When Nick Bayer founded Saxbys in 2005, he didn’t want it to be like any other coffee company. Over the years, Saxbys has found its true identity as a pioneering education and opportunity company fueled by great coffee and hospitality. Saxbys has evolved into an education company—disguised as a coffee company—by empowering and supporting the next generation of leaders and entrepreneurs through experiential learning.

Since 2005, Saxbys has had a singular mission: Make Life Better. For Nick, making life better is achieved through bringing people together, whether as a consummate Little League team captain, as one of the Philadelphia Business Journal’s “Most Admired CEOs,” or through community building, meaningful workforce development, and place making in Saxbys’ cafes. From its cafes to its headquarters, Saxbys’ core values are imperative to the business and guest experience, especially as it launched and grew The Saxbys Experiential Learning Platform (The Saxbys E.L.P.). In 2015, in partnership with Drexel University, Saxbys opened the nation’s first entirely student-run business, in which the Student CEO earns academic credit, a salary, and bonuses, while having full responsibility for the business’ profit and loss statement. The Saxbys E.L.P. emboldens the next generation of leaders and entrepreneurs by providing undergraduate students with dynamic, hands-on experience as a complement to traditional, in-classroom learning. In just ten years, the Saxbys E.L.P has grown from one cafe to over 30 across 21 college campuses. 

Beyond Saxbys, Nick holds a number of leadership positions in higher education and in the Philadelphia community. He is currently the Entrepreneur in Residence at Cornell University—his alma mater—in the SJ Johnson College of Business. Nick serves on the board of The Franklin Institute, the Community College of Philadelphia, Drexel University’s Close School of Entrepreneurship, and the Corporate Council for the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia. He also serves on the board and executive committee of the Philadelphia Chamber of Commerce.