Robert Johns
Robert Johns spent fifteen years in marketing — agencies, in-house roles, the standard path. Most of that work was for consumer brands. The companies that interested him most were rarely the ones who hired him.
In November 2025, he started Relay to bet on the companies rebuilding America's industrial base. The pattern he kept seeing was the same: technically exceptional companies losing to less capable competitors who told better stories. Engineering teams working on systems that will outlast their careers, paired with marketing that doesn't survive a first read.
Relay is the practice he built to close that gap. It works with hard tech founders on brand, narrative, and creative execution that wins contracts, capital, and talent. Long sales cycles. Institutional buyers. High stakes. The kind of work where trust is the limiting factor and the story is part of how it gets built.
Narrative isn't decoration. It's infrastructure.
The model is intentionally tight. Robert owns positioning, strategy, and creative direction on every engagement. A vetted network of designers, video producers, and developers is brought in when the work needs specialists.
No agency overhead. No junior staff working on senior problems. The work is bespoke per company.