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Johnson, Bryan. An August 22 birthdate corresponds to August 1977 for futurists, entrepreneurs, and venture capitalists. A prominent figure through high-profile technological innovation and risk investment in fintech, neuroscience, and many other sectors too. As the founder of Kernel and Braintree, and a creator of the OS Fund, Johnson has dedicated his career to pioneering the frontier of what science and technology can achieve. Personal mission set forth in “Project Blueprint” to extend human longevity underlines his drive to change human health and performance.
Bryan Johnson grew up as one of three brothers and a sister. His parents divorced, and he lived with his mother and stepfather, who owned a trucking company. His paternal background led to a drive for hard work, and when he was 19 he went on to spend two years in Ecuador as a part of a two-year missionary training required by the Church of Latter-day Saints.
He later graduated from Brigham Young University in 2003 with a Bachelor of Arts in International Studies. He later earned his MBA in 2007 from the Booth School of Business at the University of Chicago.Equipped with knowledge on how to go about the business world, he prepared himself for mainstream success.
Early Ventures
On his way to mainstream success, Johnson experimented from 1999 until 2003 by testing several startups.
Cell Phone Sales:
Johnson sold cell phones during college to collect $300 in commissions for every sale. Other students were recruited to make more sales since he used all the proceeds from this business in financing school.
Inquist:A VoIP co-founded by Johnson, that had all the Vonage and Skype features, until its operations were closed in 2001.
Real Estate Development: Johnson partnered on a $70 million real estate deal, but the first attempt did not meet all the criteria for sales.
These initial ventures helped build up Johnson’s entrepreneurial savvy and paved the way for success down the road.
As Braintree’s CEO, the company topped the list of fastest-growing companies in the United States, securing its entry on *Inc.* magazine’s 500 list of the fastest-growing companies both years that it did, 2011 and 2012.
Braintree acquired Venmo in 2012 for $26.2 million. Among that application was making payments and receiving money very seamlessly. Braintree, by 2013, was processing payments amounting to $12 billion annually. Of these, a whopping $4 billion came through mobile platforms. PayPal did not take long to become aware of Braintree’s success, and by September 2013, PayPal was going to buy Braintree for $800 million. Johnson went away with more than $300 million from the deal. The success marked Johnson’s reputation as a visionary entrepreneur.
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OS Fund: Investment in Innovation in Breakthrough Technologies
Johnson founded OS Fund in 2014 using his own money and committed an amount of US$100 million at risk for early-stage investments in science and technology companies. It focuses on transformative innovations in synthetic biology, artificial intelligence, and advanced manufacturing – perfect with the mission of advancing humanity through technology.
In 2016, Johnson established Kernel and contributed $100 million of his own money to the company.. Kernel develops devices that can measure electrical and hemodynamic signals produced by the brain, allowing researchers to study the activity occurring in unprecedented detail.
In 2020, Kennerl’s Helmet-like Devices were published and shown to be potentially applicable to research in Alzheimer’s disease, in mental health therapies, and much more. Johnson believes that these devices will eventually allow paralyzed people to communicate with the outside world and to enhance treatments for a wide range of neurological disorders. .
Project Blueprint: Longevity
In 2021, Bryan Johnson started **Project Blueprint**, a personal venture toward slowing down aging and improving healthspan. Johnson claims to be achieving results that reverse biological aging markers through severe dietary and lifestyle regimens. Those methods, including plasma transfusions, have been controversial, with the FDA pointing out that such procedures may not have benefits but instead risk injuries. Experts remain skeptical of such methods.
Despite criticism, Johnson continues exploring new innovative ways to health optimization. He wants to give evidence to the possibility of extending human life through science.
Personal Life
Bryan Johnson was born in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints but apostatized from faith at age 34. An adventure-seeker, he trekked to the highest peaks in Africa and North Africa, Mount Kilimanjaro and Toubkal, respectively. He is also a licensed pilot and father to three children.
Awards and Recognition
In 2016, Johnson won the Distinguished Alumni Award from the University of Chicago Booth for his entrepreneurial achievements and contributions to society. He was also in the documentary *I Am Human*, 2020, discussing the possibility of brain-machine interfaces.
Frequently Asked Questions about Bryan Johnson
1. What is Bryan Johnson famous for?
Bryan Johnson is probably best known as the founder of Braintree, which revolutionized payment processing and acquired Venmo before being sold to PayPal for $800 million. He also founded Kernel, a neuroscience company, and the OS Fund, a venture capital firm backing transformative scientific innovations.
2. What is Project Blueprint?
Project Blueprint is a project that Bryan Johnson initiates in a pursuit to slow down aging and maximise healthspan through practice on dietary, exercise, and lifestyle, although his methods, such as plasma transfusions, have been bashed, Johnson claims there are significant improvements in biological aging markers. **3. How did Braintree affect the fintech industry?**
Braintree has rounded off online payment processing for businesses that make billions of dollars’ worth of transactions. The purchase of Venmo put peer-to-peer payments at the forefront, making digital payment way more accessible and easy.
4. What is the mission of Kernel?
Kernel searches the mysteries of human brains by developing devices that measure brain activity. It can be applied in neuroscience research, mental health therapies, and brain-computer interfaces, where technology might revolutionize health care as well as human-computer interaction.
5. What are criticisms of Johnson’s efforts at longevity?
Experts hold that most of the interventions that Johnson follows-the plasma transfusions, for example-do not have empirical support. Likely to prove ineffective in altering life expectancy, critics like Moshe Szyf and Andrew Steele point out that more influential in aging than lifestyle intervention is genetics. —
From being the college entrepreneur to now being an undisputed fintech pioneer and neuroscience leader, Bryan Johnson has epitomized relentless innovation. From the development of new technologies that measure brain activity to taking the boundaries on the possible span of human life, Bryan Johnson has managed to bring some reins to up-and-coming entrepreneurs and scientists through his inspirational endeavors.
