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Justin Key 鈥�13 MBA doesn鈥檛 walk a lot of straight lines. After graduating with a mathematics degree from LeMoyne-Owen College in Memphis, Tennessee, he turned down a job offer from the renowned Oak Ridge National Laboratory to move to Los Angeles and pursue acting.

鈥淥h, my family was pretty livid about that,鈥� Key says, laughing. 鈥淚f there were wills, I鈥檓 pretty sure I was taken out of them. They just couldn鈥檛 understand it. I鈥檓 the eighth of nine kids who grew up on a farm, playing with pigs. Nobody else has left. My mama, who has taken it upon herself to keep me humble, had the best response: 鈥榃ho said you're pretty enough to be on TV?鈥欌��

In Los Angeles, 碍别测鈥檚 divergent path sprouted new offshoots. As he kept writing, auditioning and acting, he became intrigued with the business side of entertainment. In 2012, he applied to Mount Saint Mary鈥檚 MBA program. Key was nervous as he prepared for his interview with Janet Robinson, PhD, the program鈥檚 founding director. He wondered if she would turn up her nose at an actor applying. 

鈥淚t was the exact opposite,鈥� Key says. 鈥淪he was so excited about me being an actor. She told me, 鈥榃ith that experience, you鈥檙e going to be the secret weapon that nobody sees coming.鈥� I couldn鈥檛 see that yet, but it鈥檚 turned out she was right.鈥�

Today, s divergent paths are intertwining 鈥� and flourishing. 碍别测鈥檚 business, ultimately, is whatever Key is doing at any given time. He founded Mindset Mgmt Group as a consulting firm that specializes in entrepreneurship and entertainment strategies. Key currently consults a pair of Fortune 500 companies on general business practices and on diversity, equity and inclusion in the workplace, drawing on all aspects of his background to connect with everyone from C-suite executives and tech leaders to content creatives. 鈥淲hen I鈥檓 preparing presentations and speaking to large groups, I draw on the fruits of my labor in the MBA program all the time,鈥� he says.

The epitome of a Los Angeles multihyphenate, Key is also a published author, adjunct professor (of both mathematics and entrepreneurship), motivational speaker, and a second-year student at Indiana Wesleyan University pursuing a doctorate in business administration. As for the acting that first brought him westward? That鈥檚 going well, too. His latest project is one that he can thank his wisecracking mother for.

鈥淚t can be tough being an entrepreneur during times of crisis. But it鈥檚 also a prime time to be bold. The enterprises that are thriving now are the ones nobody had heard of a decade ago. So don鈥檛 shy away from what鈥檚 new. As an entrepreneur, especially right now, you really have to be comfortable with discomfort. Every 鈥榥o鈥� right now isn鈥檛 a setback; it could easily be a setup.鈥� --Justin Key '13 MBA

鈥淢ama Knows Best鈥� started off as a lark, recounting funny conversations with his mom back in Tennessee. One of the posts 鈥� about how Key got in trouble for not telling his mother he was OK after a small earthquake 鈥� went viral and producers eventually came calling. He鈥檚 now developing a script to turn 鈥淢ama Knows Best鈥� into an animated TV series. An audiobook version has already been published. 

Key had wanted the audiobook to be a surprise for his mother, but on the day it was being recorded, the actress portraying his mom 鈥� Debra Wilson, of 鈥淢ADtv鈥� fame 鈥� wanted to hear her voice. So, Key cold-called his mother from the studio, on speakerphone. 鈥淎nd it鈥檚 the middle of the day so she answers with, 鈥榃ell, I see you still ain鈥檛 got no real job,鈥欌�� Key recalls with a laugh. 鈥淭hat was pretty much all Debra needed to hear!鈥�

Of course, avoiding a 鈥渞eal job鈥� and exploring new opportunities is exactly what鈥檚 made Key as successful as he is today. 鈥淭hat鈥檚 always my advice to other entrepreneurs: Be open to every possibility,鈥� Key says. 鈥淲e鈥檙e typically raised or conditioned to see only certain careers or avenues as open to ourselves. But if you鈥檙e open to as many possibilities as there really are out there, you鈥檒l be surprised what you discover.鈥�

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