her education, Daily made the practical decision to return to school in 2008.
He studied journalism at the Metropolitan State University of Denver, eventually landing a role at a local newspaper. But as the internet began to decimate traditional print media, Daily knew he needed to pivot. He relocated to the UK to earn a creative writing diploma from Oxford University, entirely focused on learning how to craft compelling narratives for brands.
Armed with new skills, he returned to the US and plunged into the digital marketing sector. By 2019, he and his wife pooled their remaining savings—amounting to just a few months of living expenses—to launch Science in Advertising.
"There were so many questions I didn't have answers to," Daily recalled of the terrifying early days. "What if it doesn't work? What if I fail? What if I can't provide?"
Instead of masking that fear with blind optimism, Daily wove it into his company's DNA. He frequently reminds his team that "failure is always an option." By operating under the assumption that a strategy could collapse, his team is trained to proactively hunt down vulnerabilities and minimize risks before they derail a campaign.
Industry insiders recognize the magnitude of his achievement. Shama Hyder, a US digital marketing expert, notes that building a thriving agency in today's cutthroat, AI-driven landscape is an incredibly difficult feat that warrants immense respect.
Despite his roster of corporate giants, Daily’s heart remains with the small, mom-and-pop businesses that seek his help to conquer platforms like Google and Instagram. Championing these family operations feels like a tribute to his mother and grandfather.
Now, that same generational hustle is being cultivated in the next line of the Daily family. Armed with a newly purchased 3D printer, Daily and his eight-year-old son are already studying online tutorials, plotting out the family's next small business venture together.