Episode 88: Nick Bayer on the Power of Experiential Learning
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How can experiential learning help students grow personally and professionally? What industry partnerships best enable that growth in a learn and earn model? How do real stakes with real people and real metrics drive success? We dive into these questions with Nick Bayer, Founder and CEO of Saxby's where they've turned running campus coffee shops into a platform for experiential learning, with measurable learning outcomes.
In the evolving landscape of higher education, the gap between classroom theory and real-world application has often been a chasm. Students spend years studying leadership and business plans, yet many graduate without ever having managed a team or a budget. Nick Bayer, founder and CEO of Saxbys, is on a mission to change that.
Through a unique partnership with universities, Saxbys has transformed the traditional campus coffee shop into a high-stakes "experiential learning platform." Here, students aren't just baristas; they are CEOs, marketing VPs, and HR managers. By giving students full P&L authority and the responsibility of managing dozens of their peers, Saxbys is proving that the best way to learn leadership is to actually lead.
Breaking the "Protected Laboratory" Mold
Most educational simulations use "monopoly money" or protected environments where mistakes have little impact. Nick Bayer argues that for learning to be truly transformative, it must be consequence-rich. Saxbys cafes are located in the busiest hubs of campus—business schools, student centers, and large dorms—where they face real competition and high expectations from faculty and peers.
When students realize that their decisions impact a million-dollar profit and loss statement or a global supply chain, their "Thrive Drive"—a term Saxbys uses to describe an investment in one’s own success and the success of others—kicks into high gear. This isn't just about brewing coffee; it’s about navigating the complexities of human capital and operational excellence.
Developing Power Skills for the Modern Workforce
As AI continues to transform the workplace, "human" skills are becoming the most valuable currency. Saxbys focuses on developing "Power Skills" like emotional intelligence, critical thinking, and cultural agility. These are the traits that allow graduates to stand out in a crowded job market.
The data backs this up: Saxbys student CEOs graduate on time 100% of the time and reach their first post-grad leadership position seven times faster than the average graduate. They enter the workforce not just with a degree, but with a resume that proves they have already managed a business and developed a team.
Scaling Success Through Peer-to-Peer Leadership
One of the most innovative aspects of the Saxbys model is its "flywheel" of internal promotion. By rotating the student CEO position every six months, the program ensures a constant cycle of mentorship. Former CEOs often stay on as advisors or move into regional leadership roles, creating a "near-peer" support system where students learn from those who have recently walked in their shoes.
This model challenges higher education to rethink every campus job—from dining services to mailrooms. If every campus role were treated as an experiential learning opportunity, universities could create a more vibrant, connected, and career-ready student body.
Episode 88 Transcript
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Nick Bayer: Entrepreneurship is here to stay. And we realize we need experiential learning, right? We can't just teach the theory of how to be a leader or write a business plan or raise money. We need students to be able to open up the door from the classroom and go out and put it to play in a real setting. So we are all in the education business to leverage experiential learning to create the leaders and entrepreneurs of tomorrow.
Elliot Felix: That was Nick Bayer, founder and CEO of Saxbys, where they've turned operating campus coffee shops into experiential learning opportunities for students to develop personally and professionally, and are now expanding to reimagine other campus jobs to help students grow. We had a fascinating conversation digging into their success and what makes students successful. Nick's enthusiasm and expertise are palpable, and I think you're really gonna enjoy it. Welcome to the Connected College Podcast. I'm your host, Elliot Felix.
Nick Bayer: I became what we didn't call then, but we certainly call today, a first-generation college student. I took a job in consulting at 22, but at 25 I had a quarter-life crisis. I wanted the competition that comes with business, but the satisfaction that comes with making a difference in other people's lives. I decided the only way to merge those was to create something myself. I quit my job and decided to build a coffee shop to employ people and give them skills to level up.
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Nick Bayer: Our success is the world's simplest flywheel. When we are focused on and ensure student learning outcomes and career outcomes of those students, it leads to the financial success of our business. The more financial success we have, the more we can invest in creating more opportunities for students to learn. It is the be-all and end-all.
Nick Bayer: We look at this through two lenses: professional and personal. People tell me all the time they love interviewing our student CEOs because they’ve managed 30 to 50 peers, a million-dollar P&L, and a global supply chain. But there is also the personal growth side. We help young people find their "power skills"—emotional intelligence, critical thinking, cultural agility, and what we call "Thrive Drive."
Elliot Felix: I love the focus on outcomes. I've seen other things like co-ops where you get a salary bump because you have a leg up. The idea that you come to a job and already have leadership experience, getting there seven times faster, is remarkable. How do you put those together into a coherent definition of student success?
Nick Bayer: We have a team of PhDs who were faculty members in higher ed. They sit down with provosts and deans and use the pedagogy of higher ed. We talk about general learning outcomes and institutional learning outcomes for every role and tie them back to assessments. When provosts see we are looking at this the way they do, they are amazed.
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Elliot Felix: I'm wondering how it actually works on the ground. How do you knit these things together? How do the training and development blend with day-to-day operations?
Nick Bayer: These are not protected classroom laboratories where if you mess up, it's monopoly money. These are in the middle of bustling college campuses with competition all around. It is the quintessential consequence-rich learning environment. We ask our university partners to hold us to the highest standard. Don't stuff us in the basement; put us front and center in the student center or the business school.
Nick Bayer: If we are really good, imagine how celebrated that is on campus. We are a stop on almost every prospective student tour. If it was poorly run, they wouldn't be proud of it. To deliver on this, we place a lot of emphasis on who we hire. If you want an easy job to sit and search Instagram, this is not the place. But if you want to find your superpowers and differentiate yourself in a competitive market, this is it.
Nick Bayer: We also have "pods" for regional leadership. 90% of those people came out of our experiential learning platform. They provide near-peer support because they’ve walked in those shoes. They’ve had to write up a friend or manage a best friend’s boyfriend. They understand the dynamics because they’ve done it.
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Nick Bayer: We are obsessive about internal promotion. We try to value the people in our organization rather than overvaluing those outside. A student CEO takes no classes for six months; they get a full semester of credit and full P&L authority. We change the CEO every six months, but we promote from within.
Nick Bayer: Usually, you are a student VP of marketing or similar role first. Once you complete your tenure as CEO, you move back to the student VP team to advise your successor. Most of our cafes have one to five current and former student leaders. Leaders beget leaders. We teach them to be servant leaders who develop talent around them.
Elliot Felix: What I love about that is the idea of succession planning. It’s a loop. As you promote from within, the CEO stays around to provide continuity and institutional memory. Your talent development isn't just leading somewhere and then you lose your best people; it stays in the system.
Nick Bayer: We couldn't do it otherwise. In the early years, I feel bad for the student CEOs because the job felt never-ending. But that's not great leadership. It’s not about the last person standing with the highest pain threshold. To make it sustainable, we need a depth of talent. About 30% of our teams—roughly 15 students per cafe—are leaders.
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Elliot Felix: As you look into the future, what are the challenges or changes you face as you try to scale this unique model?
Nick Bayer: Businesses can only scale if two things happen: the culture and values stay true, and you have people to execute them. No one at a distant university cares about Nick Bayer, but they care about their fellow student who is the CEO on that campus. Moving forward, we want to scale beyond coffee. There are hundreds of student jobs on campus that students don't like and aren't learning from. We want to elevate those jobs using our platform.
Nick Bayer: Higher ed is in a challenging time. Students are graduating into a world with massive challenges—inequality, climate change, and AI transforming the workplace. Higher ed is not known for moving quickly, but the winds of change are coming. These institutions need to embrace experiential learning quickly to remain foundational.
Elliot Felix: Given those changes, the skills folks are developing through your model—social, interpersonal, communication, and leadership—are what will be more and more in demand. Having responsibility and stakes is what helps people thrive. Thank you, Nick, for a great conversation.