BAM BrandsUSA is a U.S. cosmetics distribution company founded by Christian Dean, alumnus of the Loyola University Maryland’s Sellinger School of Business. Dean’s company, which he runs with fellow Sellinger classmates and co-partners Kevin Malone and Lisa Hanes and two additional business partners, now markets and distributes two German makeup brands.
Dean first had thoughts of starting his own company while studying at Sellinger in 2013, especially after realizing how useful of a resource the school’s faculty could be to him.
“After my first semester at Sellinger, I was sitting in class one Saturday and it dawned on me: We have all these knowledgeable professors and guest speakers,” Dean said. “Why not use these resources, all this knowledge and course work to start a business? If we had to pay for the knowledge and experience these professors have on a consulting basis, we could never afford it.”
Dean linked up with two of his business partners (one of whom had experience in the cosmetics industry) at a Baltimore bar. Soon the opportunity to distribute Make up Factory and BeYu products in the United States was presented to them. Dean’s Sellinger classmates were brought on board and BAM BrandsUSA was born in 2014.
Dean looked to his professors for help and mentorship: Sellinger faculty members Mark Johnson, Jason Zhang and Terry Zhao all played an important role in getting BAM BrandsUSA off the ground. Zhang mentored the partners through the summer and Johnson met with them on a Sunday to help them arrange financing and complete their business plan. The partners also consulted with Elliott King, chair of Loyola’s communication department.
“The Executive MBA program at Loyola fostered the confidence we needed to be entrepreneurs, and the connections made at Sellinger have been vital. Even our fellow classmates have helped us make connections in Maryland. Everyone from the program director to the faculty has been a part of our success,” Dean said.