A RTS ENT R E P R E N EU R
Q&A
with Matt
Bailey
Trained as a fine art photographer, Matt Bailey blended artistry with entrepreneurship throughout his career — from opening a tattoo shop in Albuquerque to co-founding a software company serving photographers. Bailey went on to earn an M.B.A. from UCI and a master’s in business analytics at NYU. Most recently, he served as director of the collaborative venturing group at UCI Beall Applied Innovation. Bailey joined the Dean’s Arts Board in 2020 as a champion for visual arts and technology.
Q. How do you see artistic and entrepreneurship intersecting? MB: Business is actually very creative at its core. And at the end of the day, creativity thrives on commerce. As a student at the San Francisco Art Institute, I thought being concerned with selling your work was “selling out,” but the people who do the most interesting things artistically have some kind of financial support. The company I co-founded, liveBooks, was a software company that helped creative people build out their commerce side. And when you grow a company, you have to come up with creative ways of producing your product profitably. The two overlap in so many ways that are underappreciated.
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