FULL BIO – Colin VT Johnson
Passionate about bootstrapped entrepreneurship and business operations for the last 20 years, Johnson builds new ventures and advises aspiring entrepreneurs and business executives in the key disciplines of entrepreneurship, namely: Command of the Opportunity, Command of the Organization, and Command of the Self. He launched Van Tuyl Ventures for this purpose in 2017, and spun his training and coaching practice into Three Pillar Leadership in 2020.
While Senior Vice President of Software at Aerion Corporation, Johnson led Aerion’s software methods development and software products business at its wholly owned subsidiary, Silicon Valley-based Aerion Technologies (formerly Desktop Aeronautics). Aerion’s proprietary software for analyzing high-speed air flow and for airframe optimization proved key to advancing Aerion’s thin-wing technology and the AS2 design.
Johnson formerly was CEO of software company Eyetools, a pioneer in eye-tracking-based visual media effectiveness testing, and later President of Desktop Aeronautics. Johnson oversaw that company’s sale to Aerion in 2012 and has managed its integration and growth until founding Van Tuyl Ventures in 2017.
Johnson has served as a consultant for Arthur D. Little in technology innovation. At Delphi Thermal Systems he both worked in forward program product development and managed the engineering relationship on non-allied programs between the company and its customer Toyota. A fluent Japanese speaker, he has worked as Japanese Solutions Program Manager for Hewlett Packard and as a researcher for the Softnomics Center think tank studying Japan’s transition to a service economy, both positions in Tokyo.
His bachelor degree is from Stanford University where he studied Asian Languages and Product Design. Then he later earned an MBA in Management/Entrepreneurship from Columbia Business School.