Sometimes, you are borne into a career. Other times, you are borne into a career because of necessity. Rarely do the two overlap.
They have, though, in Christian Johnson, who is a second-generation ARM industry professional and a first-generation product developer and entrepreneur.
Johnson has been involved in the ARM industry since she was 16. The collection agency her father was working at hired her part-time. It was a perfect match. “I was good at it,” Johnson said. As she moved on to larger agencies, she progressed to hanging out her own shingle and starting her own agency. Four years after starting the agency, she switched to becoming a passive debt buyer. Now, she and her partners purchase portfolios and outsource collections to third-party agencies.
A few years ago, Johnson’s son was at that age when kids start getting their driver’s license. As with many parents, the thought of her child driving induced many worries and concerns. Around the same time, Johnson’s mother had a stroke while driving her car. She was alone.
Johnson started looking for a device she could use to monitor her son and her mother, to keep them safe, but also to be there in case of an emergency. That meant real-time monitoring. Not finding anything. Johnson decided to build her own. What emerged is a device called the Driver Watchdog. The Watchdog connects underneath the rear view mirror on the inside of a car’s windshield and provides real-time video and audio access to smartphones and tablets. Johnson, and other parents, can keep an eye on their kids and others and, in the event of an emergency, can communicate with the people in the vehicle.
“My son was getting tired of me always trying to climb into the backseat and follow him around ,” Johnson said.
To prove her concept, Johnson said she stood outside the Department of Motor Vehicles offices for six weeks, talking to parents who were bringing their children to take their driver’s tests.
“I wanted to know if this was something they would want,” she said. “This was not an easy jump. It took a long time and a lot of research and bootstrapping and sleepless nights to get the right team together. To raise money; I’m a black woman in technology. It’s rare and it’s hard. It’s the hardest thing I’ve ever done.”
Getting the Driver Watchdog up and off the ground has siphoned off Johnson’s time from her debt buying operation. She recently signed on with new partners, and now purchases through Butterfli Holdings. She said she is spending about 25% of her time in the debt-buying market. But even that number falls closer to zero, Johnson says she has no plans to leave the business altogether. After all, it’s in her blood.
“I have a passion for it,” she said. “I’ve seen it done correctly and I’ve seen what it’s turned in to. I am passionate about making it, we don’t need to be a chop shop. I want to help people correct their financial situations.”
