“What is that? Is that a bakery? Is that an adult movie store?”

Johnny Earle, founder of the Johnny Cupcakes t-shirt line, is as much a comedian as he is an entirely self-taught entrepreneur. That was probably the most entertaining lecture about entrepreneurship and marketing that I’ve ever been to. And there were only 2 instances of marketing buzzwords, which is a miracle! (For the record, they were “retail destination” and “viral.”)

“An Evening with Johnny Cupcakes” at MassArt (benefitting Youth Design Boston) was basically Johnny talking for three hours straight about the history of his company: from his early childhood attempts at making money off whoopie cushions to selling shirts out of the back of his ratty old car while working at Newbury Comics to Las Vegas trade shows and all the rest. Interspersed throughout were amusing personal anecdotes (some of them, um, very personal) and optimistic advice for young hopefuls intent on starting their own rampaging subculture brand. (Don’t have a girlfriend, start experimenting in college, take big risks, give up beer pong forever, etc.)

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