The Journey from Startup Founder to Employee with Chad Johnson

In today’s episode, we chat with Chad Johnson, a Principal Product Designer at OJO. Chad co-founded his own real estate software company, Digs, and managed to sell it to OJO in funding rounds and make the transition from founder to full time employee. You’ll hear about the lessons and discoveries that Chad made along the way, as well as Chad’s passion for helping designers realize their entrepreneurial streak.

Here’s a look at our discussion:

• 1:00 : How Chad decided to start his own business, Digs, and how he scaled that business

• 12:00 : Hiring engineers as a non-technical founder

• 15:00 : How Chad sold Digs to OJO during the pandemic, and the transition from founder to employee

• 21:30: Chad’s current side gig - his personal brand

• 25:35 : What’s on the horizon for OJO and Chad

• 28:00 : How to get in touch with Chad and learn more

Links mentioned in this episode:

• Chad’s LinkedIn Profile

• Sign up for Chad’s newsletter

• OJO Website

• Digs, the company Chad previously founded that was acquired by OJO in 2020. See below for links to pr about the acquisition:

• https://www.inman.com/2020/10/15/ojo-labs-acquires-fintech-startup-digs/

• https://www.housingwire.com/articles/ojo-labs-acquires-personal-finance-platform-digs/

• https://www.yahoo.com/lifestyle/ojo-labs-ranks-no-49-110000943.html

• https://www.builtinaustin.com/2020/10/15/ojo-labs-acquires-digs-hiring-growth