Episode 24. Make Life Better: “B” the Force for Good. Part 2

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Nick Bayer has always been in the business of bringing people together, whether it’s as one of Philadelphia Business Journal’s “Most Admired CEOs” or as a consummate team captain since Little League. So when he created Saxbys in 2005, Nick never really considered it to be a coffee company — instead, it’s a social impact company fueled by amazing food, beverage and hospitality.

Saxbys has since grown from one corner café to a nearly 30-unit, Philadelphia-based business with a singular mission: Make Life Better. For Nick Bayer, “making life better” began by fostering an O.D.D (outgoing, detail-oriented, and disciplined) team, committed to the betterment of the communities it serves and aligned by their shared entrepreneurial spirit and Saxbys’ core values. Today, that team spans over 500 members across the Northeast that represent the change-makers of tomorrow.

To that point, Bayer introduced Saxbys’ pioneering Experiential Learning Program (ELP) in 2015 in partnership with Drexel University — the nation’s first entirely student-run cafe where students earn full academic credit and wages through a university cooperative education program. Bayer’s vision for the program is to embolden the next generation of entrepreneurs, providing undergrad students with tangible experience as a supplement to traditional classroom learning. In five short years, one ELP cafe has blossomed to a dozen, with several more planned to open in the near future.

Nick is currently the Entrepreneur in Residence at Cornell University’s School of Hotel Administration, an adjunct professor at Drexel University and the Executive in Residence at Temple University’s Fox School of Business. He serves on the Board of The Franklin Institute, Big Brothers Big Sisters Independence Region, the Community College of Philadelphia, Drexel University’s Close School of Entrepreneurship and Drexel’s Steinbright Career Development Center, as well as being a Corporate Council Member for the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia. In 2017, he was named the “Entrepreneur of the Year” by the Greater Philadelphia Chamber of Commerce as well as EY’s “Social Entrepreneur of the Year.” He resides in Center City Philadelphia with his wife and son.

Quote from Interview:

”Those who really want to have a successful career at Saxbys thrive because they get so much feedback, because we communicate so openly with such are. We care about ourselves and our own reputations and about you as a fellow member of the Saxbys’ tribe.”

Favorite Quote:

“The world happens for you, not to you.”

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