LAFAYETTE, La — For Ben Johnson, a chance encounter with a blinking piece of machinery in his father’s tech shop would unexpectedly light the way toward a career in industrial automation and entrepreneurship.
“You're telling me I’m going to build a business, and I can’t sell it for billions of dollars? And he was like 'no' and I was like 'Ok, we’re going to have to talk about this,'” Johnson said, recalling an early conversation with his father.
Raised in a family of entrepreneurs, Johnson’s fascination with a device known as a programmable logic controller — or PLC — opened the door to the world of industrial automation.
“I was like, 'Hey, there's this device here, and it’s got some blinking lights on it. What does this thing do?,' and so he introduced me to my first PLC,” Johnson said.
After pursuing electrical engineering, Johnson eventually returned to the idea of building something alongside his father. But first, he had to convince his wife.
“'Hey, I’m quitting my job,' and she's like 'What!,' and I was like, 'Yeah, and we’re going to have it here in the garage.' Then she was like, 'People are going to use my bathroom and drink my coffee?,' and I was like, 'Yeah, for a little while!',” Johnson recounted with a laugh.
That humble garage operation has since grown into Techneaux Technology Services, a Lafayette-based company specializing in industrial control systems and IT solutions. Despite his success, Johnson says feelings of self-doubt can linger.
“It's like yeah, I took the risk and I did that and it’s grown into a great company but I still have trouble, feeling like really I can do this and I’m confident about it,” he admitted.
For Johnson, what keeps him moving forward is simple: the drive and positivity of his team.
“Each day it's coming in and seeing people smiling, and happy and, they’re just like energetic and like excited about their job,” he said.
From blinking lights in a shop to building a thriving business, Johnson’s story reflects the power of both resilience and community in entrepreneurship.
