“There’s such a wide range of individuals in the University — a lot of super creative people trying to create new stuff.” — Chuck Sacco
As someone who’s started or helped start half a dozen businesses over nearly two decades, Chuck Sacco, ’07, knows the ups and downs of the entrepreneurial life better than most.
One of the most important lessons he’s learned is the importance of “failing fast” — understanding when a business idea isn’t going to work, getting out without losing too much money, and applying the lessons learned to create a more successful venture.
Now, as entrepreneur in residence and — as of December — director of external relations for Drexel’s new Close School of Entrepreneurship, Sacco says he hopes to bring those hard-learned lessons to undergraduates and graduate students throughout the University who have ideas they believe should be turned into businesses.
“I’ll be bringing my experience as a entrepreneur to bear,” he says. “I’m already well connected within the Philadelphia community in the areas of technology and entrepreneurship, and I’ll be helping the school establish relationships with companies we can add value to.”
Since earning his MBA through Drexel’s LeBow College of Business, Sacco’s involvement with the University has grown.
When PhindMe Mobile, the business that was the subject of his MBA, first launched, it was located in what is now known as the Laurence A. Baiada Institute for Entrepreneurship, the mission of which the Close School will expand upon.
In 2010, PhindMe Mobile merged with Motivas, which designs mobile apps for hotels and travel agents in Caribbean and Latin American countries including Mexico.
Sacco also appeared in one of the first television commercials launched for LeBow, where he eventually became an adjunct professor. He is an elected director of the Drexel University Board of Governors.
One of his goals in working with the Close School, Sacco says, is to drive home for students that entrepreneurship doesn’t necessarily come from those with a business background.
“People who really want to start something may just think of themselves as creative,” he says. “There’s such a wide range of individuals in the University — a lot of super creative people trying to create new stuff.”
Close School Dean Donna DeCarolis said that Sacco brings to the table something that can’t be discounted when starting up a brand new school — a history with Drexel.
“This school is brand, spanking new and we have no history, so to have someone like Chuck on board, who is an alum, who understands Philadelphia, the region and the business environment, is invaluable,” she says.
Because she’s approaching the staffing of the Close School in a way that echoes that of a business startup, bringing on someone who knew the job immediately was crucial. As the person who hired Sacco for his adjunct teaching position when she was a department head at LeBow, DeCarolis knew he would be classroom ready.
“I need to hire the people who I’m 99.9 percent sure can do the job on day one,” she says. “I knew of his skills and his
passion, I knew he could teach, and I knew he could relate to our students.”