The
Laurence A. Baiada Center for Entrepreneurship announced today that it is expanding to become the Baiada Institute, a University-level institute within Drexel University. The Baiada Institute will pursue more seed capital, micro-grants, and Small Business Innovation Research grants.
Previously, Baiada functioned within the LeBow College of Business.
The parents of Mel, Mark, Mike and Matt Baiada must have been some kind of magic. The four siblings have found business success in very different fields. On March 8, the Baiada Center, named after the family patriarch, hosted
The Brothers Baiada: 4 Faces of Entrepreneurship.
Mark Baiada founded
Bayada Nurses, and has grown a home health care operation to more than 200 offices in 20 states. He was awarded Ernst & Young's Entrepreneur of the Year, which commended his tenet to think big, work hard, and show love.
Mike Baiada was one of Drexel's earliest students to receive dual business and engineering degrees. Mike's
ATH Group fundamentally alters the air traffic control process, aiming to greatly increase timeliness and profitability. Mike, also a commercial airline pilot for United, says the secret to success is to determine process first, and then create minimal technology to make ideas a reality.
SolidSurface Designs is Matt Baiada's business. "When I was in grammar school, we had to walk two miles to get home. We would pass a lumber yard every day," recalls Matt. "There was a contractor there who had a whole lot of cash and was always peeling off bills. That was pretty impressive." Matt began by fixing up the Baiada family home, then founded a carpentry and cabinetmaking business that became SolidSurface, a 20,000 square foot manufacturing facility with 25 employees.
Mel, the youngest of the brothers, went into information technology. He sold his company Bluestone to Hewlett Packard in 2001 for over $350 million. His advice: passion is useless if there is no need for your product or service in the marketplace -- save your passion for long term sustainability. Mel is now managing partner at
BaseCamp Ventures and President of
Basecamp Business.
The early morning event, part of the Eye of the Entrepreneur series, drew a crowd of about 150.
Today's announcement was made possible by a $500,000 donation from the Barbara and Charles Close Foundation, $250,00 from Mel and Mark Baiada and $200,00 from Dick Hayne of Urban Outfitters, also a Drexel trustee. A behavioral laboratory planned for the new 12-story LeBow College of Business facility will foster experiential learning in sales and negotiations.
Source: Matt Baiada, Mark Baiada, Mel Baiada, Mike Baiada, Baiada Center for Entrepreneurship
Writer: Sue Spolan