StubGroup CEO John Horn on Leadership, Google Ads, and Learning to “Count It All Joy”

In this episode of Braving Business, we sit down with John Horn, CEO of StubGroup, a top-tier Google Premier Partner agency that manages digital ad campaigns for clients around the globe. But John isn’t your typical tech CEO—he didn’t start in Silicon Valley, and he didn’t have a blueprint. He built his leadership style in real time, often the hard way, with a deep belief in values-first decision-making, transparency, and good old-fashioned grit.

John was StubGroup’s first employee, eventually becoming its CEO just months before the pandemic hit. What followed? A massive drop in client ad spend, an existential business threat, and a defining leadership moment. Instead of hiding behind closed doors, John chose candor and connection, rallying his team through open-book leadership and a whole lot of pacing around his office.

In this conversation, John shares:

• How growing up with a mix of blue-collar and corporate jobs shaped his leadership instincts
• What really happened behind the scenes when StubGroup’s revenue collapsed during COVID
• His biggest lessons from hiring—and firing
• Why transparent leadership builds long-term trust, even when the news isn’t good
• What it takes to teach digital ads to 100,000+ students and rack up millions of YouTube views
• How his faith informs his worldview and his favorite phrase: “Count it all joy”

Whether you’re a founder figuring things out, a leader trying to balance growth with integrity, or just someone wondering how the heck Google Ads actually work, John delivers practical wisdom with a down-to-earth tone and a few laughs along the way.

Key Takeaways:

• Transparency builds trust faster than perfection ever could
• The most resilient teams are led by people willing to be human first, boss second
• You don’t need a flashy background to be an effective, values-driven leader in tech

Connect with John Horn:

• Website: StubGroup.com
• YouTube: StubGroup’s Channel
• LinkedIn: John Horn

Contact Us: Visit www.bravingbusiness.com for more information, episodes, and updates.

John’s story is a powerful reminder that leadership isn’t about having all the answers—it’s about showing up, owning the hard stuff, and pacing through it anyway. Tune in to hear how one scrappy Google Ads guy became a trusted CEO, teacher, and advocate for resilient business done right.