Article posted on RB. Gee if this doesn't make you feel good...!? Just take his word on "our continued annual sales growth", really he wouldn't lie about it, just check the year-end and quarterly reports.....
From the March issue of Ozark Signature:
KNOW! INTERVIEW
Q&A John Gott
Interview by KAREN E. CULP - Photograph by DAN CUNNINGHAM
FOR JOHN GOTT, it ’s all about music. A musician since age 13, the founder, chairman and chief executive officer of SLS Audio has built a life on good sound.
Now his publicly traded company, based in Ozark, is a technology leader in the loudspeaker business. SLS ’success is largely because of its proprietary Ribbon Driver, a piece of technology that, combined with SLS ’horn, woofer and cabinet designs, produces sound with highly regarded clarity and fidelity.
“We ’re getting the most goldeneared people in the world telling us these (speakers)are great. When we get that kind of feedback . . . it tells us a lot. ”
The company primarily engineers and designs speakers for the professional market, but also has home products. Even though the brand is gaining support from around the nation, John has kept his growing business in the Ozarks because his family comes from here, and he has long been a big believer in the talent and ability of the area ’s musicians.
What brought you to this point in your career? John was a drummer in local bands and a framing carpenter before he was “fortunate enough to fall into a deal with the guy who owned Hammond organ studios here in town. ”The owner had a couple of amplifiers and public ad- dress systems and John convinced him “we could make a business out of it. ”From there the Rock Shop was born and John was its “every- thing guy, ”the single employee who sold equipment to musicians. He eventually bought the store.
John Gott used to have a small studio and produced local bands including Fools Face, King ’s X and the Misstakes. “I ’d love to be able to play again and I will have a studio again some day, ”he says.
The Rock Shop became a small chain, with locations in Columbia and Little Rock.
During the 1970s, while the Rock Shop was growing, John also start- started the speaker business out of the basement of his house.
“It had something like six-foot ceilings, ”John chuckles. “It was really the dungeon. ”
He sold the Rock Shop in 1977, but it still exists with a different owner and the name Sounds Great. After he sold the store, John was on the road, sell- selling speakers to other music stores. He was also an independent sales rep for other products —drums, guitars, etc. “I was just going around in my box van with my little dog, Tucker. He was pretty well- known in music circles. ”
In the early 1980s, John started rent- renting equipment and built a big, touring sound system. “We were basically the regional sound company for 3, 000-to 6, 000-seat venues. ”He ran sound for some acts that would become ’80s pop icons —Huey Lewis, Pat Benatar, Quar- terflash. During this time he also developed lighting systems and even won an award for the lighting systems he sold.
Sound and Lighting Specialists, which would later be shortened to just SLS, was born in 1990, and the company was originally a kind of regional sound contractor, among other things. “We started selling sound systems to clubs, theaters, churches, schools. ”
SLS was always looking to build a better sound, and ran across planar ribbon technology, which would become the core of its business. John sought out an acoustical physicist who would help the company develop a “professional speaker for the professional industry. ”
By mid-2001, the company had developed its first devices and started putting them into speaker systems. In order to raise capital for ongoing technology development and other needs, the company went public, also in 2001. By 2004, SLS was marketing its products.
Since then, it ’s been nothing but strong sales growth for the company, which moved into larger quarters in Ozark in 2005.
The company ’s products and John himself were even featured in June 2006 on an episode of “The Apprentice. ”In the show finale the winner held a Bare naked Ladies concert to benefit the World Wildlife Fund, and SLS audio products were used at the concert.
Did you spend much time with The Donald during the “Apprentice ”appearance?
“We didn ’t really spend a lot of time. I met him when he came to the party. I met him, shook hands and said hi. He was just coming and going, always moving, busy busy. At the concert he actually looked like he had a little bit of fun. ”
What ’s next for SLS?
“Just our continued annual growth. There ’s no reason why it won ’t continue. It ’s just matter of building the momentum. ”
What is your favorite sound to hear from your speakers?
“Oh, music, definitely —piano, drums, bass, real acoustic-type sounds. ”
Is SLS a household name?Will it be?
“The company has been an engineering- based company, so it was never the intention to be a household name. We do have consumer products that are a derivative of our professional products and we do expect those to grow and build momentum. ”The company has had its Q Line speaker products in Wal-Mart, but it was the wrong time for it to enter that market. “Everything is a timing issue, and we forged into the mass- market consumer side too soon. ”
Let ’s talk about the music you love. Country or rock ’n ’roll?
“Oh, rock ’n ’roll. ”
Classic soul or current hip-hop?
“Probably classic soul. I ’m an old Motown guy at heart. That ’s the stuff I loved to play back in the good old days. ”
Are you still in Men at Pause (a band John and some of his contemporaries play in for fun)?
“Yes I am. We ’ve not really played in a year or so. We called it Men at Pause be- cause we were pausing from our work and so forth to have fun, but some of the ladies started calling us the ‘menopause ’ band because of our age. ” Men at Pause is one of seven or so local bands in which John has played.
When you ’re not working, we ’ll find you . . .
“I still ride off-road motorcycles and vintage motorcycles. My son and I ride together in the woods and bounce off trees. ”John also plays golf and enjoys spending time with “my lady, my significant other, ”Sherri. His family includes “two great kids, ”daughter Amanda, 26, and son, Bryce, 19, as well as his father. “I ’ve got a 93-year-old dad who probably knows more about Springfield than anybody anywhere around here. He ’s just as sharp as a tack. And I ’ve got two older sisters and an older brother;I ’m the youngest of four. They ’re all good people with lots of kids and grandkids. ”
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