The entrepreneurial city.
INNOVATION AND GROWTH TO LIFT ALL BOATS
More than anywhere else, new ideas and new businesses grow in cities. Local and national thought leaders discuss how we can promote entrepreneurship and innovation in cities like Cincinnati, boosting economic value and investor interest while promoting equitable growth from within.
Wednesday, December 09 at 7.30pm
Photo credits : Caleb Minear, Unsplash
Watch our Conversation here.
conversationalists
Tyler Mathews
Tyler Mathews is the executive director of Venture Café St. Louis, which hosts the largest weekly gathering of aspiring entrepreneurs. Venture Café’s mission is to connect innovators to make things happen. Venture Café is a global movement working to build stronger and more inclusive innovation ecosystems and accelerate and enhance the innovation process, in cities around the world. It does this through its use of programming, space, storytelling, and broad innovation engagement.
After receiving his MBA, Tyler went on to become the director of marketing at Ranken Jordan Pediatric Bridge Hospital. Previously, Tyler founded a geolocation mobile startup, launched an experimental art and music series, organized Art Hack Day St. Louis. Tyler serves on the board of Fabricatorz Foundation, advises the Bassel Khartabil Fellowship, and co-directs Venture School.
Allen Woods
Allen Woods
Allen Woods is a devoted husband, father and entrepreneur – in that order. A lifelong Midwesterner, he’s never allowed the size of a city to place a limit on the size of his dreams. Allen is the creative force behind the MORTAR brand, as well as a business consultant and training facilitator for incoming students.
His determination (or stubbornness – as his mom would call it) has allowed him to develop a resiliency that has grown with him on his entrepreneurial journey. Recognized as a 2016 Cincinnati Business Courier 40 under 40 Business Leader, 2017 John F. Barrett Entrepreneur Vision Award and 2017 Echoing Green BMA Fellow, Woods is also a sought-after public speaker who recently shined on the TEDx stage. As a brand strategist and designer, Allen assisted directly in the growth of hundreds of small businesses and personal brands across the globe.
When Allen isn’t at MORTAR, he’s probably somewhere with his wife, Kyla, planning or recording the next episode of their brand new marriage podcast, Permanent Plus One.
Host: Conrad Kickert
Conrad Kickert is an Assistant Professor of Urban Design. Dr. Kickert has a background in urbanism and architecture from the TU Delft (Netherlands) and holds a PhD in architecture from the University of Michigan. He has worked as an urban researcher and designer for various design offices, property developers and non-profit organizations in The Netherlands, the United Kingdom and the United States. He is an urban design scholar whose research focuses on urban morphology, downtown revitalization and the bridge between urban form, configuration and retail economics.
Dr. Kickert has authored award-winning articles and books on these topics, including articles for the Journal of Urban Studies and the London School of Economics, an Oxford University bibliography, the recent monograph "Dream City - Creation, Destruction and Reinvention" with MIT Press and an upcoming book on frontages with Routledge. His work has been supported by a.o. the National Endowment for the Arts, the Ax:son Johnson Foundation, UBER and the Mellon Foundation. He regularly discusses urban topics at universities, debates and news venues across the globe - but he remains firmly rooted in making a positive impact in the Cincinnati region.