Miguel Johns, the Power of Latino Resilience in Technology
Wichita, Kansas | October 9, 2026
By Claudia Amaro | Planeta Venus
Miguel Johns will represent Wichita, Kansas, next November at the renowned Global Startup Pitch Competition in San Francisco, where he will pitch his project to more than 2,500 venture capital investors. He won the local competition thanks to Milton, an innovative human-in-the-loop artificial intelligence platform for independent gyms and trainers. Newton-born Johns turned the closing of his first startup into a lesson that has made him an example of technology with a human face and of the talent emerging in the Midwest.
For many families in Kansas, Johns' story is more than a business success. It's also an example of family effort, roots, and neighborhood pride. From hosting games in Newton as a child to his dedication to college sports, his journey reflects the daily perseverance that characterizes our region's hardworking people.
John's story captures the full arc of Latino and interdisciplinary entrepreneurship in the center of the country. He began by following his family's work example and overcoming a sports injury. Now he leads an innovative technology company with Milton and looks to the future by driving local development. Although Latino technology businesses still face major capital challenges, his story shows that faith, long-term vision, and community commitment are key to change.
The Landscape of Latino Tech Companies in the U.S. and Kansas
To understand the impact of what Johns is achieving, look at data from the 2023 U.S. Census. About 52,110 majority-Hispanic or Latino-owned tech companies in the country. Of those, 86% (44,600 companies) operate without hired employees, i.e., as individual projects. Only 14% (7,510 companies) have employees on the payroll. The largest sector is computer systems design, which accounts for 69% of the Latino tech industry and has 36,089 firms.
In Kansas, official data show at least 201 Latino-owned tech companies, most of which focus on computer systems design. Of these, 121 companies focus on that sector, and only 21 have hired employees. Although the Latino community has more than 5.8 million businesses nationwide (and more than 21,700 in Kansas), technology companies represent only 0.9% of total Latino businesses. These figures show that the Latino presence in technology continues to grow and that each story paves the way for others.
Family Roots, School Sports, and the Awakening of a Vocation
Johns grew up in Newton, Kansas, in a biracial family, Mexican and African American, where hard work was always important. His maternal grandfather, of Mexican descent, taught him to be self-employed selling tacos and mowing lawns. His mother also set a great example: As a mother of four, she went back to nursing at Hesston College and graduated at the top of her class with a perfect 4.0 GPA. "… (her example) is instilled in me watching her go through that with all these kids. And then she graduated top of her class, number one, 4.0… as an adult, I'm like, 'Holy cow.'" Johns recalls her mom's example.
That discipline helped him excel in track and field and earn a scholarship to play football at Indiana State University. But a serious hamstring injury ended his sports career and caused him an identity crisis. At the time, a friend recommended the audiobook "The Strangest Secret" to him. "This was the first time I had looked internally, and I was just like, holy God, I got a whole thing up here. What's going on?"
Shortly after, during a trip to Key West, he first heard the word "entrepreneur" when talking to an entrepreneur. Upon returning to college, he focused on Exercise Science and, motivated by his father's struggle with type 2 diabetes, decided to dedicate his life to preventing chronic diseases through the use of health and technology.
Kingfit: Learning Through Constructive Failure
Returning to Wichita, at a time of A great deal of activity for local startups, Johns met the first person who gave him his first check for $10,000 to found Kingfit in 2015. His dream was to create a virtual coach with artificial intelligence to prevent diabetes, but the technology at the time wasn't advanced enough to make it possible. For nearly ten years, Johns made nearly 100 turnarounds to make his mobile apps and educational platforms work. Inspired by books like Robert Greene's The Alchemist and Mastery, he saw those years not as a failure, but as a great learning experience. "Man, I've failed more times than most people have ever tried," he honestly says.
His wife's support was essential, as she financially supported the household during years when the budget was very tight. When his first daughter was born, and after facing problems with the company's structure, Johns decided to close Kingfit at the beginning of the pandemic.
Milton: Artificial Intelligence at the Service of Human Beings
At the end of 2022, ChatGPT's arrival changed everything. Johns realized that the technology he had dreamed of ten years ago finally existed. Thus, Milton was born, an artificial intelligence platform built on a "human-in-the-loop" approach.
Unlike other tools that seek to automate everything, Milton helps personal trainers and independent gyms create routines, track nutrition with photos, and gather metabolic data in minutes, all while maintaining human guidance. "...we've built a human-in-the-loop coaching platform... helping the small guy compete with the Giants," he explains. "Because I've been from here, it's molded me to be like, oh, well, actually investors don't like that. You actually have to make money. You have to have a real business model."
With support from organizations like Network Kansas, Johns won the local performance competition and earned a pass to represent the Wichita community in San Francisco.
Sowing Capital in the Community
Johns remains committed to his roots. Among his goals is to create a local fund in Wichita that delivers seed checks, between $1,000 and $10,000, to hundreds of local entrepreneurs who need a first opportunity to get their ideas off the ground.
Johns' path here was no coincidence, but the result of more than ten years of hard work, discipline, and dedication, during which he turned failures into learning.
Now, as he prepares to compete in November at the Global Startup Pitch Competition in San Francisco before more than 2,500 investors, Johns shows that preparation is just as important as vision. Together with his chief technology officer, he schedules meetings with investors and perfects a presentation that highlights the advantages of building businesses with real income in the Midwest, as well as the honest story of a young man from Wichita who learned from his downfalls and came back with the right technology at just the right time. With humility and the belief that our community's talent is real, Johns travels to the tech capital not only to seek funding for Milton, but also to show that Kansas can innovate and transform lives.
Inspiration, Faith, and Persistence for Our People
Miguel Johns' story offers a lesson in hope for families and young people in our African American and Latino communities who dream of getting ahead. Johns' message conveys peace and the assurance that constant effort pays off, and he ended our interview with two key pieces of advice for young people who have a dream to fulfill:
"…make yourself undeniable, and that takes time… If you're starting from ground zero, you have to say, 'This is going to be a 10-year journey for me, and I know it's going to be difficult… but I'm promising myself I'm just going to continue to learn… and by the end of those 10 years, I'm going to be in a position where I will have the capability to change my life'… You will develop skills that nobody can ever take from you."
And he ended by saying,
"If you had just the faith of a mustard seed, you could tell the mountain to move, and the mountain will move. It all starts with your mindset and small daily triumphs."
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