# Derek Johnson — derekpedia.com

> Entrepreneur, author, and world traveler. Founder of Tatango (helped nonprofits raise $1B+ via SMS, sold 2025). Author of The Disruption Formula and Super Guest Secrets. Based between Denver, Colorado and Portugal.

## About Derek

Derek Johnson is a 41-year-old entrepreneur who built Tatango — a software company that powered SMS fundraising for nonprofits — from a college dorm room. Over 18 years it helped nonprofits raise more than $1 billion. He sold the company in 2025. After the sale he got sober, lost 30 pounds, traveled to 65+ countries across all seven continents, and wrote a book called The Disruption Formula. He and his wife Jessica live in Portugal.

He writes essays on entrepreneurship, business strategy, investing, and disruption. He advises founders via one-hour strategy sessions.

## Bio

I'm a recovering entrepreneur. I built a company for 18 years, sold it in 2025, and now spend my time figuring out what's next. Here's how I got here. I was born in New York City in 1984 and grew up in White Plains. My dad commuted into the city as a product manager at a large corporation. My mom, who was Canadian and had moved to the US to be with my dad, ran our home with me and my younger sister. When I was around two, my dad was promoted to General Manager of the Canadian OTC division of Sterling Drug. We moved to Aurora, Ontario, about 30 minutes from my mom's parents. A year and a half in, my dad got into a fight with his boss over how OTC products should be marketed differently from prescription drugs. They couldn't resolve it.

Full biography: https://derekpedia.com/bio

## Career & Tatango

Tatango started as a college dorm-room idea in 2007 and sold to private equity in 2025. Here's how those 18 years actually unfolded. The idea In January 2007, halfway through my second run at college (this time at the University of Houston, in their entrepreneurship program), I was talking to a friend who managed her sorority. She was venting. Her members didn't read her emails, didn't show up on time, didn't know what was happening in the chapter. This was pre-iPhone. To check email you had to be sitting at a computer, and most college students during the day weren't. But they all had cell phones. The idea arrived in a single thought. What if she could text every member at once? Group texting barely existed. Mass texting was unheard of.

Full career: https://derekpedia.com/career | Tatango page: https://derekpedia.com/tatango

## The Disruption Formula (Book)

Disruption Isn't Luck. It's a Formula. In October 2016, I went to a business conference in Seattle expecting the usual. Instead, I heard a lawn care guy named Barrett Ersek tell a story that rewired how I think about business. He wasn't a Silicon Valley founder. He wasn't venture-backed. He ran a lawn care company in Philadelphia that had been stuck at $2 million in revenue for six years. Then he changed one thing. Not the product. Not the fertilizer. Not the trucks. He changed how long it took to give a customer a quote. He took it from three weeks down to instant. In his first year, his new company hit $2 million in seven months. By year six it was $16 million. ServiceMaster bought him out.

Book page: https://derekpedia.com/the-disruption-formula

## Work with Derek

Most advisors have read the books. I’ve been in the room. Over the last two decades, I’ve built, scaled, and eventually exited a software company. Along the way, I’ve lived through many of the situations founders only hear about after they happen, usually the hard way. I’ve raised capital from investors, then learned what I should have negotiated differently. I’ve managed a board of directors through both strong growth and very difficult quarters. I’ve navigated a co-founder departure, structured founder buyouts, and negotiated acquisition offers, including ones I ultimately walked away from.

Advisory page: https://derekpedia.com/work-with-me

## Key pages

- [Overview](https://derekpedia.com/): Who Derek is, his background and story
- [Bio](https://derekpedia.com/bio): Full biography
- [Career](https://derekpedia.com/career): Professional history and Tatango story
- [Jessica (My Wife)](https://derekpedia.com/jessica): About Jessica Johnson
- [Work with Me](https://derekpedia.com/work-with-me): Advisory calls and how to work with Derek
- [Essays](https://derekpedia.com/blog): Business and entrepreneurship writing
- [The Disruption Formula](https://derekpedia.com/the-disruption-formula): Derek's book on disruption
- [Books I've Written](https://derekpedia.com/books-ive-written): Derek's published books
- [Books I Love](https://derekpedia.com/reading): Books Derek recommends
- [Shows](https://derekpedia.com/shows): Shows Derek recommends
- [Podcasts](https://derekpedia.com/podcasts): Podcasts Derek listens to
- [Gear](https://derekpedia.com/gear): Gear and equipment Derek uses and recommends
- [Predictions](https://derekpedia.com/predictions): Derek's public predictions about the future
- [Travel](https://derekpedia.com/travel): Travel overview
- [Countries Visited](https://derekpedia.com/countries): 65+ countries visited
- [Apps & Services](https://derekpedia.com/apps-services): Tools and apps Derek uses
- [Contact](https://derekpedia.com/contact): Contact form

## All wiki pages

- [Watches](https://derekpedia.com/_page-watches)
- [Work with Me](https://derekpedia.com/_page-work-with-me)
- [Apps & Services](https://derekpedia.com/_page-apps-services)
- [Travels](https://derekpedia.com/_page-travel-overview)
- [Essays](https://derekpedia.com/essays)
- [Full Bio](https://derekpedia.com/bio)
- [Tatango](https://derekpedia.com/tatango)
- [Work with Me](https://derekpedia.com/work-with-me)
- [Shows](https://derekpedia.com/shows)
- [The Disruption Formula](https://derekpedia.com/the-disruption-formula)
- [Jessica (My Wife)](https://derekpedia.com/jessica)

## All essays (30 published)

- [Selling Isn't Quitting](https://derekpedia.com/blog/selling-isnt-quitting) — You love the business. That isn't a reason to keep it. It's a reason to build it again.
- [10X Cheaper, Faster, or Better](https://derekpedia.com/blog/10-times-cheaper-faster-better) — One move built every company on this list: take a single part of the customer experience and make it not 10% better, but…
- [The Cost of Waiting to Sell Your Business](https://derekpedia.com/blog/the-cost-of-waiting-to-sell-your-business) — Waiting feels free. It's the most expensive thing you can do.
- [The Cure for Almost Every Business Problem](https://derekpedia.com/blog/the-cure-for-almost-every-business-problem) — It's the same fix I give almost every business owner who calls me, and it starts with picking one customer.
- [When to Sell Your Business in the AI Era (Sooner Than You Think)](https://derekpedia.com/blog/when-to-sell-your-business-in-the-ai-era-sooner-than-you-think) — The earthquake already happened. Sell before the wave hits.
- [How a $100,000 Tax Deduction Turned Into a Ponzi Scheme](https://derekpedia.com/blog/how-a-100000-tax-deduction-turned-into-a-ponzi-scheme) — She and her husband went looking for a tax write-off. Their trusted advisor handed them a Ponzi scheme instead.
- [How I Lost $3 Million Angel Investing](https://derekpedia.com/blog/how-i-lost-3-million-angel-investing) — After selling my company, I invested $3 million into angel investments. The mistake wasn't angel investing — it was this…
- [Real Estate Syndication Returns After 6 Years (11 Deals)](https://derekpedia.com/blog/real-estate-syndication-returns-after-6-years) — Wondering if real estate syndication investing is worth it? Here's our honest, numbers-first answer after 6 years and 11…
- [Stop Comparing Autonomous Robotaxis to ATMs](https://derekpedia.com/blog/stop-comparing-autonomous-robotaxis-to-atms) — The two-question test that tells you which jobs automation kills and which ones it just changes.
- [The Math Says Keep Your Mortgage. I Paid Mine Off Anyway.](https://derekpedia.com/blog/the-math-says-keep-your-mortgage-i-paid-mine-off-anyway) — Everyone runs the calculator. Almost nobody tells you how it feels.
- [When You Come Into Money, Only Make Decisions You Can Undo](https://derekpedia.com/blog/when-you-come-into-money-only-make-decisions-you-can-undo) — The version of you a year from now will know things you don't. Don't lock them out.
- [Cheaper, Faster, Better. But Mostly Cheaper](https://derekpedia.com/blog/cheaper-faster-better-but-mostly-cheaper) — Of the three ways to disrupt an industry, one does most of the winning. Here's the data from my own book, and how to act…
- [ETA's Dirty Secret: You Can't Change the Business You Just Bought](https://derekpedia.com/blog/the-eta-trap-you-cant-change-a-business-you-just-bought) — Entrepreneurship Through Acquisition (ETA) is the hottest path in business right now. Here's the biggest risk nobody war…
- [When the Money Lands, Stop Thinking in Monthly Payments](https://derekpedia.com/blog/when-the-money-lands-stop-thinking-in-monthly-payments) — The payment is built to make a big purchase feel small. Right when you can't afford to feel small.
- [Get Ready for the Retrade](https://derekpedia.com/blog/get-ready-for-the-retrade) — The buyer who agreed to your number in the LOI will try to move it right before closing, when you have the least power t…
- [Sell, Then Build](https://derekpedia.com/blog/sell-then-build) — Building has never been easier. That's exactly why so many founders are building things nobody pays for.
- [A Windfall Is a Math Problem, Not a Returns Problem](https://derekpedia.com/blog/a-windfall-is-a-math-problem-not-a-returns-problem) — Come into a big lump sum and you'll be tempted to fix the wrong problem. Here are the only two honest answers, and the o…
- [The Best Dividend Isn't Money](https://derekpedia.com/blog/the-best-dividend-isnt-money) — The one idea from Die With Zero that changed how Jessica and I plan our lives.
- [When You Get a Windfall, Pay the Taxes Immediately](https://derekpedia.com/blog/when-you-get-a-windfall-pay-the-taxes-immediately) — I did it both ways. One felt terrible. The other didn't. Here's what I'd tell anyone who comes into money.
- [How I Got Sober](https://derekpedia.com/blog/how-i-got-sober) — No willpower, no meetings, no recovery. Just a book.
- [I Asked Claude Which Industries It's About to Disrupt](https://derekpedia.com/blog/i-asked-claude-which-industries-its-about-to-disrupt) — I went to the source. Here's the list, the three waves, and what survives.
- [Are we investing in the SpaceX IPO?](https://derekpedia.com/blog/are-we-investing-in-the-spacex-ipo) — Never bet against Elon, but does that mean we're buying SpaceX at IPO?
- [One Bidder Is No Bidder](https://derekpedia.com/blog/one-bidder-is-no-bidder) — One offer feels like winning. It's the weakest hand you can hold.
- [I'm Betting on the End of Car Ownership](https://derekpedia.com/blog/im-betting-on-the-end-of-car-ownership) — Why Tesla is the only stock I own
- [Run a Sale Process, Even If You Never Plan to Sell](https://derekpedia.com/blog/run-a-sale-process-even-if-you-never-plan-to-sell) — A failed attempt to sell my company handed me the exact playbook to make it sellable a year later.
- [You Keep Judging the First iPhone](https://derekpedia.com/blog/you-keep-judging-the-first-iphone) — You're rating AI on version one. Every industry that laughed at the first iPhone did the same thing, right before it ate…
- [I Owned the Majority of My Company. I Almost Couldn't Sell It.](https://derekpedia.com/blog/i-owned-the-majority-of-my-company-i-almost-couldnt-sell-it) — Selling Tatango taught me that voting control and the power to actually close a deal are two very different things.
- [Why I Make Entrepreneurs 10X Their Goals](https://derekpedia.com/blog/why-i-make-entrepreneurs-10x-their-goals) — Why setting a bigger goal forces you to do less, not more
- [The Second Bite of the Apple Is a $70M Deal](https://derekpedia.com/blog/the-second-bite-of-the-apple-is-a-70m-deal) — What private equity's rollover equity pitch really pays founders, and the number you should actually anchor on.
- [Why Entrepreneurs Should Value Their Earnout at Zero](https://derekpedia.com/blog/why-entrepreneurs-should-value-their-earnout-at-zero) — Why you should value every deal at the cash up front—and ignore the rest.

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