Founder and CEO of Montana Knife Company.
Company: Montana Knife Co.
We are thrilled to have you join us today, welcome to ValiantCEO Magazine’s exclusive interview! Let’s start off with a little introduction. Tell our readers a bit about yourself and your company.
Josh Smith: Born and raised in Montana, I developed a love for knives at 11 years old when my baseball coach, Rick Dunkerley, taught me how to make them from scratch. After about a year of learning, I put together my own shop and joined the American Bladesmith Society, continuing to hone my craft. By the age of 19, I earned my Master Smith rating from the American Bladesmith Society, the youngest to ever do so.
Knifemaking continued to be my passion but after the 2008 financial crash, I wasn’t sure about the future of high-end custom knife making, so I ended up taking a job as a lineman working on top of powerpoles. After a few years, I met my wife and she encouraged me to start a knife company. While I wasn’t quite ready to quit my day job, I did start making prototypes and networking, which led me to an event called WinterStrong in South Carolina. At this event I linked up with Brandon Horoho who eventually became my business partner, running our marketing.
In the summer of 2020, we officially launched Montana Knife Co. (MKC) and I quit my job as a lineman that December to go all-in on the business.
We started off doing limited knife drops, like the now-iconic Speedgoat, while simultaneously navigating COVID-era steel shortages and supply chain challenges. Despite that, we continued to push forward, prototyping new models, growing the size of our drops and figuring out ways to scale.
In July of 2021, we made our first appearance at the Total Archery Challenge in Big Sky, Montana. This was the first public event that MKC was a part of and it played a vital part in our early exposure and base-building. We continue to support TAC to this day.
In the summer of 2022, we started construction of our second building – MKC 2.0 – and by year end, we were fully moved in. By the end of February 2023, we were making American-made knives right in our backyard of Frenchtown, Montana. This move allowed us to employ more workers, speed up our production and speed up the frequency and quantity of our knife drops. By year’s end, we had around 40 employees.
At the end of last year, we broke ground on yet another facility – this time a 51,000-square-foot manufacturing warehouse just up the highway in Missoula, Montana. This move will allow us to continue scaling, bringing in more jobs and making MKC knives even more attainable.
Our motto is “working knives for working people” and every decision we make is guided by four core principles that we call our 4 C’s.
- Country: Supporting American manufacturing and jobs.
- Customer: Building tools working people can depend on.
- Community: Creating opportunities in our hometown.
- Conservation: Protecting the outdoor spaces we all enjoy.
- You can find more detail on my story, as well as the brands, on our website.
What was the initial spark that motivated you to take on an industry dominated by giants, and how did you identify a viable opportunity to compete?
Josh Smith: For years I noticed the big brands of the knife industry were not core end users of their own product, especially in the hunting category. I felt there was an opening to kick the door down, dominate the hunting knife market and build an engaged community in the process.
Can you describe the most critical strategy or innovation you implemented to differentiate your business from the industry leaders and gain traction?
Josh Smith: Initially the idea was to sneak into the industry quietly and start taking market share in a space that I felt the large brands were ignoring or sleeping on. I wanted to focus on 100% American-made knives, and even though I was told it wasn’t possible to compete, I felt different. We took over hunting by going to events, building real relationships and supporting the community in any way possible.
How did you handle the resource disparities such as funding or market access when going up against much larger competitors?
Josh Smith: We boot strapped the entire way. As much as we wanted to grow faster, we only had so much cash and so much man power. But with every drop we kept growing step by step. Ultimately we didn’t buy our way into the industry. We built our reputation through quality and relationships.
What was the biggest setback or direct confrontation with an industry giant, and how did you turn it into a turning point for your success?
Josh Smith: In the spring of 2023, Benchmade Knife Company frivolously sued us, claiming we tried to steal company secrets through an employee we were hiring. It was a complete lie, and an attempt to bully us and slow us down. This was the moment we knew we had them scared and were having an effect on their business. We use that moment everyday as fuel to continue taking market share.
What’s one mindset or principle that kept you grounded while taking on industry titans, and how can other founders adopt it to compete?
Josh Smith: THE CUSTOMER. And YOUR EMPLOYEES. We are customer obsessed and focus daily on how we can provide a great product and a great experience for our customers. Additionally, how can we make this company THE place to work? It doesn’t matter what industry you are in, those two things will lead you in the right direction. Clearly, as we stated above, our competition like Benchmade is focused on stopping MKC, versus focusing on their customers and employees. It’s why we spend so much time traveling to events, interacting on social media, and truly reading every email. Our customers are our main focus and priority.
