Angela Johnson is CEO and founder of Men Stem a company that produces implantable electronics to treat neurological disorders.

She's also passionate about entrepreneurship and helping women reach their goals in the STEM fields.

A conversation with Angela Johnson that's now on connections ♪ ♪ thank you for joining us for connections today.

I'm Renee Shaw.

I'm glad to have with us Angela Johnson, who is CEO and founder of Men Stem and another company.

She's going to talk to us about and she'll tell us more about all of this.

She's an expert also what's called lean startup methodology and has educated students on building successful companies with a doctorate in electrical engineering from the University of Michigan.

She's an authority on innovation and entrepreneurship.

Johnson has delivered a congressional briefing on Capitol Hill served as a speaker.

But the 8 district of the Federal Reserve and delivered several international talks and appeared on numerous media outlets.

And we're so glad to have you, Doctor Johnson.

It's a pleasure.

I'm so glad to be here.

This is awesome.

A huge fan of you.

I want to apologize to you and our viewers.

I've this telling you that I had some dental work done.

So if I'm slurring my words, I'm fine.

>> It's just the Novak.

KET is wearing off.

So thank you for being with us.

it's good to see you.

And I'm so proud.

I don't know you just reading your bio just as I just did and researching about you have an impeccable background.

>> Yeah, I yeah.

People say, well, why don't you what don't you do that?

>> And the I'm also a life as minister in a terse.

They say that this phrase let him use that K S are all on down for it.

>> That was so funny.

So how do you fit And with all of your company work and you're helping with the start of something where where do you do that?

Yeah, yeah.

So I I I always say this that you really when you get to the core of who you are.

>> Your vision for life.

As I call it, the business of you.

>> Yeah.

And your mission for then it's just a matter of this.

This fit within the vision of me, the business of me.

Yes, but in the core of me and I always say, >> you know, if you tied your time comes back to you.

So I managed to do all this, but I still wake up in the morning and, you know, have about 2 or 3 hours just to settle into the day and I get home.

I go to bed relatively early.

So, you know, I just feel like, you know, somehow the Lord makes time to do it.

but also it is energizing.

>> Yeah, well, you are quite the Energizer bunny.

And I do love that.

The business of you because I often times we hear people talk about the difference between success and significance.

>> And what is what you are good at versus what is the essence of you?

I mean, how would you define any of that?

Yeah, and that I mean, so I do a whole workshop series on the business of you.

>> Particularly for female founders are female innovators because I feel like women oftentimes of so many roles it they're taking on that day.

>> They don't have an ability.

I'm a freedom was but this way to really be who they are, right?

You know, as I said, yeah, I know who they know the identity of the time to really sit down and and meditate on that.

And so to me, the business of us understanding of our business, right?

Every business has resources.

A business has a vision and mission and every business has strategic partnerships, revenue stream, right?

So I'm thinking about the business of me.

Well, first of all, who might serve as a customer?

And for me, the essence of me is building people being an engineer, no matter what I'm doing, 70 medical devices and engineer from building entrepreneurs and just engineering their visions and their dreams.

And so that so I'm serving that dynamic group of individuals.

So you're going to let me throw out of Jay Z Lie.

>> What we're talking about, Beyonce for me started recording your.

He's not a businessman.

He's a business man.

Fly that, too.

Yeah.

Because we think I've heard Oprah talk about, you know, being successful in the new bill.

You know that she is and of the people that she's interviewed about running a successful companies, what's been their secret sauce?

And she said they KET what they wanted to do and to be yeah.

And if they work toward that goal and all the other things that they were asked to do, this said no to which is I think it's very hard for women.

Oh, yeah.

I mean, do you deal with that is you're asked to do a lot of things.

But do you say, okay, first of all, how does this fit into who I am in the Yeah.

When the beginning I really struggle with that.

you know, no is not a four-letter word.

>> Hayward sentence as a one word yeah, but I used to struggle women really are.

>> The helpers of the world toward us matter what the past was in the home out of the home.

>> In the workplace, wrong as engineer a combat engineer.

I would have these clips right work without a male engineers in the university system.

And the woman was always where you can take notes or you can put up a put together a presentation.

And so no matter where you're at, we're looked as a helper.

But when you stop look at yourself as the helper and you start looking to sell to someone who just is right then you understand, like what makes me tick, what I'm trying to accomplish, then you start filtering the warming to this.

No, not if it doesn't go with the business of meat, doesn't go with my vision.

My mission is like any other company wouldn't do it.

I'm not going have you already had.

You already arrived at that place and mindset or did you have to work your way down into what I had to work?

Well, I used to be I was yes to everything.

>> And you know what?

I'll tell you really.

>> Was that culminating point for me as well as for many other people was a because I was like, wait, I'm still convinced.

I was saying yes to stop that.

The Lord was putting my life and that this was I was needed and this could pass.

Then the pandemic hit.

And as we await everything got canceled.

OK?

And got new design council.

So it wasn't that important.

Us signed up for 100 different things, right?

And from that moment on, you know, I was like, oh, let me rethink the nose and my life.

And I just got very crystal clear.

And I release myself from the obligation, actually, Cole Boars.

I was on and said, yeah, I'm stepping down from this more because, you know, I really more clear what my vision and mission is.

And you need somebody that's slated for this board that can be active activated.

And I was just holding us to eat away, right mind.

So it wasn't part of the business and how can I contribute in the best way to that?

So you get ready to preach right now?

Yeah.

>> Has I think a lot of women and our circles.

We had conversations all the time about how you feel like you need to have a very strong community right?

Because you're also building your brand and you look at community activism as an extension of brand building here, right?

And so you think you've got to say yes to things because you're trying to build yourself.

>> You know what I learned?

I was saying yes to stop that this was years ago is waiting for the pandemic.

I was saying yes, us off building my brand in quotation marks.

And I'll tell you how my brand really got Bill.

When I started doing the things there are aligned with my passions in life.

So when I started doing here and with a start-up, you know, tech start-up and I'm saying, yes, all the staff to build a brand for the tech start-up, which is in medical devices, research and And then I start doing incubators and accelerators for entrepreneurs and that ends up being the gateway to be connecting with money and resources because people saw what I was doing and they were passionate about it, too.

And lo and behold, they were connected.

There are resources, the money that could help the other business that I was working on.

So to when you build a brand, even that if you're long as you're doing the activities, the missions, the passion businesses that are lined with who you are.

The brand comes by de facto.

And so I but even the interviews I got the PR, I got, I never reached out for anything.

It was just people found me, you know, but it's always related to me doing me sort of say, yeah, it was never related to all the brown stuff.

I was Dona, Ana.

And some people would say what is that?

Not selfish?

>> Well, yeah, I'll tell you this.

It's not selfish because when I called the board presence to him, leaving this board.

The reason I explain it to them is well, I realized I was, quote, unquote, active on the board verbally contributing.

But I wasn't giving you what you need on the board because I wasn't actually the right person was allowed by visions.

I couldn't give you the fullness of me on that.

More now, 5 remove myself.

You'll go out and you actually find a board member that fits the end.

They did not only one to 3 board members and that align with their vision and their mission.

Cyber lies away.

I actually helping people by removing myself right there because you don't want someone to do the work to do the work you want some of the do the work that's called to do the work, right, right?

Yeah.

>> that's not what I had any of those you know how?

When the spirit I think a lot of women really struggle with that.

And you want to be connected in you want to do good work?

Yeah.

And you often think that doing good work means you do it outside of maybe what your passion is because maybe your passion doesn't yield to the good Samaritan work on the time, right?

So there was like almost like a guilt.

Yeah.

That comes with some of the decisions you make about where to put your time and people make you feel guilty.

And here's the thing, the more representation that it wasn't Asian matters.

If you don't have anybody like you on the board, you don't say yes.

Then who will?

Yeah.

Oh, yeah.

>> You go to Jay Z and I have a funny story when I was going through this do not take ownership my own life and do what I thought was my mission and my vision I had this Jay Z's song that you, Sir Rocco was runners at the Americana his JD saw on to the next I think it's always about him moving on to women.

Yeah.

I said listen to live He's saying, you know, I was a rapper.

You want to be just a rapper and I want to be a business mogul and now you're mad that I'm doing this like you're trying to KET me this and I want to go in this direction and I realized it was like my life.

And I think a lot of women's life where you want, you have that picture.

What I should do because I'm a woman in tech and there's not many women goes on a plaque woman.

It's because I'm black and I'm intact.

So you decided that I need to be.

Professor Cohen got a Ph I do is I want to be a professor who made people be upset because you're not getting in to write their best hope for you.

But then when you I found when you live out the vision, the mission of your life and you go in another direction.

Just going to ignore all that.

Then people to come back around like, oh, yeah.

>> So now these, you know, I couldn't hear what can we contract with you to come in and give workshops and entrepreneurship?

That's right.

So comes full circle.

It comes full circle.

I just think that's just fascinating.

And thank you for indulging me.

Yeah.

That actually might be competition I know I'm going to miss this interview too.

>> So let's talk about your work in tech is I am curious about when your a double minority in a field that has dominated in a very homogenous way, like how did you rise not know how you did it, but you know, how did you do that?

And then parlayed that into such successful ventures of your own making?

>> You it is really hard because when you're one of one, you know, I'm at University of Michigan and PhD in electrical Engineering in the program.

And I'm only technically not a graduate.

I'm still if I understand correctly, the 3rd African-American female to ever get her PhD in education from University of Michigan.

So there's not really much and the warm the woman had come before me have come like 20 years before me.

So there was no context for me when I show up.

and whether people were intentional or not.

You feel out of place because there's not many people that can identify you could identify with.

And on top of that, I think that something we don't mention and I experiences in the engineering is a plan is that black women particular can be over sexualized.

And so I had a lot of instances where sexual harassment in the You know, one person asked me if I would give them a lap dance the night acts by helping with the research.

What can you laugh?

call you have gone to in a major international conference now dealt with sexual assault.

But what kept me going was that I was like, well.

This is going to happen.

But it doesn't mean it has to stop me from what my purpose is.

Really.

So, you know, you have to really it's sad to say, but you have to realize these things may or may not happen to you.

Alright and I happen to you.

You know, any sort of sexual harassment.

I happen to you.

But when it happens, don't let it change your character.

And don't let it change your purpose and don't want to change your path.

And the only way you do that is you really have to get kind of draw in and think, well, why am I doing this?

Draw from a support group has support groups of other black females that were other disciplines that we would get together just leveraging friends found Lee phone, a friend.

Yeah, it's your lifeline.

White lights, right?

That's right.

>> Well, let's talk to about how your work has helped treat neurological disorders and there.

There's a lot of fancy put this.

This is playing out there.

We're not in clinical use yet of doing something.

Highly innovative is kind of a moon shot.

Technology some people more familiar with that because Elon Musk is now gotten into the space.

And essentially it's think about putting computers >> in your brain or around your nerves, stimulating in them electrically to do some sort of restart a function that may be to see again to hear again to walk again.

And I say we're not Jesus Christ with no, you're right.

And so what it is is the body everything we sense.

We feel we do is controlled by our nervous The nervous system is just electrical information as the one used computer.

If I can hack sort of saying to you compute or and put artificial stimulation in there.

Then the electrical signals used to tell you how to hear.

Well, then a longer work.

So I want to put a chip in there.

And that ship is going now create electrical signals.

And you will hear sound perception in speech.

Not it's not as good as the way got create our bodies, but as well.

Not as an assistant device.

>> Wow.

And so this does harkens me like, OK, says artificial intelligence.

Is this what we're talking about here?

So it's our is in a way is artificial.

Tell just leveraging a lot of that.

But it's also in the hardware of the And so it's almost like artificial.

>> You know, I'm tracking Cyborg.

Haha scare some people to end their controversial concept.

But when you are have been paralyzed from the waist down and somebody puts a stimulator into your spine and you can walk again for the first time in 18 years.

You're not thinking about being politically correct.

You're just happy that you can walk and perhaps one day dance with your wife again.

And so when you haven't been able to hear and somebody puts a cochlear implant in your ear then and you can now hear and and and being conversations, people and you get that sense of enjoyment.

You're not thinking about the political correctness, everything that some people do.

Some people don't choose not to use the technology.

That's fine.

But this technology is really in plant like pacemaker like devices that you put in different parts of the body that treat and restore things we never thought was possible like him plans to go in the eye.

Now we're not in all these spaces, but that's the general space.

Sure that we're playing in.

>> And so what's the success rate of that?

I mean, how do we know about how well that function?

Its sanctions very well.

Cochlear implants been around for decades, right?

Says Art, existing technology, U.S. spinal cord stimulators, which is really I mean, it's disruptive to the extent that we have the opioid epidemic.

Why?

Because we're taking painkillers.

What is one of the major reason they were taking it back lower back pain that pain in the spine?

Well, if you put a spot, of course, stimulator in there is not a pharmaceutical treatment, has no addictive effects and you turn it on.

You stimulate in the spine.

It blocks pain signals from reaching the brain and it's like a miracle treatment.

Parkinson's tremors.

Some have Parkinson's tremors.

They use a deep brain stimulator.

Put it in.

You turn on the switch.

You have the right signals going and it stops the tremors.

Had a gentleman.

He was an artist.

He was so excited to get his deep raised.

A nice I can do are going to art in a long time because of Parkinson's Disease.

Wow.

>> And so then once that implant is made it is there an expiration date on that or what are the other risk?

Yeah.

So with the implants dog different on time lines, sometimes you have to replace them.

After 5 years they replaced with a new replacement.

Everything else.

What we actually work men's tennis.

We do research and development.

>> On a disruptive technology which is going to change the way that those devices are manufactured so that you can put them in smaller spaces in the body so that you can put them in spaces and moving flack so that they won't tear because right now they're made by hand, right?

And that that decreases a life time.

So it is made by hand.

People literally taking wires that are quarter that I am under the strand of human hair and welding them under a microscope.

We're using 3 D printers to create the same technology.

And so it's very flexible, very thin.

It could be artificial skin.

It could be artificial nerves.

So many ways you could use or producing were on that road to get there, though, right now it has a moon shot is highly indebted.

What we're doing.

but I'm very invigorated passion about see what people could do with it.

One day, 5 years, 10 years down the road.

I hope so.

And depending on the technology could be even sooner.

So we think of wearables right now, we're always doing implants.

I want to shift that we've started looking at is what we are so focused on cochlear implants and that have built this big challenges along the way we create this technology that could be using wearables.

So another, where's putting something that's like your skin on the surface of your skin to measure signals.

So maybe you want to measure blood pressure.

I want to measure Sweat coming out to fit up to figure out hydration levels.

So people are passed out on the field when I'm playing football, right?

So being able to do those things externally?

Well, that's a much simpler challenge because he's not to have that survival rate inside the body.

So that's actually a little bit closer than doing the long-term implant.

So it depending what you're shooting for is getting closer and closer with the way technology is moving these days.

I mean, in in for some people, it's scary.

A scary notion.

Yeah, right.

Because they're worried about, well, how is this technology going to be used and monitored on unit?

Be elated.

Our surveillance or 4?

>> You know, you making me move in a direction that I mean, there's a lot of phobia about.

Yeah, as you know, doctor and oh, yeah.

And you know what?

I always tell this.

This thing, you got the cell phone that you're giving up on information to TikTok and Instagram, Facebook.

It's already monitoring everything.

Haha.

>> I was surprised the automobiles we drive.

I mean, there's everything's been replaced with a computer chip is actually getting a lot of information as well.

This is not something to be scared of.

You know, it's something that when you I'm also very risk averse to people being in and violated my privacy.

So the nice things you can choose to get this technology or not, you can choose use TikTok or not.

You can choose your privacy settings are not in terms of people being able to put a chip in your brain and control your body and your mind and all that.

We're a long ways off from that.

I mean, day you can even get the chip in your brain to do anything actually, right a long ways off from it.

But I think that we do need to think about the ethical implications.

And as we're developing the technology, we need to be developing the ethics yes, and spreading the ethics and making sure that people understand that this is something that needs to be handled with care, not just use, you know, without any consideration to privacy people hacking into system, I think you become extraordinary point there that just because you can doesn't mean you should Rihanna.

>> Right.

And we went back.

I remember those conversations are talking about cloning.

Yeah, right?

Yeah.

I mean, this is going to really take some people back to those conversations.

Well, just because you can with the sheep in them.

Yeah, ever doesn't mean you should.

Yeah.

>> You know it is there a line is the is there a very bright line, doctor and a lake that you just do not want to cross.

I think that line is subjective because it depends on who you're talking to.

>> And I think the biggest thing I mentioned that we would mention we're working on cochlear Some individuals that are deaf or hard of hearing.

>> Do appreciate that technology because they feel that it is saying that there's something inherently wrong about the bear.

They actually have great value and and being deaf and hard of hearing that is part of their identity is not anything that needs to be fixed or anything like that.

And then there are other individuals to say, hey, I would appreciate being able to hear conversations to sound waves come through the area on the way to do that is you got to get a cochlear implant.

If you don't have that ability anymore just to the bounty.

The senior year.

So I think choice will be the important that, yes, it is so subjective, but we don't want to ever do is take away people's choice.

It will be more rubble if when a baby is born deaf or hard of hearing parents will have a choice to put the technology and it would be terrible if you know will suffer from chronic pain and they didn't have a choice to choose a spinal cord stimulator.

I think choice is the key one and not making sure that we don't enter into time.

We're society where with the choice is taken away from us.

>> And the choice could be very Yeah, I mean, this is it's considered experimental.

So your health insurance may not be covering some of these things.

So newer things, but but actually a lot of the technology comes out.

The medical device entrepreneurial field.

You have to get insurance coast because people can't afford this right.

But some of that now some people very wealthy can get maybe in access to some.

There's some cancer medications that are super that are coming out.

>> And things like that.

but I think choice and access with men stand were actually on a maid in the manufacturing process.

We're reducing the price point.

So we've had countries like India reach out to us and say, hey, we can put out $60,000 price tag on are confident that we're trying to make something one or $2000 range, broad population with your technology be suitable to that in the future to help us decrease the cost of that.

And so we look at we get contacted by companies all the time internationally.

People that reached out to us here even in the U.S. asking about, well, Howell, your price point drop as a result in you being able to use automation.

Now.

>> So I do want my gosh, look at the time.

It's only 3, almost 3 and a to get to the like because I think everything you're talking about shows the the effectiveness of a good leader, Ayad who is, you know, myopic in focus.

And so I'm curious about when I talk to people like you, what are your 3 to 7 habits?

Yeah, yeah.

So you know, when I think about the critical habits and especially because my life I do, I come from a tech background.

My life very much now is more identified with I do that to my company We help.

>> Train entrepreneurs and business coaching business consulting.

We do workshops.

4 different of are bring that up because we're doing a workshop for university Southern California with the president emeritus of BSE House.

This workshop for entrepreneurs.

And we're talking about in entrepreneurship.

And that really ties into some of things I think make effective leaders.

So in that talk, I mentioned that a leader is >> only seen when they need to be seen.

So I didn't make this up.

But because someone else they felt this philosophy.

But it's almost a hippopotamus the kind of merging their eyes look and see what's going on.

And then the kind of go back down there.

Huge, wrong right.

But they don't throw their weight around.

So as an effective leader is the observation all and their servant leader.

I'm here to serve the team that I'm leaving so that they can do their best.

And that's the most important thing.

An effective leader, though, has also served themselves spiritually emotionally mentally and make sure that they are set.

So every day when I wake up, I start with meditation, you know, and I researched it.

Many successful leaders start with some form of prayer and meditation the morning scientifically stern show.

And so like lower your blood pressure levels and it gives you time for me.

It's about connecting with God getting the vision to the 3rd big thing for leaders.

Does leaders always focus on the vision?

They're more interested in visions.

Dan ideas and that also something I find entrepreneurs.

>> I mean, we need a whole nother.

Al, if you just talk about it's hard to sometimes know what's the vision and what's an idea?

Yeah.

Can you define?

Yeah.

Well, you know, it's one of the biggest mistakes that the entrepreneurs that we that we train do is they start a business based off of an idea and that a vision, an idea is something I could do.

It's something usually isolation have an idea for a product, but they have got a vision for the business around that product.

A vision is something that you actually can see.

The multi facets of how you're going to achieve this to a mission.

And that mission is the business.

And so thing I say about a vision is a vision has to come to pass.

And we mentioned I'm you know, I'm a minister writes, I am very, you know, tune in to the Bible with the worse as but also you see is all faith practices.

When you have a vision from God, it has to come to When you are going through the stamp program as female and you're dealing with sexual harassment and all these things.

But your vision is for the end.

You KET going because why know this vision has to come the past year, not run or you KET going because you're committed to the vision, an actual strategy and plan for vision and ideas really come with a strategy.

A plan is just is a win.

Yeah.

Yeah, right.

Right.

Division of make it plain right.

Listen, has been just tremendous.

>> And I hope that maybe all go to it to your territory.

She's in Louisville, by the way, and come to you sometime.

I just have another part.

2 of Yeah, just reveals it because everything you said is just inspiring.

But also >> is relevant for the time that I Yeah, so tight.

You for just being you and the Johnson has been a pleasure.

>> I think you need to know right work and thank you for watching today.

I'm Renee Shaw.

KET in touch with us on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, all the ways you can do it.

Listen to our podcast at the address you see on your screen and I will see you very soon.

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