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W W W. M A I N E B I Z . B I Z 23 F E B R UA R Y 2 0 , 2 0 2 3 ainebiz: What is the Small Wins Dashboard and who are the intended users? Kippy Smith: e Small Wins Dashboard is a team goal-tracking app for schools and education organiza- tions. It helps teams track their big goals together, and in the process, gen- erate the momentum needed to reach them. It builds a professional culture of learning and possibility while helping the team move closer to its strategic goals. e app converts individuals' small wins into team-wide, real-time evidence of growth. It's a rich source of 'beyond the numbers' evidence, and doubles as a continual source of team learning and knowledge. MB: How many users do you have so far, and what is your growth target or goal? KS: ere are over a hundred users across multiple schools and education organizations in Maine and as far away as California. e ultimate goal is to have thousands of users in at least 50 schools and organizations. As an educa- tor, parent and local entrepreneur, grow- ing in Maine is a priority for me. MB: How have you funded your business? KS: Maine Technology Institute helped fund the app's development, and other- wise I've bootstrapped. MB: What did you learn from the CEI Women's Business Center Propeller program? KS: My initial reason for joining Propeller was to step back and ensure I was framing the problem in a way that led to a creative, viable solution. e process helped me figure out how to narrow down and get concrete. But the thing I most learned, as a first- time founder, is that persistence and a learning mindset will contribute to the success of my business more than just about anything else. MB: Can you share some examples of how the Small Wins Dashboard has been used already? KS: One school district established a new strategic plan and needed a way to help the district-wide team work toward the goals cohesively and optimistically. ey're using the Small Wins Dashboard to track, share and learn from real-time evidence of progress with the whole team. School leaders and faculties share authentic reflections of everyday small wins in the app. e Dashboard display of this information helps people literally see the effects of their collective efforts and tell the full story of progress. In another case, a school is using the Small Wins Dashboard as a team learning and innovation tool. ey've integrated the Small Wins Dashboard into their existing professional learn- ing and collaboration structures. MB: At a time when many school budgets are strained, how do you keep the service affordable? KS: e Small Wins Dashboard sup- ports continual school improvement and professional learning, two priorities for which schools have dedicated fund- ing (in addition to technology funds). e per-user cost for a yearlong sub- scription is about the same as sending a teacher to a professional development workshop for a single day. Ensuring the Small Wins Dashboard is accessible to schools- especially those outside of urban areas, where schools tend to have greater access to resources- is part of the mission. I've been able to price it in a way that serves both the mission and the business goals. MB: What's next for your company, and when do you expect to make your first hire(s)? KS: Up next is getting the Small Wins Dashboard into more schools and education organizations for the next school year and growing the founding team. I've been working with a dedi- cated team of independent contractors and part-timers thus far and am excited to bring on a technical co-founder and other team members this year. MB: Does the Small Wins Dashboard have potential for use in sectors other than education? KS: Yes. Like schools, many organi- zations set big, complex goals that require the collective knowledge, cre- ativity and belief of the whole team. e Small Wins Dashboard gener- ates not only powerful evidence of progress toward organizational goals, but also the team momentum needed to reach them. I think the Small Wins Dashboard could be particularly use- ful for service-providing organiza- tions, and organizations who priori- tize learning and development. O N T H E R E C O R D B Y R E N E E C O R D E S B Y R E N E E C O R D E S P H O T O / J I M N E U G E R Kippy Smith worked in the education sector for two decades before launching the Small Wins Dashboard app, a goal-tracking and learning tool for schools and education organizations. Mainebiz caught up with the Portland-based entrepreneur to get the lowdown. Portland-based entrepreneur Kippy Smith has big plans for the Small Wins Dashboard, a team goal-tracking and learning app that she developed for schools and education organizations. As an educator, parent and local entrepreneur, growing in Maine is a priority for me. M

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