Meet UC’s newest Entrepreneur-in-Residence, Allen Woods

Woods’ affiliation with UC began not long after he moved to Cincinnati a decade ago and eventually co-founded MORTAR, a business development company. For example, students from the UC College of Law have interned at MORTAR for years, past and present members of MORTAR’s board of directors have attended and/or worked at UC, and Woods often walks to Clifton from his home in Walnut Hills for exercise.

“My whole life has been one moment that has snowballed into the next moment. I think this is a great example of how that can happen,” Woods said. “That was one of the interesting things to me, it just seemed like it made sense as an evolution of who I am as an entrepreneur.”

An Indianapolis native who relocated to Cincinnati for his wife’s career, Woods co-founded MORTAR in 2014, bringing the company know-how on the “creative side” and in running a business, according to Woods. Initially, MORTAR’s program was only for Over-the-Rhine residents — those who had lived in the neighborhood, but, as MORTAR's co-founders noticed, were often the ones finding it challenging to start businesses in the area.

“It was a neighborhood that we saw there was a lot of investment in, a lot of strategic development. But what we were noticing is that a lot of the people who had lived in the neighborhood and had been there even when there wasn’t that investment were not the ones starting the businesses,” Woods said. “And it wasn’t that they didn’t have the aspirations or the skillset, they just didn’t know what to do next, or have access to capital, or all of those other variables.” 

MORTAR’s program is built around a 15-week course intended to help current and future entrepreneurs construct a “comprehensive business canvas” and learn the details of business management. The program’s objective is to launch companies that generate jobs and circulate dollars locally. MORTAR "alumni" also have access to new customers, opportunities for further funding and a mentorship network of business leaders.

Woods’ entrepreneurial mindset started well before MORTAR’s founding, though. As a youth, Woods was passionate about photography, and found himself particularly inspired after meeting Gordon Parks at a children’s museum. After his parents bought him a used camera, Woods started his own company, taking pictures and selling them to earn money beyond his allowance. As he grew older, Woods photographed weddings and shot portraits. After obtaining a graphic design degree, he started helping small businesses with their branding and marketing.

“In that process, a lot of them asked me what my secrets were about how I had been in business for so long because I was so young,” Woods said.

Woods’ business transitioned into consulting work, specifically with brand strategy and assisting companies “through the entrepreneurial process.” After moving to Cincinnati, he linked up with Derrick Braziel and William Thomas, MORTAR’s other co-founders. As MORTAR enters its eighth year of supporting aspiring business owners, the company has gradually spread its entrepreneurial wings. MORTAR’s program is now active in 10 neighborhoods around the city and in seven cities outside Cincinnati.

“This thing that we created with the intention of it just being for local entrepreneurs definitely outgrew and outpaced what our expectations were,” Woods said. “I think that’s a huge part of the story — knowing when to scale and understanding some of the challenges that come with that. So, as we are helping small businesses scale, we are also trying to figure out how to scale as well. We're learning as we go through that process.” 

In 2017, Woods spoke at TEDxUCincinnati on the power of being an outsider, a message he hopes resonates with students attending a university that welcomed its most diverse first-year class this past fall and a college that prioritizes and values an inclusive community and mindset.