In 2017, 24-year-old Kelly John was in the middle of a major life transition, stepping into the construction field as an Insulation Crew Supervisor. His dream of becoming a professional window tinter was suddenly put on hold after a family member’s health issue pulled him home.
“I was tinting cars in Phoenix, Arizona,” Kelly shares. “I moved back home, and I was just trying to find work. I was broken—mentally and financially. I had nothing.”
What felt like a detour soon became a proving ground. The construction job didn’t just keep his mind off the pain—it pushed him beyond his comfort zone.
“I had to stage full-scale projects—prep safety gear, run hoses, and set up ladders and scaffolding,” he says. “We worked on high-end homes and commercial properties. That experience forced me to grow, giving me the confidence to work with customers in the flat glass space.”
From Behind the Scenes to Client-Facing Confidence
Before entering construction, Kelly had studied Automotive Technology at Universal Technical Institute (UTI) in Massachusetts and sharpened his tinting skills with real-world clients in Arizona—but the job site tested a different side of him.
“I’ve always been the type to ask a million questions,” Kelly says. “In construction, I got to the point where people trusted me with clients.”
For the first time, he wasn’t just the ‘dude behind the scenes.’
“I took phone calls, hosted customer meetings, and walked clients through quotes,” he adds. “I never had that kind of front-facing experience before. I knew I was good at tinting, but I wasn’t sure I could handle the customer side.”
Launching Green Mountain Tint Co.
In 2021, Kelly founded Green Mountain Tint Co. in Middlebury, Vermont, diving headfirst back into the field he was most passionate about—this time with a renewed focus on residential and commercial flat glass installations.
That summer, he completed his first major flat glass project since leaving construction: a full install at the J.P. Carrara & Sons headquarters, a well-known concrete supplier in the region.
“I couldn’t believe I landed a job like that in my first year of business,” Kelly says.
Flat Glass Finds its Place
Four years later, flat glass projects account for an estimated 50% of Green Mountain Tint Co.’s annual revenue.
“I’m slowly but surely helping my automotive clients understand what’s possible,” he adds. “The other day, someone asked me, ‘You can tint a house?’ Educate people and never stop telling them you can put film on houses and businesses.”
His product lineup includes several solutions from Edge, including Edge Nature and Ultra View Window Film, both part of the Dual-Reflective series. These films provide strong daytime privacy from the outside while preserving natural, unobstructed views from the inside—an ideal blend of comfort and clarity.
New Heights—Literally and Figuratively
“I’m deathly afraid of heights,” he laughs. “I try not to think about it until I’m up on a ladder or scaffolding.
Kelly reached new heights—literally and figuratively—during a two-day residential install at a lakehouse.
“I had to apply film to the west-, north-, and south-facing windows of a corner nook,” he says. “Some of the windows were 30 feet up. I remember thinking, ‘I’d give this client two grand just to let me off the hook.’ I hated it.”
But after a long first day, the homeowner invited Kelly to stay for dinner—an unexpected gesture that left a lasting impression.
“Super awesome family,” he says. “I’d never had a client invite me to dinner before.”
A year later, the client called again.
“I picked up the phone as fast as I could—I knew there was nothing wrong with the initial install,” Kelly says. “They just wanted me to tint a window in their laundry room. Projects like that are the ones I’m most proud of.”