Josh Levin Powered His Way Through The Darkness

No.210

Josh Levin

EMPOWERED ELECTRIC

Three-year growth 1,944% | 2018 revenue $3.6M North Kansas City, Missouri | Founded in 2015

- Zoë Henry

Josh Levin was raised on the wrong side of the tracks. An unexpected call from his future mother-in-law—plus his own fierce determination—led him to start Empowered Electric, which has what’s probably the coolest Instagram of any electrical contractor anywhere.

My mom got pregnant with me when she was 16. I had multiple stepdads. They treated her poorly. She did the best she could, but she had to make decisions based on survival. The question wasn’t, “Is this a caring, loving person?” but “Does he have a house, so we don’t end up in a homeless shelter?”

Once, we ate pork rinds for a week, because we couldn’t afford groceries. Another time, we fished in the pond out back to catch and eat the bluegills there—after our water got shut off.

I never felt safe or secure. No matter how well I did at school or in sports—and I made the varsity wrestling team—I still saw myself as the poor, dirty kid. To this day, that mentality is hard to change.

I became an electrician because of my childhood sweetheart, Bridget. When I was in my 20s, I knew I wanted to marry her. But I asked her father for his blessing, and he said, “No bloody way.”

I needed to get a stable job. I started off answering phones at a pharmacy hotline. Then Bridget’s mother called, asking me if I’d consider becoming an electrician, because she could help me get an interview. I put in my two weeks’ notice right then and there.

In my mind, an electrician was the closest real-life thing to a Power Ranger— the hard hat, and the tool belt. I had no experience, but I was crazy about the girl, and I was going to work my butt off.