ENGLEWOOD — Young creatives passionate about the arts, entertainment and retail can develop and launch their careers at a first-of-its-kind small business incubator now open in Englewood.
With a pair of bright orange scissors in hand and young people gathered around him, former NFL player Walter Mendenhall cut the grand-opening ribbon Thursday at Co-LLAB, 6033 S. Wentworth Ave.
Co-LLAB, a play on the word “collaboration,” is the latest venture for Mendenhall and his nonprofit Male Mogul Initiative, which helps Black and Brown young people ages 14-24 become successful students and thriving employees or entrepreneurs.
When Mendenhall founded the Male Mogul Initiative in 2017 at New Life Southeast Church, he had five kids in the program. The nonprofit has since “blossomed” to serve over 3,000 young people and provide over 200 jobs, he said.
Mendenhall grew up in Skokie and starred with his brother, Rashard, at Niles West High School. They both went on to University of Illinois and later into the NFL, where Walter Mendenhall played with four teams.
His Co-LLAB will serve as a place where young Chicagoans can come together to “solve vital problems that plague our city,” Mendenhall said. It will also continue the nonprofit’s mission to transform the lives of youth on the South and West sides, Mendenhall said.
Young people who sign up for memberships at the Englewood hub can access printing and manufacturing equipment to create clothes, art prints and embroidery.
The incubator will have experts in branding, marketing, taxes, finances and more on-site to help with business development. Members can sell their products at an in-house storefront.
People interested in careers in the trades or construction can take electrical, wielding and aviation workshops at the incubator.
Membership fees for Co-LLAB start at $20 a month. More than 20 people are on a waitlist to join, and Mendenhall hopes to have 120 members by the end of the year, he said.
Those interested in joining Co-LLAB can contact Mendenhall at info@malemogulinitiative.org.
Jaurice Winston and Keith Bass, who graduated from Mendenhall’s Male Mogul Initiative program, will have a “full-circle moment” as co-managers of Co-LLAB, helping lead others on a path to success, they said.
Mendenhall founded the Male Mogul Initiative to “create a community wealth-building ecosystem,” he said. Co-LLAB “is just the first phase” of that dream.
“One of the most valuable currencies that we have in under-resourced communities here in Chicago is our creativity,” Mendenhall said. “This is a place where people can come and monetize their creativity.”
Mendenhall’s desire to serve South and West side young people runs deep. His mother, Sibyl Mendenhall, was a youth pastor at Ivanhoe Community United Methodist Church in south suburban Riverdale.
Her servitude was Walter Mendenhall’s guiding star, he said. Everything he knows about youth mentorship, he learned from her. Sibyl Mendenhall, now retired, is an adviser and consultant at the Male Mogul Initiative.
Mendenhall tackled his career in mentorship after a stint in the NFL. He was inspired to launch his nonprofit after speaking with a young man at a West Side high school on Career Day in 2016, Mendenhall said.
“The guy was a great young man, honor roll student and basketball player, but he sold drugs to get the things that he wanted,” Mendenhall said. “After that conversation, I thought to myself, ‘How many young men in this city have the gifts, skills and talents to be successful, legal entrepreneurs, but don’t have the opportunity or exposure?’”
He launched the Male Mogul Initiative a year later.
The young men under Mendenhall’s leadership called him a “Black superhero” at Thursday’s celebration. For some, the Male Mogul Initiative program has been a “dream come true.”
Keith Bass, one of Co-LLAB’s co-managers, credits Mendenhall for his success. Bass was a student at Walter H. Dyett High School in Washington Park when he met Mendenhall in 2018. He graduated in 2020.
Bass wanted to join the Male Mogul Initiative after hearing about it from one of his best friends, Brashen Gilbert. Gilbert is now the head facilitator at the nonprofit.
“I knew it was something I wanted to stay in and be consistent with, but life was going on around me,” Bass said. “It wasn’t until I went to jail in 2021 that Walt’s message started to sink in on what he was trying to do.”
Mendenhall paid $5,000 for a lawyer to get Bass out of jail in 2021, Bass said.
When Bass visited Mendenhall after his release and told him about problems in his life, Mendenhall put $60 in his pocket, Bass said.
“He kept blessing me. I was like, ‘I have to do something now.’ I had a second chance,” Bass said. “I feel like I’m repaying everything Walter has done for me, but it doesn’t even feel like I’m repaying it. It feels like I’m doing what I’m supposed to do. I’m doing what I’m needed to do after my experience. Everything comes around full circle.”
Co-LLAB is the “first of its kind” for local young Black and Brown creatives and a direct pathway to entrepreneurship for them, said Lotika Pai, chief small business officer at the city’s Department of Business Affairs and Consumer Protection.
“Business incubators like Co-LLAB provide access to mentorship, investors and other support that is needed to help entrepreneurs get established, and they’re such a critical resource in communities,” Pai said. “Local businesses are important as part of the fabric that makes our neighborhoods and communities stronger and better.”
There is so much creativity within the Black community, Bass said. Co-LLAB provides a safe, welcoming space where people can flex those creative skills, meet like-minded people and grow their businesses, he said.
At Co-LLAB, Bass said he hopes to help young people stay true to their passions, as Mendenhall did with him.
“If you’re a young man, entrepreneur or somebody who’s trying to find your way, come to Male Mogul. We love people who are looking for and need opportunities,” Bass said. “If you have something you’re passionate about, stick to it. Don’t let anybody tell you anything else. Eventually, you’re going to see the fruits of your labor.”
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