Don't Blow Your Temper, Blow Your Horn: Matthew Heller, Founder & CEO of HornBlasters

Matthew Heller was tired of being invisible on the road. Stuck in South Florida traffic, cut off again and again, he did something most frustrated drivers never do. He put a train horn on his truck. Within weeks, strangers were asking where they could get one too.That small fix for a personal problem became HornBlasters, a company Matthew built while working three retail jobs at once and hiding in the racks at Home Depot to take customer calls on his cell phone. His own family thought he had lost his mind. His aunt suggested he apply for the Geek Squad instead. It took four years of side hustling before Matthew could walk away from retail and run HornBlasters full time.Twenty five years later, HornBlasters has served over a million customers worldwide from its home base right here in Tampa. Matthew walks Tracie Domino through what actually separates a real train horn from the cheap knockoffs flooding the internet, how he turned himself into the face of the brand despite calling himself an introverted extrovert, his unexpected detour into film as co-producer of Come What May, and the surprising places his horns end up, from cattle ranches in Central America to catfish farms in Arkansas.This is a conversation about following your gut when everyone around you says you are chasing a joke, and what it actually takes to stick with something for 25 years until it becomes undeniable.Listen now wherever you get your podcasts and follow The Bay Builds on Instagram, LinkedIn, TikTok, and YouTube 00:00 Pickup Truck Origins00:50 Meet HornBlasters Founder02:03 Road Rage to Idea03:05 Early Hustle and Doubters04:36 Going Full Time05:32 What Makes the Kit07:38 Winning on Support08:37 Building in Tampa09:28 Brand Personality and Clown Mom10:28 TV Influencers and Marketing11:17 Noise Pollution Debate12:31 Introverted Extrovert Spotlight15:00 Advice for Dreamers15:45 Giving Back Locally16:32 Future and New Markets18:54 Lightning Round Fun20:04 Closing TakeawaysTracie is the founder of Event Outfitters, the gifting partner for donors, VIPs, executives, and honored guests. If you want the framework she uses with every client, grab the free Guide to Gifting That Builds Relationships: https://stan.store/EventOutfitters