Josh “Mayor of North Nashville” Mundy Talks Creating Black Owned Tech School and Leaving Legacy for Son

Tell us a little about yourself (who you are, background, etc)

My name is Josh Mundy, I was born in Lafayette, LA but I was raised in Nashville, TN. After graduating from Hunter’s Lane High School, I attended Middle Tennessee State University for a while but quickly transitioned to become an entrepreneur. In the last 17 years, I’ve owned and operated a number of businesses starting with a janitorial service, restaurants, non-profit organization and my latest endeavor, Pivot Tech. I’m also the host of “I’m Josh Saying” podcast. I am a husband and have been married for 8 years. My Wife and I have a 7-year-old son.

What sparked your journey as an entrepreneur? Looking back at my childhood, what drove me into entrepreneurship was seeing my mom struggle. Seeing that is what made me want to get to the money at an early age. I remember selling bags of Kool-Aid and snacks to put money in my pockets. At 13, I lied on my application to work at Arby’s. My mentality was to find a way and make it happen.

Tell us about Pivot Tech? Pivot Tech is a 20-week accelerated program giving individuals the opportunity to learn data analytics, web development, cyber security, and more. Pivot Tech started as an idea to create opportunities for the minority community. Technology is the dominating force of the world—it’s what’s driving the economy. Technology is where the jobs will be. I wanted to put us in a place where we can get the skills to be thriving in that area which is technology.

We train you even with no experience, any type of background and in 20 weeks we’ll have you ready for a career in technology. We’ve had our first graduating class and they’re already getting job opportunities. You don’t have to be in Nashville to enroll in Pivot Tech. We are a virtual online campus so you can go to PivotTech.com and pivot your career.

quawn clark and josh mundy — Pivot Tech Co-Founders, Joshua Mundy and Quawn Clark. www.pivottechschool.com

What has been your toughest lesson as an entrepreneur and how did you overcome it? So, my longest running business was the Music City Cleaners which lasted 13 years before being wiped out by the March 3^rd tornado. Not only was that business affected, but so was two other business, “The Lab” and an event space, all located in the same building. Interesting enough, March 3^rd was also the start of my latest business venture, Pivot Technology School. Not only did I lose those businesses, but COVID shut everything down the same month. This year has taught me a lot and put a lot of things in perspective for me. I had to pivot my lifestyle and adjust to the changes this year has brought us.

What has fatherhood been like for you?

Fatherhood for me has been a rollercoaster. After finding out my Wife was pregnant, I realize I had to turn up my hustle ten-folds. Unfortunately, after my Wife had our son, I never learned how to turn off the hustle. That first year I wasn’t really there as I should have been. I was zoned in on making sure I was providing for my family and I was going bust my butt in doing so. I’m definitely not perfect but I do my best to make sure I’m present as much as I can while providing for my family.

What was your fatherhood experience like for you growing up? My dad and mom got divorced—which created a lot of resentment for me towards him. Honestly, we didn’t patch things up until I became an adult. Growing up, I felt my dad was doing well and my mother was struggling which rubbed me the wrong way. We have an excellent relationship now, but it took adulthood for me to get to that point.

How have you created the entrepreneur life and home balance for yourself?

My son has grown up in the business. He grown up as a baby in the dry cleaners. I let him know that I’m doing this for him. I’m trying to create a legacy for him and to teach him ownership. It’s constantly making adjustments, but I try to turn it off. The tornado and COVID has put a lot in perspective for me when it comes to time with my family.

Do you feel like your son is learning or paying attention to the entrepreneur side of you? If yes, then how so? Yes! He’s been in meetings all his life. He’s learned how to conduct himself when attending meetings. He knows that’s a key part of being an entrepreneur. People compliment him all the time on his behavior when we’re in meetings. So yes, I believe he’s picking up things through his observations.

What do you hope your children get from seeing you as an entrepreneur and the success as a business owner? I really want him to home in with the idea of ownership. You can get out here and create your own and not limit yourself. He can start now. There are avenues such as YouTube that he doesn’t have to be another consumer–He can be a creative.

Joshua Mundy and his family; facebook.com/joshumundy

What are things you do to help improve the narrative of black fathers/men? I do feel there’s a narrative that good black fathers don’t exist. I’m not sure where or why that narrative was created but it’s a lot of great fathers that’s doing what they’re supposed to be doing. There are some that’s not taking care of business, but I see that good out way the bad. I will say a lot of us didn’t grow up with great examples so we’re trying to figure it out on the fly. Can we do better? Yes! The narrative burns me up—black men in general. The narrative is isolating. But we have to constantly strive to do our part to change the narrative.

What advice would you give someone that’s new to fatherhood and taking on entrepreneurship? Be present. Try to find a fine balance. You’re not going to the perfect dad. If you look at the greats—Michael Jordan, Tiger Woods for example, there was some level of sacrifice to achieve what they were trying to do. You got to be present in the moments when you have them and try to create your balance.

father and son — Joshua Mundy and his son; facebook.com/joshuamundy

Not naming, Cliff Huxtable, who would be your top TV dad of all time and why?Fred G. Sanford from Sanford and Sons! Following him, James Evans from Good Times.

What’s a new hobby that you’ve picked during the pandemic? DeeJaying! I bought some equipment because I’ve always wanted to learn how to dee-jay! This time has allowed me to do the things I’ve always wanted to do. I’m a music connoisseur and a dee-jay connoisseur. This experience is dope! If I’m not doing, then I’m listening to a good audio book and GOLF!

With you being a music connoisseur, what your favorite hip-hop albums of all-time? I’m a huge Kanye West Fan so I got:

Kanye Wes t- College Dropout
Kanye West – My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy
Jay-Z – The Blueprint
Jeezy – Thug Motivation 101
Drake – Nothing Was the Same

If you could write a short letter to your father starting with “Dear Father,” what would you say?

Dear Father…

Thank you. Thank you for writing all your wrongs and being a stand-up Dad!

~Josh

Where can folks find you on the world wide web?

First, check out the podcast, “I’m Josh Saying” podcast. It’s a show to share knowledge and information about everything entrepreneurship. That’s streaming on ALL platforms and YouTube. Like it, share it and subscribe to it.