CMGC Intelligence: Central Maine Enthusiast, here's your 5 min read on innovation, investment, and quality of life

October 2019 Edition

Innovation

Sponsored by People's United Bank

5 Qs with Matthew Rideout

Founder of StrictChef, Owner of Rideout

The responses below are excerpts from our full interview, which you can read here .

1. You've built an impressive background in digital marketing and software development. Why did you decide to become an entrepreneur?

[Matthew Rideout]: I have always felt like an entrepreneur. From the time I was old enough to understand money and business, I wanted to be "The Boss" and to own a tech-based company (read: I wanted to be Bill Gates). As a kid, this started with lemonade stands. In college, I tried to create a better version of MySpace (lol) .

My leap to being a full-time entrepreneur happened during the fall of 2017. I was employed full-time and working on StrictChef part-time, but progress was slow and I knew I needed to go full-time on StrictChef if I had any chance of bringing it to market. It took a year of working on it full-time to launch.

2. Tell us a bit about StrictChef. How does it set itself apart from other recipe-based apps?

[MR]: For starters, I have an autoimmune disease called Ankylosing Spondylitis , which if left untreated causes painful inflammatory arthritis and will slowly fuse together your spine and SI joint. At the time, I thought "food as medicine" was hippe mumbo jumbo, but after joining an online community, I tried it - after two years, I was symptom-free! Changing my way of eating was extremely difficult, and it became my passion and mission to help others like me.

Enter StrictChef. We take dietary restrictions and preferences to the next level - no other app comes close to the control we give users. StrictChef is built on the premise that no two people have the same dietary requirements - we don't group users based on similar needs. And we aren't a tracker like other major competitors. If you eat the right foods, you don't need to track anything.

3. How does your experience with Agile, LEAN, and Scrum inform and benefit your development of StrictChef?

[MR]: They were critical in getting me to where I am today . The agile/scrum/lean software development philosophies are based on rapid launch, testing, and iteration cycles. The framework helps you stay nimble to feedback and focused. I started with paper sketch drawings, tested them with a target audience I built over Facebook and networking, and used feedback to eventually build interactive prototypes. It's an approach that kept me on the right track - if someone had given me $100k to built my initial vision for StrictChef, it would have been a spectacular failure .

4. You were selected to participate in the 2018 cohort of the TopGun program. What were two important takeaways you learned from the program?

[MR]: #1 - TopGun reaffirmed the need to completely understand your audience and customers before investing time in building anything, and to continuously reevaluate your product with customer feedback . #2 - TopGun illustrated the importance of storytelling and rhetoric . The way you tell your story has a dramatic impact on product acceptance and audience enthusiasm.

5. We are excited for your TechTalk at Central Maine Tech Night on October 10th. Can you give us a quick preview of what you'll be talking about?

[MR]: I'll talk about my background and autoimmune struggles, my journey to found StrictChef, and the cutting-edge tech behind the app. From a "techie" standpoint, I'll review everything that makes StrictChef function, but I also hope to paint a picture of everything that goes into launching an app - it's so much more than code .

This free event is sponsored by: CGI , Harold Alfond Institute for Business Innovation , Valley Beverage , and Bricks Coworking & Innovation Space .

Small Business K now-How

Top Tools and Tech for Cash Flow MGMT

By People's United Bank

It's important for business owners to leverage technology to improve cash flow management: monitoring, predicting, and managing cash flow are essential business functions, and searching for new ways to maximize cash flow can create new revenue streams and improve business performance .

Three top tools to help your improve your cash flow position are remote deposit capture , electronic payments , and automated clearing house . Read more about these tools here .

Business Investment

Sponsored by Coldwell Banker Plourde Real Estate

Top Stories of September 2019

Town of Oakland Launches Broadband Survey for Residents and Businesses - the online take-rate survey will identify the current and future technological needs of Oakland's residents and business owners, ultimately informing the Oakland Broadband & Technology Committee on its recommendations for broadband infrastructure.

Downtown Waterville Launches Qualified Opportunity Fund to Attract Investment in its Opportunity Zone - the first economic development corporation-owned opportunity fund in New England, one of the first in the US, intends to stimulate further direct investment into the city and its downtown by taking advantage of the tax incentive program established by the federal Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017.

Oakland To Install Solar Array Atop Former Landfill, Cutting Town's Electric Bill - the 497,000 kilowatt-hour solar array is expected to generate enough power to completely cover the Town government's energy consumption.

See full listing

Central Maine Real Estate Spotlight

By Coldwell Banker Plourde Real Estate

Featured Commercial Property Location :

233 Main Street, Fairfield, ME

Space Available: approx. 3,000 sq.ft.

Sale Price: $225,000

Retail Features:

Great window visibility
Prime downtown location
Ample parking

Context:

High-traffic area along U.S. Rt. 201
0.34 acre
Sale includes land, building, and two separate heating systems

Contact : Rachel Anderson | 207-649-2156

Workforce Investment

Sponsored by K ennebec Valley Community College

Employer Spotlight: You

CMGC and Kennebec Valley Community College (KVCC) invite you to tap into the KVCC student talent pool via a variety of engagement opportunities, including classroom visits, internships, and job referrals.

This partnership makes it easier than ever to engage with KVCC students in the courses relevant to you.

Connecting with KVCC students will build exposure for your organization, help recruit for open positions, enrich students' educational experiences, and build a qualified local workforce .

You can learn more about each engagement opportunity here ; the variety is designed to fit your needs and schedule. Don't miss this free opportunity to connect with a talented pool of candidates - take this survey to indicate your interest in learning more .

Take this short survey to indicate your interest in engaging with KVCC students

We hope you enjoy learning about local talent recruitment and retention strategies, and if your business has an innovative strategy or unique culture, please share with us!

Workforce Training & Professional Development:

Service Learning: Connecting Students with Businesses

By Kennebec Valley Community College (KVCC)

Quick Facts on KVCC's Center for Civic Engagement:

Established in 2003
49,763 hours of community service
Over $1,029,000 in value-added contribution to the local economy
Service learning increases student retention and success in college
Service learning volunteers can only fulfill duties that would be unpaid, and can not replace what would be a paid employee.

KVCC's Center for Civic Engagement (CCE) promotes and provides technical assistance for faculty and students who wish to incorporate service learning into their curriculum.

Service-Learning provides the most comprehensive of opportunities to gain practical experience , apply the concepts gained through academic study, and to reflect upon personal responsibility for civic engagement and social responsibility.

If your organization is interested in developing a partnership with KVCC students and faculty to perform a service learning project, contact Dr. Mark Kavanaugh at [email protected] .

KVCC has a great reputation for its core programs in Allied Health , Nursing , Business and the Trades , new programs including Culinary Arts and Sustainable Construction , transfer programs such as Liberal Studies and Psychology , and Business & Industry , which assists in upgrading skills for new and existing employees.

Quality of Place