I think I had to realize, just like, you know, with you, there was something pulling on my heart. I didn't know what it was. Again, I was I was 24 years old, you know, maybe 20, 25, 26. And so something pulling on my heart. I had to get out of the studio. I had to get out of that firm and get into the community to find myself. If you believe we can change the narrative. If you believe, we can change our communities. If you believe we can change the outcomes, then we can change the world.
I'm Rob Richardson. Welcome to Disruption Now. Welcome, fellow disruptors. Welcome to Disruption Now, I'm Rob Richardson, your host and moderator. With me is John Johnson, who is the founder of the Small studio the digital design studio, who's going to tell you more about some of the work he does and some of the unique clients that he has by this little game you may know called Pokémon Go. That's one of his many clients. And, he's also just a great human being.
It's great to have him on the show. How are you doing, John? Good, brother. I'm good. Just happy to be here. Yeah, well, you know, we're happy to have you. So you have been a founder. You've been in this, this journey that's a never ending process in self-discovery. For how long now? what? My career. You've been. It's been your whole career. You've been a founder. well, no, I, I practice architecture for about two years.
after I got out of school, got a master's in architecture, my MBA, and then two years in, practicing architecture, I realized that I was an entrepreneur, and I needed to go out and create something. So that was about, I think, 20, 2016. Yeah, yeah. 2016. man, I got married to my wife and yeah. That what what sparked that? Like what sparked your what made you say, I have, I'm going to be an entrepreneur. This is just what I have to do. Was there a moment? Was there.
Was there some crisis that came up that said, okay, I need to change? Like what happened? that's a great question. I think for me, getting my MBA at the same time as my master's in architecture helped me open my eyes. The industry of architecture, you know, majority of people that get their degrees and specialize feels like that. They only focus on their field. And when I got my MBA at the same time, it started to teach me a little bit more about the industry and about the possibilities.
And I was able to, almost think differently than a lot of my colleagues. So I went to this architecture firm in Phoenix, Arizona. And, one of the first questions they asked me in my interview was, what is the future of architecture look like for you? And I said, I said, architecture as a commodity. And I said, architects need to start taking ownership in their work. Right? In the, the, the projects that they're doing, the buildings that they're creating.
So they continue to create and generate revenue from the success of those buildings. And I think that that interview helped me realize and showed me that I, I thought a little differently than a lot of my colleagues. And, two years into it, I studied, I learned underneath other architects the principles of that firm and honestly, I looked at the principles and I realized that that wasn't me. I didn't want to be them. I didn't want to go down this path of architecture.
So, so I, I mean, I had to come, come to Jesus moment and I quit, you know, and then, shortly after that, I, I launched my first startup and, and fell in love with entrepreneurship from there. Yeah. So, I have a similar story with law. Like, I worked at a firm, and, and I saw the partners, and I'm like, this looks miserable. Like I want to do this. They like, they have more money, but they look even more miserable than the associates. like this. Just doesn't feel right. Like, why?
So I'm aspiring to be like that in in 15 years. Like now. Like I passed like it was like. Yeah, it definitely was it. I get that right. That defined path maybe provide some comfort. But at the same time, if you don't like what you're doing, I mean, I just remember going into the building to have this sneaky feel like I do not like this. Like I get that, I really. Do. I want to say that they were miserable like that. I'm not I'm. Not saying that.
I'm not saying they, well, they they didn't see me. As I said, I'm like, yeah, I know, see me miserable. I have no job. I have no clue to that. No, I and that's and that's, that's, that's the, the different professions in a different firms. Right. Honestly, like the firm that I worked for, it was a is an incredible firm and the principles are some of the best in the field. They were doing some incredible projects and the work was incredible. And I loved architecture. Right.
But I, I think I had to realize, just like, you know, with you, there was something pulling on my heart. I didn't know what it was. Again, I was I was 24 years old, you know, maybe 20, 25, 26. And so something pulling on my heart. I had to get out of the studio. I had to get out of that firm and get into the community to find myself. Right. And I spent the next five years really finding myself until I've, you know, finally landed at a small studio.
Yeah. So what surprised you most about starting your starting starting your entrepreneurial journey? What surprised me the most? Yep. What surprised you the most? That's a that's a great question too, man. you know, there's this there's this constant battle in my head. In my heart. Right? Every single day that I've realized over the years that I'm the only person that can fight that battle. nobody else knows what you're going through.
Nobody else knows all of the things that you think about on a daily, minute by minute, second by second basis. You know, my wife doesn't know. My kids don't know, my partners don't know. And I think that that battle. Was very, very heavy at the beginning for me, because, you know, you're fighting a lot of doubt and self-doubt and insecurities, and you never done it before. I never did it before. I'm like, I can do this. Maybe I can, you know, I could do this. Yeah, I can't. And, I did that.
And over the years, I, I started to develop more of a faith. Right. And I started to develop more of a relationship with God. And and I did have a fight. Those battles anymore by myself, you know, and I was able to share them with this partner that walks with me every single day and was in my head and was in my heart, you know, and that that really liven things up for me, you know? and it allows me to walk a little lighter. Now, as an entrepreneur for, you know, ten plus years.
Yeah, it is, and I'm sure you go through moments, even with your faith that where you go through your ups and downs because it's challenging, right? When you're we are the principal and you're the owner. I think there's a lot of glorification of the process. Most of it is a lot of doubt. And the problem is also a lot of rejection. So you have to have that faith, you know, that you're going to make it, that you're going to find a way that you're going to pivot because it's mostly no's.
Like it's not like a it's not like a it doesn't generally open right up. And it usually takes time. A whole lot of time. More time than you think. And it is it is a constant journey. Like I, I understand and completely understand your path. But again, you know, I'm also on your path, so I understand it. Yeah. If you can go back to your younger self. Right.
So when you maybe when you first started in this, in this journey or at really any point in your business or your personal life, what advice would you give your younger self and then what advice would you ignore?
You know, I remember a moment when I was younger, when I decided to become an architect, I decided to go to architecture school, and I had so many people, tell me that I shouldn't do that because especially like it was, there was a lot of people, in the black community that that were telling me that I shouldn't do it because they didn't know or see how many black architects. Right. And I wish that somebody would have told me about what I just shared.
Like how, you know, when you're called on a path that, like, you feel in your heart and convicted, typically you're going to be the only, you know, like, typically you're not going to see a lot of people like you or me, anyone like you, sometimes around you because you're being called to do something that nobody's ever done before, you know?
And I just wish there was somebody in my life, and even specifically like a man that told me that because I one of have been so surprised every time I ended up in a situation where I was the only right, whether only man, whether it was only black man, whether it was the, the, the youngest in the room or the, the only one that's never practiced this before, done this before, you know, whatever it was. that that's probably that's one of the hardest parts of the journey is.
Yeah. You know, not really having a lot of people like you around you. Yes. It's, so I think that that's what I wish somebody would have told me, because it would have allowed me to approach those things with so much, strength, you know? Well, then kind of get it punched in the face every time I end up in a situation. and what was the other question? What piece? what. What what advice would you ignore to your younger self? I. you kind of answered it, I didn't.
Yeah, yeah, I think it goes hand in hand. You really kind of did answer it there. I mean, it's it is tough being like the only one people because I don't have any like pride in that when you're like the only one, it's like you want to see more, but it is what it is. And dealing with that and having people to talk to is really kind of difficult, like people, unless you've been there. Like it's it's really difficult to really figure out how to navigate that.
How do you navigate that now, to this day, when you're in the room and you know, you're the only brother in the room, which Upshaws still happens a lot, right? How do you deal with that? Sometimes the pressure, like what's your if you even view it as pressure, how do you how do you deal with this. It'll before earlier I was very conscious of it. It almost stood out viscerally and it distracted me a little. sure. Almost to the point of insecurity and and maybe even sometimes fear.
Right. But now I think at this stage of my career, I barely acknowledge it, but I barely notice. It doesn't need to become normal. It's become it's become like, you know, they always say that saying, you know, get comfortable being uncomfortable. And I think I'm at that point in my career where I'm very comfortable being uncomfortable.
especially sometimes when, you know, I may be one of the only people that has a certain, background or from a certain place like Cleveland, go into the West Coast, right. it's it's it's become common. And and I think the way I handle it, I always go back to my faith. A, you know, I journal a lot. I pray a lot. I try to get even started a practice of, of of affirmation and visualization where I now like to visualize myself in those moments. How do you go about that in your head? I'm curious.
Like, what does that what does that habit and routine look like for your affirmation in your visualization? Like, how would you advise someone to be more intentional about doing that? I'm curious about. There's a there's a great book that brought it all together for me. It's called the, Miracle Morning. okay. I'll forget the author's name. It's called the Miracle Morning. And it's a really it simplifies it because I think that that's my biggest advice.
Anybody is like, just keep it simple. Make it simple. Don't try to overcomplicate it too much. Right. So he simplified it to a point where he said every morning for 60 minutes go through, a ritual. Ryan, this ritual was you know, silence for ten minutes, affirmations for five, visualization for five. You know, exercise, reading and scribing or writing. Right? I was already reading. I was already writing. I was already exercising. I was already doing silence. Right. and prayer.
but that that affirmation visualization always has been kind of out of reach for me. Right? But all I did was take, you know, five minutes. I have my peloton app, I put a meditation on, do five minutes of meditation, and then right after that, I go into my affirmations. And my affirmations are almost sometimes very simple, like, you know, thank you for making me a father. Thank you for making me a husband. Thank you for making me a leader.
Thank you for making me an identity architect, you know, and or I am an identity architect. I am a father. I am a son. You know these really simple affirmations. And I love that because it allows me to identify with the words that matter the most to me know, prioritize those. Because as you go about your day, you start to get attached to certain words and people start to prescribe words to you, and you get filled with all the clutter of social media and interviews and so on and so forth. Right?
And then right after that, I go through pretty much my schedule for the day, and I visualize each experience from the drive to a meeting to this podcast, right? To, the meeting that I'm going to have or a conversation I have with an employee or a client or whatever it is. And I just take a moment to think about it and, you know, have the perfect it. Whether it's a practice, right, and whether it's 5 minutes or 10 minutes, it's very simple.
And he breaks it down in the book and he simplifies it very well, because you can do that for a minute. And just for a minute. That will be better than not doing it at all, because it will prepare you for those moments that you'll end up, coming across. When you talk about being a disruptor, right? Like. Right. If you're going to disrupt something, you better be prepared, right, for those moments, because disruption comes with a lot of battles and a lot of. Does it does.
You I mean, so that's that's how it's that's how it's helped me a lot. No, I'm that's, that's that's really good. You know, my mother always told me you got to just tell you tell yourself the truth in the morning because the world just fills you with lies every day. Right. So everything we're looking for is within ourselves. But we have to remind ourselves. I love. That. We really, really, like, have a great mother.
But it's important to keep remembering these lessons because they, like the most. Simple lessons are also the most profound. Like this. Like you said, keeping it simple is how you actually make your life better. It's just going back to those basics and that was really helpful for me. So thank you. And I'm sure it's going to be helpful for those who are who are listening, looking for better ways.
Because, you know, when people think about like manifestation and visualization, I think people say like, well, of course I want to be great, but and I want to visualize things, but being intentional about how you do that is how you actually get there. I mean, I think that's and you really help teach me another habit that I need to put into my routine, like to be more intentional about that. So I really appreciate that, you know, now, you came from like, Cleveland West.
You did. You grew up in the east of Cleveland. Is that right? West side of Cleveland? I did spend time on the east side. I went to school, high school on the East side, but grew up on the West Side. All right. But it's a it was it was it was a difficult path, right. To be, east side of Cleveland. And what's up, man? I don't know much, but I know the east side of Cleveland's pretty notorious, but it's, still is, but, like 99. Help me. Yeah. How did that shape your experience?
You you know, you came from a background you talked about a little bit, that, you know, it's not just being a person of color. You came from a you gave a place that's very difficult to rise out of, period. Like, it's, you know, not that we go by statistics, but you look at it, a lot of people have trouble rising out of that. Like, what did you gain from that experience and how does that shape who you are today as an entrepreneur? well, you know, I grew up on West 69th in Detroit.
during a really, really tough time for the city. I mean, this is the 90s, right? probably one of the poorest times, you know, even even to today. Maybe, where, you know, it was a lot of poverty. I grew up. I never knew my father raised by a single mother, had three siblings. you know, they they did their best with me. I was the youngest by, like, seven years. and we grew up in this, like, very Italian neighborhood on the west side of Cleveland.
That where they would paint the Italian flag on the fire, fire hydrants and the poles and all that. And, a lot of them were my friends, the kids that grew up. We played outside all the time, you know. but I, you know, one of the, the moments that, shaped me was, you know, when my, my brother went to prison when he was 17 years old, I was about ten. Right. and he ended up, you know, getting in a fight with a guy. And. And so it was all we were so.
So repeat that you said one of the moments that you froze for a one of the moments that shaped you. Was your brother in this go there? Yeah. One of the moments that shaped me was my brother, you know, going to prison. and he was 17 years old, right. and I was ten, and. Wow. So I, I remember the moment, you know, helicopter showed up in my house and the police stormed the house and so on and so forth. And, you know, I was young, so I didn't I didn't really know the magnitude of it.
However, what what was so important about that for me was it showed me the path that I could end up going down. And odds are that I would end up going down that path. Right. because, you know, everybody I think knows the statistics about being a black man in America. Right. and how often we end up in prison. so doing that and seeing that helped. I think me and my sisters realized that if we don't get it together, everything's going to I'm going to end up in prison, right? Just like my brother.
So long story short, they sent me to private school. they really made sure I stayed out of trouble as much as possible. sent me to Benedictine High School. they they really they really stepped up to make sure that I didn't just end up a statistic. Right. right. going to Benedictine High School. I think I owe it to them being, you know, all boys Catholic private school is the reason, probably why I got into architecture school, at Kent State.
And, you know, then from there, I got my master's in architecture, my MBA. And I think that that big thing in my head was, John, you if you don't execute and if you don't do what your you need to do, you're going to end up in the streets. All right. Yeah. You're going to end up, in prison. And I had this person, my brother that was there, and I, I don't know how I don't talk to people a lot about that. Don't know how often people use that as an example of change. Right, right.
But it was it was visceral for me. And I look at that all the time. And that's that's really, truly my memory of Cleveland, because I left the college for ten years, and I just now came back two and a half years ago with my wife. And, you know, now I have a child and I live I live here full time. But my memory was, you know, child John growing up in Cleveland and the violence and the gangs and the prison and, you know, just the poverty and all of that. Right.
but coming back, I think there's a whole new perspective of what Cleveland can be. My brother was just released, after 24 years, last year.
he's now, you know, out and, and, you know, in an apprenticeship, right to, to get, you know, become a laborer and, and become a part of a union right in his on his great and and he's, he's he's going, I come back with a lot more hope, I guess, than I did when I was a child, which was part of the reason why I left, you know, I'm like, yeah, I'll see you later, Cleveland. I to leave notice and I left.
I'm so glad that I did, because it allowed me to find myself outside of Cleveland, you know, and outside of the childhood that I had and, outside of my family. Right. But find John, who I am as a person, as a as a man. and I was able to do that in Phoenix and Seattle and and now bring the new man that I am back to Cleveland and hopefully be able to help as many people as I can. Know that that that's wonderful. let's let let let let's talk a little bit about your professional.
And then I want to go back to some personal things. So you've you were an architect and then you've started a digital design firm. Yeah. How did how did you find yourself? How did you combine architecture with starting a digital design agency? A firm like I don't normally see that connection. So tell us about how those connecting from, from, you know, your experience. Yeah. Well it's actually happening a lot more now.
as the industry shifts and digital design is becoming more and more, I guess, there's more demand for it. Yes. Right. and those crowd, those, those legacy crafts like architecture and drafting, right. In 3D modeling, then I don't I don't know, the people are starting to find themselves in this digital space. But, for me, you know, I just shared about how I left, right after I left, I got into, started a, a mobile app startup called Feel Free,
which was an app. Okay. When you walk into a space, you're automatically checked in there and you see a list of all the, the people that were there. An idea was to create more organic, face to face connections in the built environment. Right. So it was actually a nice little step from architecture into digital. Right.
And that that technology startup, spent the next two years trying to build that, you know, we, we built a whole mobile app, we built a brand, we built a following, and we we ultimately failed via just, the relationship me and my partner had. Right. And we just we fell out in, in that moment and it was I think it was a lot of, you know, immaturity, a lot of young, you know, just naivete. it was you were just young and, right. But I learned so much through that experience.
I learned how to build a brand. I learned how to design a mobile application. I learned how to, you know, build a movement of people right around a course that we cared about, which was these ideas of talking to each other in the built environment, which is probably needed today. Even it's even more important now. So. So we learned so much.
And then what I realized through that experience was how much I loved building things and how much I love starting things and and specifically how much I loved helping people start. So then I ended up in a, a company called C Spot in Phenix called, that was a specifically a impact driven, incubator. Right. So they they accelerated and incubated impact driven entrepreneurs to launch their ideas and build their ideas and push them out to the world. So they were actually a nonprofit.
So I got I got a lot of experience working with early stage entrepreneurs, specifically impact driven entrepreneurs, helping them, you know, figure out their idea, helping them understand their idea, helping them figure out how it fits in the marketplace, how to launch it, and so on and so forth, and how to speak about it. And it just continued to fan that flame inside of me of how much I loved helping people launch their brands and build brands.
So, long story short, I ended up moving to Seattle with my wife, who got a job at Amazon, and my business partner, Choi, was living there, and we decided to start a small studio together, which when we started, was all about branding and helping, you know, these these impact driven companies understand who they are and build their brand and launch it out to the world. Yeah. I ended up extrapolating into web design and product design, mobile web design, right. everything and naming.
And as, as this was happening, I started to realize where my gifts really lead, right? Where we're helping people, helping founders, helping leaders, truly, like, reflect on who they are as an individual and almost extracting that individuality, that personality, those experiences. A lot of the experiences that I just shared with you. Right, right. Right. Myself. Extract ING those and translating those into the marketplace powerfully so they can stand out amongst all the clutter. Right? Right.
They can do something, they can they can build something that's unique and authentic to who they were. And that's how identity architecture came to be. I knew this was so much more than just branding. I was so much more than just a business thing. It was. It was identity. It was identity driven. It was a part of these people's identities. And, that's that's where I. That's that's how I fell in love with it. And that's that's how I was able to bridge architecture.
And what I'm doing now, which is digital design, branding, product design, all of those things. But our our special sauce and what we do differently, what I do differently is that identity architecture, helping people understand who they are and how to translate that into the marketplace.
So, having the experience of starting multiple times, I always find it the most challenging for almost every entrepreneur is like when they got there, maybe they they've got the basics of their offerings, and then they getting that first 5 to 10 clients that first just just as just getting them. What is your advice on getting those first few clients to help you get to the path of possible sustainability?
well, number one is you don't need a business card and you don't need a website, and you don't need anything, honestly, to just sell. Right. And make that ask and put yourself out there. that's something I realized after multiple times of starting. I thought, I need a perfect business card and a perfect website, and everything had to be perfect before I actually even got out there and sold. But I what I realized is that was this fear. That was fear on my side. I was afraid to sell.
I wasn't confident yet. And what we were, what we were actually selling and and what I realized was I wasn't even selling anything. I was just trying to help people. So when I moved to Seattle and started a small studio, I was brand new to this whole new city. One of the at the time when I moved there was the fastest growing city in the world, right? They had the most cranes in the world in downtown Seattle. And I'm here trying to start this new design agency.
All right. Everybody I talked to, I was like, what are you doing? Why why would you do that? And I was like, well, it's what this what I'm doing. And right when I started to talk to people and listen to people and really, truly understand who they are and what they're doing, what they're trying to do, I, I started to find those moments where I could, I, I know I can help you with that. And I told them that and they were like, all right, let's go. And I had an idea.
We had our first client before we even got the LLC filed. Wow. All right. one of my first goals was actually to get Troy to be able to quit his job full time so you can come full time on a small studio. I think in the first three months, we had made almost $150,000, right. And that was me just selling and talking to people and letting them know who we are and what we're doing. And, and, that was before we even had a website, right?
We made $150,000 before we even had a website, before we had business cards, all of that stuff. And, that would be my biggest piece of advice for people that are just starting, especially in services. You need to know how you can help people and why you you're the best person to help them. If you can do that, you don't have to sell. You really just have to talk to people, right? The whole relationship. Yeah, yeah.
And then, like I just saw this quote when the marketing is your story, you don't have to do anything but live and just go out and meet people and a great point you made is that a lot of folks get get paralyzed by perfection. you know, they wait and wait and see. I it has to be this way. Has to be that way. Has to be right. And that prevents them because you got to go out and talk to people. Like, really? It still comes down to the basics.
It still comes down to talking to people and talking to people. Before you're ready, just like you said, you have to know who you are and that's what you're bringing to the table. You know who you are as a person and what your why is. And I guess that's why you're that's why you're the man with identity architecture. Like, I never even heard of that term before you. So that's, And you really educated me on that. Let me give you this, rabbit.
I've been living it for six and a half years, and it's not until just now, this year, maybe last quarter, that I was willing to double down on identity architecture and realize, like, that is our unique differentiator, that that's what makes us different than every other design agency in the world. That's what makes us different than any every other designer in the world. Is that what you just said? When you're marketing is your story, you just have to live.
That's literally all I want to do for people. Hey, I'm trying to market this. I'm trying to be like everyone else in the marketplace. Go right here, right here. Do the reflection on yourself. You know, like reflect. So I always say that you gotta reflect in order to project authentically. And you gotta reflect in order to project authentically. And if you're not reflect. That's a bar. Let's go, let's go. If you're not reflecting, then you're projecting something that you consumed typically.
So that's why I see a lot of this stuff out there in the marketplace, on social media, so on and so forth. It's just people that are just there. Then they don't want to do the work to truly reflect on themselves and their story and their experiences. And I tell people all the time, if you just do that, you'll save a lot of money in marketing. You'll save a lot of time. All right.
And that's why we realize that this this is the core service that we have to offer, because it changes the way we design. It changes the way that people, you know, market everything that you do. If you do that reflection, it helps everything else you do. Now that's that's those are all bars, man. That's a that's a that was great. that was really great advice.
so I want to talk a little bit about your, your, your, your personal journey a little bit here because I know you, you know, the last year, it was going to go you're going to go to Midwest Con, and then you told me you got sick and then you, you know, you actually been, you know, revealed to me recently that, you know, you know, cancer, which is wild. And talk about how that changed your journey as, as a man and as an entrepreneur and like what? Like what you learn from that process.
Well, I have to say that it it almost it's perfect timing to bring that up because I think everything that we just talked about is still still true. Right. I think it's exemplified and magnified when you go through, an illness like that. Right. So for me, I found out right after I train for a marathon, I ran a three hour marathon in May. And if for everybody that doesn't know, the three hour marathon is like seven minute miles for the whole marathon, and, Oh, Lord.
Oh, I trained for, you know, six months to do that. It was a goal of mine. and during that training, I started seeing some some signs, right, started finding some blood in my stools, and I thought it was just a training. Right. That's what I would have thought through. Yeah, and that's what they. The doctors thought, too. thank God I just went ahead and got the colonoscopy because, they found a tumor. and it was they they ended up doing the MRI. Found out on stage two. So still pretty early.
but I can only imagine that 35. If I would have waited any longer, what could have happened? So long story short, stage two colon cancer. it's going to require radiation and chemotherapy, right? so I was prescribed to five weeks. Five days a week of radiation, and then, eight treatments of chemotherapy every two weeks. So I was a total of six months of treatment. Right. So, go back to when I was diagnosed, I had no idea how what was, what was going to happen and how
that was going to transpire. Right. You only you only hear a lot about cancer on, you know, TV shows. And if maybe if you have somebody in your family that dealt with it, which, you know, I never did. So I had no idea about it. my, my, my, my older sister had, Hodgkin's lymphoma, but I was younger, so I really didn't walk with her through it fully, and I didn't remember what it was like, but, I, I didn't know if I was gonna be able to work. And here we are.
You know, I'm principal of my design firm. I have six employees. I'm the primary breadwinner at that firm. I do all of the business development. Yeah. You know, I. And you talked about that, like something with your experience. Just to know. Just so we talked about this, that, you know, you found there's a lot of support systems for folks in cancer from a lot of different, fields, but not with entrepreneurship.
Not not business owners. No. it was a couple of hearing, you know, things for employees. And, you know, if you're an employee, you could take some leave. And, you know, you got you. So on and so forth. And and for me as a business owner, you know, even if they just paid for my salary, that's not enough, because that's not going to generate revenue for my business. Right. So there's not a lot of support from what I found. And I even asked some of the social workers, right.
Are there grants out there for business owners who are, you know, struggling with an illness like this? Does nothing I could find. And, it it made me realize, like, once again, going back to what we talked about earlier, they. All right, let's go. You know. Like. Yeah. All right. God, what are we going to do? How are we going to make this happen? And, and I, I thank God for my wife, who also we found out two weeks after I was diagnosed with cancer that she was pregnant with our second child.
yeah. And she was there with me every step of the way. As strong as I could have ever asked her to be. I thank God for my team. They were one of the first people I told about it. Right. you know, they they supported me through it all. and I just thank God I, I the faith, you know, going back to what we talked about earlier, that that inner, that mental battle, that inner battle of am I good enough? Can I do this? Do I have enough energy like, I, I just want to quit.
And there are many times throughout treatment I just wanted to quit because it's like isn't even worth it, right? Like, what am I? What am I really fighting for here? And, and I'm just so glad that I stuck it through, because coming out the other side, I actually, today I had my last, procedure to make sure it was completely gone. And now the cancer is completely gone. That's wonderful. Yeah. And and I couldn't I couldn't, I don't know, I'm.
I'm such a different person than I was a year ago now already, you know. Right. and and you're the for you this this podcast. First time I'm even talking about it. Most of the people didn't know. yeah. You did tell people on purpose because I just didn't want to, to be looked at with sympathy and and with those eyes that, you know, you look at somebody when they have cancer, a lot of people can't handle you telling them that they have cancer, right? Including a lot of my family members.
Right? Absolutely. Yeah. It's it's really hard on people. And I realize that, however, I felt like God was telling me, like, John, you do this and this is a testimony to many other people who I hope are listening. And, you know, if you have any symptoms, you know, colon cancer is one of the most common cancers, but it's also one of the most durable cancers out there when it's caught early. And, being a black man, we are even more susceptible to colon cancer than most other, nationalities.
So I just want to use this as an opportunity to tell people, like, even if you like, even if you don't have symptoms, I. Cancer colonoscopy, it's it's. Not of bad. And if you. Have no experience, if. You don't, you know, like, get, like get a check. But, I talked to my surgeon today, you know, he said he tells his friends just to tell the doctor, hey, I got some, I got some, I got some bleeding going on. and I will allow the insurance to pay for it. And that's a that's a hack straight from.
Straight from the source, you know. So, I think I think we need to take a stand for that, and I, I'm just grateful to be able to speak about it in this way because, I my business is still alive. I'm still alive. My baby boy is due here in less than a month, and, and I have a a story to tell with it. Absolutely. All right, let's get to some wrap up questions here towards the end here. So, what's an important truth you have that very few people agree with you on?
This is the hard question on purpose. Important truth that I have that very few people agree with me on. I have to I have as a, as a entrepreneur, as a founder, I got to go to my mission at a small scale. our mission is to empower creatives to use their gifts to bring peace. And I believe that each of us have been given a unique perspective on the world. A unique gift that we are supposed to use to bring peace to the lives of others.
Right. And I talked to a lot of people who roll their eyes when I tell them our mission. I pray at the same time, it's it's unique because it's about bringing peace and not just doing work right and not just creating, you know, money or impact or, you know, whatever it is, it's like this idea of peace that not many people, I think, understand, especially in the marketplace, you know? So I have to repeat that mission to my team over and over and over again every week.
And, it's something that I hope more and more and more people realize like that. That's why we are here, is to bring peace, like, it's it says in the Bible, blessed are the peacemakers, right? we are called to bring peace. So no matter, I hope that no matter what you're disrupting, you're disrupting the world to bring more peace to people as we are. We're about resumption for empowerment. Let's go. Let's let's go, let's go. We definitely share that comment. All right.
you have a committee of three, living or dead, to advise you on life, business or combination thereof. Who are these people and why? Committee of three. Well, first and foremost is is God. The wisdom, you know, that comes from I always tell people, whether you're religious or not, I'm not religious. I don't call myself religious. I would say I have a faith, right. the wisdom and the peace that comes with having somebody just right here all the time. Yeah. And it's not you.
It's somebody else that is helping you along that way. I think that that's priceless. And I just hope more and more people realize that we always have access to a helper. Right? That's right. Here. Yep. Number 2nd May get some laughs, but, Dwayne The Rock. Johnson. Johnson the rock. Okay. tell me what the Rock is cooking here. Let me see over here. Why? This is. Man, Dwayne, Dwayne Johnson has the most infectious personality, right? That's that's why he they call him the people's champion.
And I grew up during when when the rock was, like, wrestling, you know? So, Yeah. Yeah, I was a big fan of him back when wrestling was cool. yeah, I. Know some of it after he left is not cool. Anymore. Yeah, but, you know, you know, being being, I don't know, he's he he has done so many things. He's an incredible entrepreneur. All of his brands have been successful, right? From beverages to merchandise to, you know, an actor. And even when he acts right, it's like.
Yeah. You can't help but like, the guy and I, I always, I always look at him as a role model in a way from a personality standpoint, because that's like the personality I hope to bring to every environment I'm in. Right? So I say he's my personality coach. Right? Okay. I'm coach. Right. And then third, I'm going to I'm going to go with my, my longtime mentor, Dan Tire. okay. He's my he's my, he's my business coach and sales coach. Dan was, number, I think, one of the early employees at HubSpot.
yeah, the angel investor. I actually cold called Dan a while ago when I was going through my entrepreneurial journey with the startups, and I'm like, I need a mentor. And he he took me on as his mentor, and he was actually at the parole board hearing for my brother when he was released from prison, last year.
And, I haven't met many men in my life that not only were willing to mentor me, help me with my business, but then also help me with personal things like helping my brother be released from prison. Right. so I, ride or die with that guy for the rest of my life. I don't I don't care about anybody else in the business world, you know? You on or or, you know, all those other guys, and they ain't got nothing on the entire, All right. No. That's great. all right, this is a quote.
You said, trust the process, but test the process. What does that mean? well, if you're building anything, I'll actually. I'll make it relevant to identity architecture. We we actually call it identity architecture. we translate into this idea of a creative operating system for the people we serve for us. Right. So we use this process of identity architecture to help reveal who someone is so we can design better for them. Right.
but when you apply as a founder, you're always building something, right? You're building an operating system, how you operate every single day. So an operating system is a number of inputs and outputs, right? Really, truly is is code how it operates or how this window pops up, what it looks like when you do this, what happens, so on and so forth.
And if you're if you decide that you're only going to use this one operating system for the rest of your life, your life eventually is going to become outdated. You have and I would say that every day is outdated a little bit, right? Every day I am new as a person, as a as a as a just a being. Right? So I say trust the process because I have to trust a faith. I have to trust that it's going to work at the trust that I can show up.
And it will work today in this meeting or this podcast or whatever it is. But I can't hold on to it so strongly that nothing else could ever evolve it or make it better, you know? Yeah. And so, you know, that's why I say test it. And right now it's even more relevant, you know, thinking about AI and how it's disrupting so many industries. And one of the biggest ones I think is under tremendous, attack after I use that word attack is, this tech right. Development. Yeah. Design.
All right. So I'm. From a. Design agency. You know. You know, it's this perfect example where I'm like, all right, cool. Design is becoming a commodity now. Yes, I'll say that out loud. Right. Design is becoming a commodity. If you do not have a unique way of designing with intention, you're not going to have a job for long or you're going, your prices are going to be cut so much because it's no longer of as much value as it once was. Right?
So that's why identity architecture, I see it as the thing that separates us from the rest. And I've been we've been working on this for six years. And it's not just until now that I realized, like, yo, trust the process, trust side. Then we've translated in the architecture six years. We've tested it over and over and over again in different industries and in prisons, in Madagascar. Right. And in the inner city with youth to corporations, fortune 500 companies all over. We tested it.
And over all, we've been able to make it better. And we trust that it works. But it can. Only everything can get better, you know? You know. No, that's, Wow. That's as a whole lot there. I mean, that's that's definitely that's definitely very powerful. And, you made me think about one final kind of question,
and you kind of addressed it, but I want to just get to a little bit. I. How do you see you've talked about AI just now disrupting the design industry and very, in a very articulate way, talked about what differentiates you. It sounds like that the identity architecture and being intentional about your design, because I is now making it very easy to just design something if you just come up with the concept. But how do you see that tension playing out.
Because I continually develop like how are you thinking about this as both a, I guess a potential disruptor, but also as an or as another avenue to empower or amplify what you do and like, how do you see the balance and how do you navigate this? I, I love that AI is coming into play because what it does is it's challenging people to, step away from mediocrity. So AI is just mediocrity, right? It's it's literally the, the, mean of all of the inputs that are already out there.
Right? Or outputs that are already out there. It's the average of them. All right. So technically your average, you know, and as a designer do you, do you want to be an average designer. And and design is one of those industries. And you know, you don't have to go to school for five years like I had to do for architecture to become a designer. You can be a designer by going on YouTube for a couple of days a week, or, you know, a couple months and get a bootcamp or whatever it is.
So that barrier to entry has become so low in design, where there's so many people that are just putting out their work and wanting to charge people, you know, $5 for a logo. 99 designs design pickle cosmic designs. I'm hearing all these design industries where it's like they're they're speaking about design as if it's a commodity.
I am like design and creativity is one of the most valuable gifts we've been given as a human race is creativity, design is the application of creativity in a very specific purpose or problem, right? So I love that AI is coming here because we're going to challenge people to step up their game, right? Stand out and be unique and and bring the human aspect of creativity to design. And that's what I think separates AI from crew. They creatives specifically AI is a tool, right?
Just like your your your your, hammer on your tool bill. It's a tool. Use it to make yourself better, right. And make your work better. But don't use it to create your work. right. That's good. Creating an AI. That's where I think we're really getting where we're really struggling as a as a society that you use AI to help you create, you don't use it to create. And that's that. I created this is good enough. That's I think is a is a slippery slope.
And I don't think that we'll if we do that, we'll end up with a bunch of the same stuff and we will become a very mediocre, well, we will become very mediocre. I'll just I'll just leave it in there. No, I agree, so somebody said, as we wrap up, someone what? someone said this and I can't remember who said it. so I'll give them credit when I remember later. But, you know, there's artificial intelligence. Other authentic intelligence. Oh, right.
If you want authentic intelligence, you need to have the creativity. Humans have to be involved and you use the AI to to enhance but not replace. That's good. That's a good bar to use in that. yeah. to add on, I appreciate you, brother. Thank you so much for coming on the show. Appreciate you so much. Oh, hold on before you leave. Thank you brother.