Persisting through Adversity in Entrepreneurship with Joshua Mundy

When a tornado hit the building where Joshua Mundy owned and operated three businesses in March of 2020, he had no idea how the next few years of his career would unfold. But after a global pandemic and the successful launch of Pivot Technology School, Mundy believes everything worked out for the best. 

“It was rough. But when I gained perspective, then I almost felt like the sky was the limit. If I could get through this, I could get through anything,” he shared. 

In this episode of Tell the Story with R.H. Boyd, Sinclair Sparkman-Carr, proofreader at R.H. Boyd, sits down with Mundy to hear more about his inspiring entrepreneurial journey. Mundy also talks about the work he’s doing to create career pathways for a diverse demographic by providing education in the high-demand and rapid-growing field of technology.

Navigating the Rollercoaster of Entrepreneurship

Joshua Mundy knew from a young age that he wanted to be his own boss while also creating a positive impact in the community. Mundy has been a full-time entrepreneur since 2003, starting everything from a janitorial company to a restaurant to a co-working space.

“I’m not a passion-preneur, if that makes sense. It’s business, it’s entrepreneurship,” he shared, explaining why he’s moved through so many industries. “[But] everything I do has some type of community underlying tone to it. It’s not only benefiting me, but it’s going to benefit people on down the line.”

In 2019, Mundy started exploring the idea of creating a technology school in North Nashville, inspired by organizations he’d seen in other cities. On the day Pivot Technology School was supposed to hold its first classes, a tornado hit the building where Pivot was supposed to operate.

“I had a team that was able to continue on while I was just trying to gather all the pieces together and figure out my life, figure out what I was going to do next,” Mundy explained. “Then three weeks after the tornado, the whole country was shut down.”

Though Mundy was devastated to lose his businesses in the tornado, he now recognizes that they would have been forced to close anyway because of the pandemic. This perspective, along with Mundy’s faith, has given him the strength he needs to persevere through the many ups and downs of running a business.

“Your steps are already ordered, it just depends on how you want to take the information and move on it,” he shared. “If I didn’t really listen to my inner self to say ‘I want to do this,’ then I wouldn’t have been prepared for what was going to happen.”

Closing the Wealth Gap for African Americans with Tech Jobs

As a Nashville native with firsthand experience running businesses in the city, Mundy has seen how the city’s growth can create challenges for people who’ve lived here the longest, especially Nashville’s African American community.

With Pivot Technology School, Mundy is working to prepare Nashville residents for the growing number of high-paying tech jobs that have traditionally gone to outside talent. 

“As Nashville grows as a technology hub, we have to prepare local citizens to get those skill sets so they can fill some of those jobs and they don’t have to bring those people from Silicon Valley to Nashville,” he explained.

Pivot offers 20-week training programs in data analytics, cybersecurity, and software development. At the end of the program, students have the skills they need to succeed at junior-level tech roles, and Pivot’s strong reputation can help them get their foot in the door at some of the biggest companies. 

Mundy is especially focused on training African Americans, who have a median income of $34,000, compared to the average salary for a junior level tech role, which is around $65,000. 

“We say tech is the bridge to economic prosperity because it can close a wealth gap so fast,” he explained. “We in particular focus on the African American community, but the minority in tech is everything but a white male.”

“As we scale and grow, we want to be able to continue to provide this opportunity for people across the country.”

To learn more about Tell the Story with R.H. Boyd, please rate, review and follow this podcast wherever you listen to your audio content. And to continually feel empowered to tell your own narrative, make sure you follow us on Instagram and Twitter @rhboydco.