Throughout the day of November 30th, founder and CEO of Lightbridge Academy, Guy Falzarano, had the chance to walk in CHS Principal, Mr. Pace’s, shoes.
Originally known as Rainbow Academy, Falzarano and his wife, Julia Falzarano, founded the academy in 1997. In addition, the company started off with only 10 employees, three being Falzarano’s sons. Rainbow Academy had only one location in Iselin Park near the Metro Park train station.
In 2014, the owners of the franchise changed their name from Rainbow to Lightbridge. This is because many other franchises and academies shared the same name, and Falzarano wanted his academy to stand out.
Falzarano shows a numerous amount of franchises with the same name as his own.
Also, Falzarano says their was confusion in customers being able able to differentiate between their Rainbow Academy and other Rainbow Academies across the country. Thus, Lightbridge Academy was born.
Now, Lightbridge Academy is more successful than ever. There are over 20 locations and has expanded in to Virginia, New York, Pennsylvania, and Maryland.
Falzarano also stressed how special Lightbridge Academy is, because of their modern technology. Bio-metric finger scanning, a parent view monitor, and an interactive whiteboard, are just some of the things that sets Lightbridge apart from other daycares.
Falzarano also has 70 unaffiliated franchises, and is a really successful entrepreneur.
As a result, Colonia High School was happy to have Falzarano spread his tips of success to students. Falzarano became involved with being CHS’s Principal for the Day through the Chamber of Commerce. He says he was interested in being principal for the day because, “I am very appreciative of all of my blessings. This is just my way of giving back and hopefully reaching some young people and making a difference in their lives”
Throughout the day, Falzarano spent his day with Principal Pace, learning about Woodbridge Township and all the great activities going on. He also said, “Mr. Pace is a cool guy and very on top of his game. He runs a well oiled machine.”
Believe it or not, being principal and being an entrepreneur have a lot in common said Falzarano. “Principals and entrepreneurs are both leaders of their organizations. Leadership skills are universal and can be used in just about any setting.”
At the end of the day, Falzarano gave a presentation about entrepreneurship to some lucky CHS classes. The presentation included his core values and 10 tips for success. Falzarano’s five magic words are “Keep Moving and Never Quit!”
Did Falzarano have any changes for CHS in mind while acting as principal for the day? “Nothing, it was a perfect day,” said Falzarano.
