Meet Matthew Heller, an entrepreneur from Florida. He knows that truck and car owners often dream of loud horns that will tell others exactly what they think of their driving and is making them a reality! His company, Horn Blasters, manufactures horns that won’t leave anyone asking, “Was that at me?”
Heller has successfully tapped into the niche market of installing train horns in regular vehicles, but his life wasn’t always this way. Heller’s mother was a professional clown, and he has always known about making a living in less conventional ways.
At the age of 16, Matthew Heller was recruited by the FBI Cyber Squad in New Orleans having been expelled from high school for hacking NASA’s official website. Following his stint with the bureau, Heller had a few other jobs where he learned customer service and merchandising. It was in early adulthood that Heller developed a taste for locomotive horns and knew it was time to put his efforts into entrepreneurship.
Starting Small
Heller started perfecting his craft wherever he could find the space, whether that was in his bedroom, in a friend’s back yard or out the back of his truck.
What motivated Heller to want to install loud horns in vehicles was that he was frequently cut off on the road because he had a small truck.
Back in 2002, the youngster was driving a lowered “mini” truck, which meant he was low in the food chain of the road. This frustrated him, and he wanted to come up with a way to give other small vehicle drivers a voice on the road. He decided to come up with a solution to handling bad drivers once and for all.
Heller started experimenting with his own car horns, taking an air-powered horn and hooking it up to his airbags. He figured out a system that worked, and before long, Horn Blasters Inc. was born.
Heller came up against many issues in the early days of his business; he struggled with knowing who to trust, as well as many people opposing his business. He also came up against some adversity in 2014 when the police ransacked his truck as they believed there was a strong odor of marijuana coming from the vehicle.
Heller was attending a concert at the time, and his truck was parked outside the venue. The police entered his vehicle without consent, causing irreparable damage to the horns and inner electronics, which was obviously extremely stressful. As if that wasn’t enough, the offending officers left a note of apology, instead of offering to fix the unnecessary damage they caused – seriously unacceptable.
Thankfully, Horn Blasters continued to grow, with far more fans than opposers. Heller continued to move forward with his promising business with diligence and single-minded determination.
Horn Blasters Inc. Today
Horn Blasters Inc. grew and grew, eventually outgrowing its original site. Heller had to maintain an excellent standard of organization as the company moved 25 miles south. With packing, logistics, and timing, Heller’s organizational skills were certainly put to the test, but it all went to plan.
Heller’s new warehouse facility officially opened for business in June and offers contactless pickup for customers’ ease. This new opening has also meant that Heller could offer jobs for local Tampa residents, as well as promising local parts help for those who purchase his products.
Heller has truly lived a unique life so far; with run-ins with the police and NASA, and employment with the FBI, he has certainly seen a lot of the world! Today, his modern company continues to expand its offerings while leading the way in the market of consumer air horn and safety devices. Since Horn Blasters was founded, it has expanded into air suspension, on-board air solutions, load support, and even electric air horns.
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