A pioneer in residential real estate, Fiola Blum founded a thriving company that bears her name in an era when few women were successful real estate entrepreneurs. Born in Baltimore in 1911, Fiola married her husband, Jimmy, in 1930. After moving with their two sons, James, Jr. and Harry, into a custombuilt home in Northwest Baltimore, she started her professional life as a ""kitchen broker."" She worked for several real estate agencies before going into business with her husband in 1949. Fiola learned about real estate on the job and rose to high levels on the Baltimore Board of Realtors and the Multiple Listing Board, where she was the only woman and the only Jew. She and her husband were among the first tenants to buy into Eleven Slade, the first high rise condominium in the Pikesville area, where she lives today.