The Chronicles Of Aspirations:
Chevan Baker
Fall of 2019
Mr. Chevan Baker.
Mr. Chevan Baker is a young man who is building a tech business with a childhood friend in Kansas City and is one of a five-man team who invented a device that may eventually lead to many people being able to live their lives without amputations.
Mr. Baker is 26 years of age. He was born in Honolulu, Hawaii, and grew up in an upper middle class family in Kansas City. His father served our country in the United States Air Force and worked for years in finance, while his mother worked in a hospital. Mr. Baker wanted to leave home to go to college, yet have the comfort of family being nearby. He chose to attend Jackson State University in Jackson, Mississippi, from 2011 to 2016. He graduated with a Bachelors of Science in Computer Engineering.
While in college, Mr. Baker worked in a variety of jobs, including seasonal work at Walmart as well as various jobs at the University.
He and a childhood friend, Mr. Terrell Clark, founded 1Place4tech, an internet-based business that provides three services to small businesses: Website design and development, mobile app design and development, and content and brand management. Most of their clients are from the Midwest, but the firm also has clients in other parts of the United States.
Diabetic Mat Invention
In his last year as a student at Jackson State University, Mr. Baker was one of the students in the Department of Electrical & Computer Engineering and Computer Science who participated in a senior capstone project. According to Mr. Baker, the members of his Senior Design Class were divided into groups, with each group making a presentation to a review board of engineers.
“We were tasked with solving a problem using existing software, hardware, or a combination of both software and hardware,” stated Mr. Baker.
He explained that he was one of four students who formed a team that reviewed several issues before deciding to focus on diabetes.
“The issue was close to home for each of us,” detailed Mr. Baker. “We could all relate to the problem. We found out our professor was diabetic. One of the biggest concerns was the rate of amputation faced by those with the disease.”
Four students made a joint presentation of their diabetic mat during their Senior Design Class at
Jackson State University in 2016. From left are Mr. Jordan Barber, Mr. Fred Harris, Mr. Chevan Baker,
and Mr. Jann Butler. Not pictured in this photograph is the students’ professor, Dr. Gordon
Skelton. (Photograph was provided courtesy of Mr. Baker.)
Dr. Gordon Skelton was the professor who led the Senior Design Class attended by Mr. Chevan Baker
at Jackson State University in 2015-2016. Dr. Skelton is a professor in the Department of
Electrical & Computer Engineering and Computer Science at the University. (The photograph was
provided courtesy of Jackson State University.)
“Our first semester for this class focused on theory, while each group presented an actual working product at the end of the second semester,” said Mr. Baker.
The result of their teamwork was a diabetic mat.
“We showed a live demonstration of the diabetic mat to the members of the review board,” explained Mr. Baker. “We got a very good reception. Shortly after our demonstration, we were put in contact with the Public Relations Department at Jackson State University. From then on, things moved very quickly.”
“I’m not able to discuss specifics, but the diabetic mat is in development,” stated Mr. Baker. “We had multiple options, but we chose the university joint venture route.”
One of the key elements of the diabetic mat – the patent for the invention – is still in process.
The diabetic mat, a “thermometer device” as noted in the patent application, is designed to measure the temperature of each foot. The user and their health care provider can be notified, according to the patent application, if there is a difference in temperatures between the two feet and certain baseline information.
“It has been found that a subject's lower extremity temperature correlates well with blood flow where a decrease in blood flow relates to a decrease in temperature of a subject's foot,” detailed the patent application. “For example, a drop of four degrees Fahrenheit from a baseline temperature in one or both feet of a subject may indicate a period of decreased blood flow that could cause tissue damage complications for the subject's lower extremities if not acted upon.”
The hope is that that knowledge will encourage the individual to get earlier treatment for diabetes so as to avoid amputations.
“Our patent application is pending,” confirmed Mr. Baker.
The patent filing with the United States Patent and Trademark Office indicated that five men are the joint inventors for this diabetic
mat – Mr. Baker, Mr. Jordan Barber, Mr. Jann Butler, Mr. Fred Harris, and Dr. Gordon Skelton.
This is a prototype of the Diabetic Mat Thermometer Device created by Mr. Chevan Baker, Mr. Jordan Barber,
Mr. Jann Butler, Mr. Fred Harris, and Dr. Gordon Skelton. (The photograph was provided courtesy of Mr. Baker.)
According to the United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, there is a substantially
higher risk for diabetes among Americans with certain racial and ethnic backgrounds, including
individuals with Native American, Alaskan Native, African American, and Hispanic American
heritage. (This graph was provided courtesy of the United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.)
The need to help people with diabetes has been – and is – critical in the United States and throughout the world.
“People with diabetes comprise approximately 5% of the population, but account for 50% of all non-traumatic lower extremity amputations,” noted a statement issued by the United States Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services in 2001. The statement continued by detailing that “According to the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases, between 1993 and 1995, about 67,000 amputations were performed each year among people with diabetes. In 1999, this number increased to 86,000. Amputees with diabetes have a 50% chance of bilateral amputation after 5 years, often as a result of increased wear on the remaining limb. Of greater concern, the 3-year survival rate after one major lower extremity amputation is only 50%, and the 5-year survival rate is approximately 40%.”
According to Ms. Melanie Miller, Senior Research Specialist at the Amputee Coalition, approximately “900,000 people are living with limb loss related to vascular diseases such as Type 2 Diabetes” in the United States.
That number is anticipated to grow to more than 1.6 million Americans by 2050, according to Estimating the Prevalence of Limb Loss in the United States: 2005 to 2050, a research report written by Dr. Kathryn Ziegler-Graham, Dr. Ellen MacKenzie, Ms. Patti L. Ephraim, Dr. Thomas G. Travison, and Dr. Ron Brookmeyer.
Among the key risk factors for Type 2 Diabetes, as detailed by the United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, are being “African American, Hispanic/Latino American, American Indian, or Alaska Native (some Pacific Islanders and Asian Americans are also at higher risk).”
The Congressional Diabetes Caucus, composed of 317 members (a substantial majority of the members) of the United States Congress, noted on its website that “Diabetes is the leading cause of nontraumatic lower-limb amputations. More than 60 percent of nontraumatic lower-limb amputations in the United States occur among people with diabetes. In 2006, about 65,700 nontraumatic lower-limb amputations were performed each year among people with diabetes.”
This map highlights the percentages of Americans with diabetes by county within the United States in 2013.
Note the high concentrations in areas as diverse as counties in Arizona, New Mexico, Oklahoma, and South
Dakota with large Native American populations; in Puerto Rico, along the Piedmont in the Carolinas;
Upper Appalachia; and large portions of Mississippi and Alabama. (This map was provided courtesy
of the United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.)
Education Is Key To Success
Education is one of the things that Mr. Baker indicated was instilled in him as a child.
“My father told me that I didn’t necessarily need to go on to pursue receiving my own MBA,” stated Mr. Baker. “His view was that business schools generally teach theory and that there is no set rule book to shine in business anywhere because it is mostly on-the-job learning.”
“My parents grew up in Tupelo, Mississippi,” explained Mr. Baker. “Neither were afforded the opportunities that their three children have had.”
As a young man, the father of Mr. Baker decided to attend Jackson State University.
The history of this University is one that Mr. Baker recognizes as he recalls how opportunities were not always available to all Americans.
Jackson State University is one of the Historically Black Colleges and Universities in the United States.
The website of the University indicated that the school was founded by American Baptists as Natchez Seminary in Natchez, Mississippi, in 1877. The school, as noted on this website, “was established…‘for the moral, religious and intellectual improvement of Christian leaders of the colored people of Mississippi and the neighboring states.’ In November 1882, the school was moved to Jackson; in March 1899, the curriculum was expanded and the name was changed to Jackson College.”
The Mississippi Encyclopedia confirmed that the American Baptists withdrew support of Jackson College in 1934. The State of Mississippi assumed control of this school in 1940, “and renamed it the ‘Mississippi Negro Training School’,” as detailed by this reference source. The school’s name changed several times again in subsequent years, reported The Mississippi Encyclopedia: “‘Jackson College for Negro Teachers’ in 1944, and ‘Jackson State College’ in 1956.” The University’s website indicated that the school became “Jackson State University” in 1974.
While a student at Jackson State University, the father of Mr. Baker decided to go in a different direction. “My father decided to leave school and join the United States Air Force,” said Mr. Baker.
It was the military that gave opportunity to the parents of Mr. Baker.
Aspirations Began In Third Grade
Their aspirations for business started when Mr. Baker and Mr. Clark were students at Ingels Elementary School in Kansas City.
When he was in third grade, computer work stations were placed in the third and fourth grade classrooms, according to Mr. Baker.
“We started by learning about CPUs, the monitors, and other pieces of hardware and software,” related Mr. Baker. “We thought this was really cool.”
Beyond the resources at the school, Mr. Baker was able to use a number of tech resources at his house as well as Mr. Clark’s house.
“Terrell was my first real introduction into personal technology,” stated Mr. Baker. “Terrell and I both grew up knowing that we want to open our own tech business.”
Funding A New Business
“I made the decision to move back in with my parents in Kansas City after earning my degree from Jackson State University,” explained Mr. Baker. “I had initially considered staying in Jackson to start a business, but my parents advised me to come back to Kansas City to minimize costs.”
“Many of my peers made different decisions,” related Mr. Baker. “Many decided to buy a house or rent a very nice apartment. Many have substantial student debt. Most are putting themselves even deeper into debt by buying new cars and through their use of credit cards. A lot of my peers are quick to jump and buy the newest shiny object. They’re following the marketing campaigns by businesses that strive to tell us what we should do and what we should buy.”
“I chose to save money to establish a business by not going further into debt,” continued Mr. Baker. “My father taught me the difference between a need and a want. It means some sacrifice now for a better life in the future. One of the other things my father taught me was that the way to generate wealth is not by how much money you earn, but how much money you keep.”
There was also a corollary lesson.
“Delayed gratification would be our saving grace,” stated Mr. Baker. “By following that guide, we’d make it very well in the United States.”
One of the teaching techniques used by the father of Mr. Baker was to take Mr. Baker and his two siblings – when they were small children – to a local dollar store. “He would explain to us that while everything in the store was $1.00 each, it would cost more than $1.00 to actually purchase any one product,” noted Mr. Baker. “That’s how we learned about sales tax. We had to calculate the amount of sales tax in our head for the items we wanted to purchase. We then had to make sure we had enough money to buy the products we had selected.”
“I’ve seen how many of my peers don’t truly understand money,” said Mr. Baker. “Many people make financial decisions from ignorance. It’s a subject that few are taught within our educational system.”
1Place4tech was self-funded by Mr. Baker and his business partner, Mr. Clark.
Mr. Terrell Clark is the business partner of Mr. Chevan Baker. Both founded 1Place4tech in Kansas City.
Mr. Clark is seen here in this photograph taken in July of 2019. (Photograph was provided courtesy of Mr. Baker.)
Mr. Clark went to school at the former ITT Technical Institute in Kansas City. Both Mr. Baker and Mr. Clark had remained friends from their days in elementary school. “We stayed in contact on a regular basis when I moved to Mississippi and he remained in Missouri,” related Mr. Baker. “We’d discuss the latest news in the tech industry.”
“Both Terrell and I each put in our own money to fund our venture,” confirmed Mr. Baker. “I was encouraged by my father to start my own business. He started his own business after his years in the military and fifteen years working in finance at American Century Investments. Both my mother and father self-funded my father’s business.”
“My parents explained how important it was that they controlled their destiny,” continued Mr. Baker. “You invest in yourself first. You save money to put aside for future growth. This left a profound impact on me.”
“Some of my colleagues in the tech industry do not believe you can be successful by funding yourself,” detailed Mr. Baker. “They believe you have to pitch yourself to people with money.”
“When you use your own money, you’re not as lenient as how you spend those funds,” said Mr. Baker. “When you use other people’s money, some tend to not necessarily be a good steward with those funds and spend differently.”
“This option may not be for everyone, but it was for me,” stated Mr. Baker.
Starting A Business
To start their business, Mr. Baker and Mr. Clark had to decide who would be their target audience for their services.
“We decided that a focus on small businesses would be best for our business,” detailed Mr. Baker. “We got lists of as many small businesses in the Kansas City area as we could find. And then we contacted the small businesses directly.”
In some cases, the men contacted small businesses using LinkedIn. “Our contacts to people on LinkedIn worked sometimes, but we were far more successful in gaining business clients when people used LinkedIn to contact us,” said Mr. Baker.
In other cases, both men would directly walk into businesses and offer their services, noted Mr. Baker. They also attended social events for professionals, including the First Fridays events in Kansas City. “We’d pass out our business cards at these events,” stated Mr. Baker. “About six weeks later, we’d follow-up our initial contacts.”
The direct approach has worked.
“We found that some businesses were looking for tech help right then,” continued Mr. Baker. “A number of small businesses explained a difficulty that they were having was the lack of response time from their current web developers. Small businesses – because they were small – would have to wait to have their websites updated. We could solve that problem.”
Much of their work is to re-fine and re-touch existing websites for clients, according to Mr. Baker: “Sometimes, we do a simple refresh of an existing site, while other projects involve a complete redesign.”
1Place4tech is in its second year of operations.
Their business is still modest in size.
“We are still growing,” confirmed Mr. Baker. “We also purchased the rights to another website – somethingtolaughat.com.”
“Terrell and I are enjoying working together as business partners.”
Time Management
“Time management is one of the important issues I faced in college,” said Mr. Baker. “I worked hard on ways to manage my time.”
One technique used by Mr. Baker was to create an Excel spreadsheet listing all of his activities. As he related, “The spreadsheet allowed me to calculate time so I could visually see my time [commitments] on paper.”
He also explained how an individual who served as his mentor helped him as he sought to balance his college studies, potential professional relationships, and a social life.
“In my sophomore year in college, I asked Mr. Terry Woodard to be my mentor,” stated Mr. Baker. “He was the President of the Jackson State University National Alumni Association and worked in an executive regional position with SodexoMAGIC in the food service industry. Mr. Woodard assisted me. He would call me when he was on the road – just to check in with me.”
The time management issues have only become more pronounced as Mr. Baker entered the business world.
“In recent years, I’ve had to sacrifice much of my personal social life,” detailed Mr. Baker. “There are time limitations on what you can do when you’re focused on growing a business.”
He has not, though, eliminated a personal life.
One of his time management techniques is to set aside time every few months. “I actually plan for down-time,” noted Mr. Baker. “About once a quarter, I’ll set aside a few days or a week or so to do things unrelated to the tech business. It may be to travel to Mississippi to see friends and colleagues or it may be to just go on an outing with others.”
Leadership Techniques
The leadership style espoused by Mr. Baker includes responsibility and compassion.
“One of the people I learned from was Dr. James Renick, a former Provost at Jackson State University,” stated Mr. Baker. “He taught me how to blend together responsibility and kindness. Unlike other executives at the University, Dr. Renick would sit among the students in the campus dining hall. While eating a meal, he would interact with the students.”
A small act by the former Provost is still recalled by Mr. Baker.
“On one day, while the dining hall workers were getting the tables ready for the students, Dr. Renick picked up a rag and washed down one of the tables,” continued Mr. Baker. “He was showing everyone that we all had a responsibility to work together.”
Overall, Mr. Baker detailed that he lives by three key policies:
One: Strive to increase your network by making yourself visible.
Two: Never settle. If you know what you want, don’t listen to your self-doubt or doubt from others.
Three: Remember there is more than one way to get to ten – your ultimate goals.
“There are infinite possibilities to get to ten,” explained Mr. Baker. “You can achieve this by adding 1 + 9, 7+ 3, or 9.999 + .001, and so on. Never give up on your goals.”
Mr. Chevan Baker is another individual who has shown that aspirations are not only goals to strive for, aspirations are also attainable. With hard work, dedication, and education, Mr. Baker has shown that success is possible.
If you know of an individual with aspirations,
please contact Richard McDonough at chroniclesofaspirations@gmail.com.
Your suggestion may be used in a future news column.
© 2019 Richard McDonough