Member Spotlight: John Pohl, Owner, Founder & CEO, 14th Floor Solutions, LLC
Lake/Forest Lake Bluff Chamber: Tell us a little bit about 14th Floor Solutions, what makes your business unique and the services you offer?
John Pohl: I think the fact that I spent over half of my career as a client gives me unique insights into how to most effectively serve my own clients. I’m fortunate to have worked all over the country in Director of Marketing and VP of Marketing roles for such B2C (business-to-consumer) companies as Kellogg’s, Dial Corp, Cobra Electronics and the E&J Gallo Winery, all of which my teams and I were able to help achieve or expand market leadership. I was then recruited to the B2B (business-to-business) world as SVP Global Marketing & Strategic Planning for Chicago-based Hu-Friedy, the world’s largest manufacturer of instruments for dental practices. They were looking for a more strategic and creative approach to marketing than is normally found in the B2B space, and we were able to achieve record sales and earnings every year I was there. For the past 18 years, I’ve been able to bring all I’ve learned from that unusually diverse set of experiences to my 14th Floor clients, which range from startups to small-to-mid-sized companies to multi-billion-dollar international corporations in healthcare, consumer, automotive, financial and other sectors. If one of my clients is facing a challenge with branding, advertising, their website, sales literature, PR or any other type of communications, the chances are I’ve dealt with that challenge before and, I can bring them a solution that has a high probability of success.
LF/LB: What was your inspiration to start this business?
JP: Up to 95 percent of new products and 92 percent of startup companies fail. Sometimes, of course, it’s because the products were poorly designed or overpriced. But all too often, well-designed and fairly-priced products also fail, for a reason that almost no one talks about: ineffective messaging. Over the years, I’ve been amazed at how many companies – including huge corporations with big-name, high-priced agencies – have great products that fail to achieve their potential because they don’t get the messaging right. I think it’s a shame when a company does the heavy lifting of designing and building a truly breakthrough product and then drops the ball with mediocre messaging before they cross the goal line. So I decided to start an agency dedicated to giving great clients the right messaging that will give them the great results they deserve.
LF/LB: What is your vision or hope for the future of 14th Floor Solutions?
JP: My vision for 14th Floor remains what it’s always been: to ensure that truly innovative companies have the right messaging to help them achieve their potential and enjoy the rewards they deserve.
LF/LB: How does 14th Floor Solutions support and give back to the community?
JP: I do lot of work for The Oral Cancer Foundation, which does a wonderful job of providing funding for oral cancer research and educational and emotional support for oral cancer victims and their families. I also do quite a bit of mentoring for promising startups that are in the pre-money stage.
LF/LB: Is there anything else you would like to share about your business?
JP: My family and I have had the pleasure of calling Lake Forest home for 31 years. I’m fortunate to have great clients from all over the world, but I’d love to be of service to more Lake County innovators. I think it’s high time I started supporting the home team!