Independent by conviction.
Black Sheep Network is a privately held, founder-led parent company. It was formed to own one business and has become the home for every business that follows.
Why it exists
Plenty of companies make money. Fewer are worth working for, and fewer still are worth working with. Black Sheep Network was built on the belief that a company can be ambitious, financially sound and successful without sacrificing the people responsible for that success.
The name is a statement of position, not of attitude. The network is not contrarian for attention. It simply does not accept that the normal way of running a business is the right one because it is normal, and it is willing to be the odd one out for the sake of the people inside it.
How it got here
- A food truck
- Black Sheep Network LLC was formed to own TJ Henry’s, a food truck the founder ran in the Hornell, New York area from January 2023 until it was sold in 2025. The company it created kept going.
- A podcast
- Black Sheep Society, a comedy podcast the founder co-hosted with Kyle Richardson, Justin Bauter and Ricky Doremus, ran from 2021 to 2024 under the Black Sheep Network name. The network sponsors it; the show belongs to the people who make it.
- A lab
- Xyraen Labs is the network's first wholly owned company: an independent research and development lab whose active program is LUNA, a local-first AI assistant.
- What’s next
- The network is structured to hold more companies across more industries, by founding them, acquiring them, or developing them with partners who share its standards.
How it is organized
Black Sheep Network LLC is the parent. Companies it owns keep their own names, identities and websites, and are run as businesses in their own right. What they share is ownership and a common standard for leadership and the treatment of people, which the network intends to document and apply consistently as it grows.
Sponsored projects are not owned. They receive support and are free to say so, or not.
Today the company is one person. Nothing on this site should be read as describing a staff, an office or a program that does not yet exist. The principles page is explicit about what is belief, what is intention and what has been done.
Joseph Horton
Founder | Black Sheep Network
Joseph is an entrepreneur, independent thinker, and technology developer whose ambitions have never fit neatly within the boundaries of a single industry.
His journey has taken him from operating a food-service business and co-hosting the Black Sheep Society podcast to establishing Black Sheep Network and leading the development of Xyraen Labs, its technology research and development division.
Driven by an intense curiosity about how things work and how they could work better, Joseph approaches challenges with a builder's mentality. He believes innovation doesn't require permission, unconventional ideas deserve serious consideration, and the willingness to learn can be just as valuable as traditional credentials.
Through Xyraen Labs, Joseph is developing LUNA, an evolving artificial intelligence ecosystem, while pursuing a broader vision involving intelligent systems, automation, robotics, and emerging technologies. His ambitions extend beyond developing individual products; he wants to establish the foundation for an organization capable of exploring ideas that others might dismiss as unrealistic.
Despite those ambitions, Joseph's philosophy remains grounded in a few principles: accountability should begin with leadership, respect should never depend on someone's position, and integrity means little if it disappears when inconvenient.
He doesn't believe leadership is defined by a title, an impressive résumé, or the appearance of success. To him, it is demonstrated through decisions, responsibility, and the willingness to stand behind what you build.
As the founder of Black Sheep Network, Joseph remains directly accountable for its direction, values, and commitments.
His goal isn't simply to build another company. It's to build something worth standing behind.