Montana Knife Company was launched in 2020 in the garage of two cars near Missoula. One co -founder is a certified “Master Bladesmith” who has produced handmade knives since he was 11 years old. The second Brandon Horoho is a seasoned digital trader and Emmerce Pro.
Combined, entrepreneurs from the value of craft processing on a scale sold directly to consumers. Business flourishes and the company will soon move to 50,000 squares. ft. Production equipment.
Brandon and I spoke recently. Shared the origin of the company, culture, “drop” sales and more. Our whole sound is inserted below. The transcription is modified for length and clarity.
Eric Bandholz: Tell us who you are and what you are doing.
Brandon Horho: I am a co -founder, vice -president and chief marketing director of Montana Knife Company. My background is in marketing and participated in ECOMTRECE Honest 2010.
The day worked for large accessories and fitness brands and included Magento and Shopify on many electronic trading platforms. One of my early successes was the acceptance of SMS marketing when it was unregular, which helped me understand how to grow business in developing markets.
We produce our knives in Montana near Missouly. We started in 2020 and are completely introduced. We focus on creating quality knives for the most hard hunters and offer a product that you could take on Alaska for a two -week hunt without having to backup. We like to create tools that last for generations. We stand from the mass market that has moved towards cheaper, disposable products.
We produce our knives to endure. That distinguishes us. We are obsessed with quality and craftsmanship, even on a scale. My business partner, Josh Smith, has been producing knives since he was 11 years old. At the age of 19 he became the youngest championship bladesmith of the American Bladeshmith Society. Its specialty is Damascus steel and highly complex tailor -made handles.
People would buy knives to collect the term, which annoys him because he wanted people to use with us. That’s why we founded this company.
Bandholz: How do you excel in the crowded industry?
Mountains: We differ from traditional knives. We don’t do a blade show and we carry it to watch typical market trends for knives. We focus on the production of specific tools for specific people. Our brand is like a knife -knife society.
We also distinguish between our determination to customer service. Our warranty is unbeatable – if you buy a knife from us, we focus it as often as you need. If something goes wrong, we’ll fix it. This warranty application to the original owner and anyone who inherits the knife.
Bandholz: Did you have any problems with the Knockoffs of your knives?
Mountains: We have seen several knockoffs on the platforms, but we will not lose sleep. They were 100% direct consumer, so if you don’t buy from our site, you buy fake. Our knives are hand -finished and cut handmade; It is difficult for everyone to replicate that we have a large scale.
Bandholz: Your knives are often in stock. Is it a success or failure?
Mountains: It depends on how you look at it. When we started, we could only afford to make 200 knives – most of them went to friends and family. We sold out before we had another dose. This is how our model started – we had no product that would sell a month or two, so we decided to announce drops for specific data.
I came from the fitness and clothing world I was a family with a Drop model, but it was assumed to be a primary business strategy. When we did it for the first time, the knives sold out in 14 minutes and did not finish them. It was chaos. We did not have enough packaging and Josh was a sniper knife as quickly as he could while working on the shipping labels.
We continue with the Drop model because it worked, but it was your plan. We also started during Covid, so we faced the challenges that they gain to obtain steel and search for suppliers willing to cooperate with a small company like Bear.
Bandholz: Did you follow with a question?
Mountains: No, we still caught up with. When we started, one of the CNC computer of a numeric computer, a production process and a garage with two cars. Now we have Josh’s property of 10,000 square feet, but we produced it in less than a year. We build a plant with an area of 50,000 square feet, which will include a production area of 30,000 square feet.
We are still limited by the IS by our widespread production capabilities. We only have five knife models available and our sales rate is about two weeks. We drop new products every Thursday, but we can make the manufacturers to keep up with a request.
Bandholz: Tell us about your marketing efforts.
Mountains: I had many years before Montana’s knife before I made marketing errors. First we focused on the foundations and from the first day we created the right data management system, especially for Google and Facebook ads, which I have been familiar with from my time in the spaces.
I knew we would compete with companies that have been surrounding for decades, but when I looked at their digital tracks, I saw that there was no opportunity. A world with a friend, Joel, from Flux Digital Marketing, to create a strong organic search strategy before we had products on the web. That was huge.
Our focus is the growth of our e -mail list, not just social media platforms. Having the ability to reach customers directly was crucial. Daily broadcasting keeps us at the top of the mind and cooperation with similarly -minded brands is where I see the future. Artificial intelligence can soon control ads, but the real partnership of the brand will excel.
Bandholz: Where can people follow you?
Mountains: Montanaknifecompany.com. We are on X, YouTube and Instagram. You can find me on LinkedIn and Instagram.