Welfont Joe Johnson Bio

DR. JOE JOHNSON; ENTREPRENEUR, INVESTOR, STARTUP EXPERT

Working and studying the field of entrepreneurship and organizational leadership for over 25 years, Dr. Joe Johnson has become an experienced entrepreneur, investor and startup expert.

During this time, Dr. Johnson (Welfont Joe Johnson) launched and funded over a dozen startups, mainly in small and high-growth companies. Additionally, he has over a dozen years of commercial real estate investing experience. Dr. Joe Johnson purchased over 10 million sq.-ft. of commercial real estate spread out over dozens of states.

Dr. Joe Johnson is the founder and principal of GoodField Investments. The company is Johnson’s  main catalyst to fund new startups and his own personal investments in real estate or other unorthodox and creative investments. Dr. Johnson is also the founder of  The Welfont Group, one of his startups that is now one of the fastest growing real estate organizations in the country (www.Welfont.com).

The GoodField Foundation is Dr. Joe Johnson’s biggest professional passion. This Ministry Investments group is funded by Dr. Joe Johnson and dedicated to funding entrepreneurial research, entrepreneurial ministries, and underprivileged entrepreneurs throughout the world. 

Industry Experience

Dr. Joe Johnson is an entrepreneur, investor, and start-up expert. He has worked and studied the field of entrepreneurship and organizational leadership for over 25 years.

Over these years, Dr. Johnson (Welfont Joe Johnson) has launched and funded over a dozen start-ups, mainly in small and high-growth companies. Additionally, he has over a dozen years of commercial real estate investing experience buying over 10 million sq. ft. of property spread out over dozens of states.

He is the founder and principal of GoodField Investments, which is his main investment company. Johnson uses the company to fund new startups and his own personal investments in real estate or other unorthodox ventures. He is the Founder of Welfont, a startup that is one of the nation’s fastest growing real estate organizations (www.Welfont.com).

His biggest professional passion is GoodField Foundation, which is a Ministry Investments group funded by Dr. Johnson and dedicated to funding entrepreneurial research, entrepreneurial ministries, and underprivileged entrepreneurs throughout the world.

Entrepreneurial Leadership

• From time to time, Dr. Johnson (Welfont Joe Johnson) will lead one his start-ups as a Founder CEO, during the more tumultuous start-up stages before the concept either succeeds or is proven not to work. If the concept is proven, he then turns it over to a new CEO that can scale the initial concept with success. As a Founder CEO, he leads new start-ups with an entrepreneurial spirit, visionary strategy, organizational discipline, venture capital accountability, and over 25 years of experience.

• Joe has a PhD in Organization Leadership majoring in Entrepreneurial Leadership from Regent University and an MBA from Ashland University. His doctoral and ongoing academic research is focused on studying variables that lead to high performance entrepreneurial start-ups and organizational leadership.

• As a born entrepreneur, Joe’s first business was a landscaping business, complete with industrial equipment, trucks and several employees. He quickly figured out that he could make more money by getting more jobs. He had his first employees before he was old enough to have his driver’s license.

• Eventually, Joe became a full-time college student, captain of his collegiate swim team, and academic scholar athlete, all while running his business with as high as 20 employees.

• Upon earning his MBA degree, he worked on developing an entrepreneurial career with all the peaks and valleys.

Business Career Highlights

• At age 24, he was brought in as CFO of a $12 million insolvent technology company 2 months away from bankruptcy, and was shortly promoted to CEO while leading a highly successful turnaround in less than 12 months.

• As an entrepreneur or angel investor, Joe has launched or funded dozens of start-ups, mainly in small and high-growth companies.

• Led, negotiated, and managed multiple mergers, spin-offs, acquisitions, and exits.

• Consulted as advisor or consultant to dozens of organizations either in the start-up or scaling stages, as well as troubled companies looking to turnaround it’s financial performance.

• Saved SUCCESS Magazine out of bankruptcy, re-launched it with a new team, which won “Best Design Launch of the Year Award” and gained over 500,000 in print circulation, which was subsequently sold for millions of dollars.

• Grew a start-up company from conception to over $60 million market value and 3,700% growth in less than 24 months without any outside start-up capital or equity financing.

Purchases and Ventures

• Bought a real estate and investment training company near insolvency and turned it around to making millions in profit in less than 4 months by modifying the business model, restructuring the management, and refocusing on just three key performance metrics.

• Raised over $50 million in investment capital consisting of debt, equity, and other creative financing methods for his own ventures and investments in media, publishing, education, events, financial services, real estate, and start-ups.

• Helped reshape industries and invent innovative business models, while creating hundreds of jobs by hiring hundreds of employees through various start-up ventures.

• Helps raise millions of dollars for non-profit organizations with a specialty in entrepreneurial ministries looking to change the world with new effective ministry and social change concepts.

• Active as a commercial real estate investor for over a dozen years, personally investing in over 10 million square feet of industrial, office, retail, land, residential and special purpose facilities throughout the U.S.

• Works to help end the cycle of poverty and improve the lives of thousands of underprivileged entrepreneurs throughout the world by helping fund thousands of microloans in over 75 countries through Kiva. See www.kiva.org/lender/drjoejohnson.

• Serves as a board member and strategic advisor for various organizations in the past and present, in both the non-profit and for profit sectors.