Founders
John C. Richards
PRESIDENT / C.E.O.
John is an Active Duty Senior Chief Petty Officer in the U.S. Navy and serves as an Explosives Ordnance Disposal (EOD) Technician. In simple terms, he's a part of the Navy’s Bomb Squad and blows things up for a living. More importantly, he's a husband to his beautiful wife Michelle and a father of three wonderful children, Cody, Kylie and Cassidy.
His faith, family and friends are the three most important things in his life, and he's fiercely loyal and passionate about the things he believes in.
FROM THE MAN HIMSELF:
I have been in the Navy for over 18 years and, I have been all around the world. I have done and seen things in my life that I never thought I would. Within EOD I have slipped below waters surface on dive operations, jumped out of planes on military free fall jumps, and even gone down range to disarm improvised explosive devices (IEDs). But the real reason why I stay in and do what I do is for the guys that stand on the left and right of me that I call my brothers. I love what I do and I am committed to the country I serve.
Two life lessons for success my dad always taught, “surround yourself with people that lift you up and encourage you to do better.” The second one being, “always take time to build up and take care of the guys that work under you. If you do that, then you will never fail.” In that same way, the reason I started OneNation Coffee is because I really want to make a difference in our community. I believe that OneNation Coffee can be more than just a coffee company. I believe this company can show people that with a little faith, and a lot of hard work, dreams can become a possibility. No matter what happens, I am excited to be apart of this company with one of my best friends since childhood.
My prayer is that this company will be a blessing to my family and to everyone else that comes across us.
—John C. Richards
Neil Johnson
COFFEE ENTHUSIAST & CO-FOUNDER
Neil was born and raised in Massachusetts to parents who met in Augusta, GA, while his father served time in the Army as a Junior Military Officer. He spent his youth visiting family often in South Carolina.
From a young age, his parents taught him discipline, hard work, entrepreneurship, and prepared him for life. Starting in the sixth grade, he always had a job -- from delivering newspapers, working in a liquor store, mowing lawns, performing maintenance at an outdoor concert amphitheater, and working as a baking master at a New England clam bake facility.
Neil was active in the Navy for six years as a Naval Nuclear Reactor Operator assigned to the USS Miami SSN 755. He served over 500 days underwater.
After the Navy, he studied Mechanical Engineering at Clemson University and made his way into corporate America. He excelled in the areas of manufacturing, supply chain management, and procurement. While serving in multiple operational and commercial roles at GE Energy, he traveled the globe supporting GE’s global supply chain strategy.
Following GE, Neil worked for BP in Houston, TX, and soon found himself in the middle of supporting the Deepwater Horizon Incident. After the incident, he desired change and headed to Iraq to support the BP Iraq business. Neil led a diverse 25-person team of western ex-pats, Chinese, and Iraqi supply chain procurement professionals in Iraq for over seven years. He helped Iraq with the field expansion and production of the third-largest oil field in the world. Neil left BP in 2018 to follow his true passion of full-time trading and investing.
As a long-time serial investor, Neil is now translating his corporate career skills and experience into running his own investment company. He is excited about potential investments and startups with like-minded people that have a genuine passion for what they do.
FROM THE MAN HIMSELF:
Quality over quantity has been the way I’ve lived much of my adult life; otherwise, you will lack depth in everything you do. I enjoy being surrounded by my family, great friends, and people who truly have a deep sense of passion and purpose regardless of the plan. I can develop the strategy and solve the problems, but there needs to be passion and purpose. I’ve been very fortunate to travel the world through both the military and my corporate career — and have embraced many cultures and life experiences. I was working on my own coffee investment in Costa Rica when I met OneNation founders John and Phil. As our friendship grew, we thought a coffee partnership between us could evolve.
I feel very fortunate to be part of the One Nation Coffee family. I’m excited about creating future value in the coffee community and providing support to veterans, law enforcement, and first responders who have tirelessly served our country and communities.
—Neil Johnson