Bruce Allen Talks Grit, Memento Mori + the Journey to the Top

It’s past time we remixed the entrepreneur archetype. The tried-and-true definition of an emerging or aspiring business owner feels tired. The modern entrepreneur is a mover, shaker and doer who’s not content with simply breaking all the rules. Our 52 trailblazers featured in the October issue are rewriting the rules, tearing them up and doing it all over again. It’s creation at its purest, because the fruits of one’s hustle are not actualized overnight or by following one jet-lagged recipe. It’s no longer adequate to measure entrepreneurs by the brick-and-mortar spaces they manifest or the jobs they create. Those are all important elements but fall short of what it truly means to build something — often with blood, sweat and tears. Whether you’re revamping the vintage clothing industry, introducing a fresh dining concept, cultivating an advocacy-focused creative agency or advancing the cause of equality for the LGBTQ+ community, the only thing that matters is freedom — the freedom to march to the beat of your own badass drum. Read our full rundown of trailblazers here. 

Bruce Allen is a fine art photographer and co-founder of Bad Candy, a vibrant, artist-owned gallery in Brookland. In the wake of the pandemic, Bad Candy wants to create a community space that’s approachable and inclusive. Allen knows this isn’t an easy feat — but that also means it’s worthwhile.

Advice that keeps you hungry
Memento mori. It’s Latin for “Remember you’re going to die.” If you keep that in mind, you might just answer one more email or go out of your way to leave a lasting impression on someone.

What your day is incomplete without
Coffee and working out.

Your power outfit remix
A power outfit is when you feel the most authentic you. It doesn’t have to be formal wear. It could be cut-off jean shorts. It could be overalls.

What every entrepreneur needs
Grit. Anything worthwhile is not easy, especially when you are starting. At some point, you’re going to feel like an ant at the bottom of a mountain looking up. Most people will quit at that point. [Just] put one foot in front of the other and start walking up the mountain of entrepreneurship. Don’t look back, and hopefully you find people who make the journey easier. You learn things that help you find faster routes up the mountain. Eventually your head is in the clouds on top of a mountain of success. I’m still going up the mountain.

@thebruceallen; thebruceallen.com // @badcandyshopdc; badcandy.us

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