Shelton Hull
Words by Shelton Hull
The innate appeal of Black History Month is self-evident, from an educational standpoint. But the occasion is always also ripe for exploring the vast array of Black excellence unfolding now, in the present, and all its potential for the future. One such story is being written right now by today’s subject, Samuel Johnson, a Black U.S. Army veteran who parlayed his remarkable early success in the cryptosphere into a whole new platform to facilitate rapid advancement in tech circles, a service created specifically for people of color, particularly children.
Orbital only launched in January, but Johnson’s story goes even deeper than that. “I’ve been planning this for about three years,” Johnson says, Zoom-ing in from Havana, where he was working his day job in some amorphous realm related to corporate cybersecurity, which takes him all over the world. “I actually got the idea when I was in Thailand.” Having known him for several years, I’d say that I don’t think he’s ever been in the same place for any random conversations we’ve ever had, and we’ve had dozens, just in relation to this article. So these quotes come from all over the place, literally.
“I traveled to about 20 countries, in addition to America,” he said, “and I noticed the lack of ability when it comes to computers, information technology, blockchain research, etc. I also noticed that people wanted more ingenuity, more innovation, right? Technology is supposed to be used to better our lives, and I’ve seen how a lot of technologies go out, and it hinders us. So my platform aims to teach people how to use technologies: coding, basics of computers, the insides of computers and how they work. And not just in English, but in Thai, Arabic, Spanish, etc. My goal is to have it available globally.”
“I’ll start with Southeast Asia, for sure,” he continued. “I traveled through Southeast Asia a lot, not just Thailand or Singapore, but Malaysia, as well, and I noticed there are some companies there that need careers in IT, careers in technology, in general. And that’s true, also, in the U.S. Companies like Facebook and Google, they got rid of a lot of their entry-level staff and are going for more senior-level staff, which is understandable. But right now, there’s a need for jobs, and my goal is to help create jobs, globally.”
“Orbital aims to create an education platform that provides job-level certifications for people between ages 17 and 25, or even older. These will provide newer, incoming employees with something to serve as a hedge against certain college degrees and other certifications that may be more expensive. Some things, you just have to get through them, but my certifications are basically free, and all you have to pay is a transaction fee, and that’s it.”
“My more conservative goal is to have just 100 clients globally,” he said, prior to launch. “But my more passionate side of me, in terms of goals and whatnot, is to have at least 10,000 clients using my platform by the end of next year.” Less than two months into the launch of Orbital, that first goal was achieved almost immediately, and he’s progressing steadily toward the second. “My goal is to integrate this into schools, and for students and teachers to integrate it into their own projects,” Johnson added.
“My goal is to find two types of talent. That’s less about people who have ‘the sauce,’ as they say, but people who want a change in their careers. A lot of the talent I’ve found are people who are not satisfied with the careers they were in, and they wanted to take that chance and really bet on themselves,” he said.
Operating Orbital as a nonprofit, Johnson has sourced talent from Europe, Asia, the Middle East and the U.S.: Arizona, Texas, and of course Jacksonville, the city he still considers home, even though he’s hardly ever here. He’ll certainly be back more often, as his operations continue to grow.
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