John Howard πŸš€πŸŒ• (@johnhoward) header
John Howard πŸš€πŸŒ• (@johnhoward) profile picture

CEO of Slingshot. I want to make, store, and ship your merch.

Atlanta, GA
Joined October 2008
Photo by John Howard πŸš€πŸŒ• (@johnhoward)Photo by John Howard πŸš€πŸŒ• (@johnhoward)Photo by John Howard πŸš€πŸŒ• (@johnhoward)Photo by John Howard πŸš€πŸŒ• (@johnhoward)Photo by John Howard πŸš€πŸŒ• (@johnhoward)Photo by John Howard πŸš€πŸŒ• (@johnhoward)Photo by John Howard πŸš€πŸŒ• (@johnhoward)Photo by John Howard πŸš€πŸŒ• (@johnhoward)Photo by John Howard πŸš€πŸŒ• (@johnhoward)Photo by John Howard πŸš€πŸŒ• (@johnhoward)
I quit the company I sold in March 2020 (pandemic month) and went FT in Slingshot. Year 1 - Made almost nothing. Year 4 - Got down to $600 in biz account. Year 7 - We're profitable. Working with Adobe, Google, and TONS of startups helping them create/manage swag. Do not quit. – at Acworth, GA
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Founders… how involved are you on day to day matters (in the business vs on)
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Having someone who cares about your brand translates to merch and the space, INSIDE your company matters more than anything. I see so many incredible brands that are just slapped on a shirt and call it done. Bring back ethos
I don’t think people give @eliano enough credit for what he does, people think he is β€œthe merch guy” in a company full of engineers. The quality of his work, the engineering of these events are meticulous and the response from customers, potential customers at all levels is something hard to grasp from the outside. We hosted VIPs from some of the largest companies around who loved the spaces, the clothing and the conversations it facilitated. It is in the service of the mission. We had 20+ positive articles in the Korean press, took over Instagram with footage from the event and created a space to engage with customers face to face. Everyone from the outside sees hoodies and swag, what I saw was an event engineered to facilitate customer engagement and positive sentiment across the entire APAC region.
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I know this will sell like mad (glowing!) however, why can't they just make it where it turns inverse and you can walk around with a touch screen tablet when not at your desk
We’re glowing with excitement over the new MacBook Pro. You’ve gotta touch it to believe it.
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This saved our business. In 2021 we got down to $600 in the bank. We raised prices to where we were the premium option in the market (because we believed we are - and still do) and it's been non-stop growth since then.
If every prospect says yes to your price, it's too low
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Make something that does the sucky thing they hate doing, and then sprinkle some magic on it
What a remarkable privilege it is to make something that someone else finds worth relying on.
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They won’t forgive you for booth swag that showed up after the event. Logistics is such a hard game compared to software
βœ… Your champion will forgive you for: - A rough implementation that took 30 days longer than promised - One missed renewal call when they were out on vacation - A price increase they saw coming 90 days out - A product gap you were honest about in the sales cycle ❌ Your champion will NOT forgive you for:
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You gotta make it obvious on what they’re replacing in their work
I've audited 600+ websites. the headline problem I see over and over: it explains how the product works. buyers want to know what it replaces.
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*There is no moat in software
there is no moat
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I created a Grok Bok I named Reversi. I get spammed tons with people trying to sell to slingshot. It politely declines and then reverse sells them on Slingshot. If they persist on their own product after the reverse, it blocks them.
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Boom. Take that former prime minister of Australia
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New Slingshot principles department poster up at the office! Teaches quality assurance issues to look out for.
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These cold email β€œi noticed you do generic thing, generic thing, generic thing; now buy from me” emails doooooo not work
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this crewneck for ghost was a dream. Felt appliquΓ© with true to line stitching! thanks to Matt and the team for trusting us!
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Has been the difference maker between us and competitors since day one.
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Fun brand I put together for a new app wordmark is custom too
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In 2019, we had a customer doing about $1,200/year with us. At some point we stopped working together. Seven years later, they came back. Now they’re a $100k/year customer. Giving every company incredible service, even when they’re small, is killer ROI.
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Tell me that someone else remembers Showbiz Pizza
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So thankful for this year!
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New icons for the Slingshot customer dashboard
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What a wild week in design
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