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V O L . X X I X N O. V § 2 S TA R T U P S A my Rowbottom has been mak- ing cheese for a decade and a half, but in a way it's been in her blood. Having grown up on and lived on dairy farms for a good part of her earlier life, she has been surrounded by the raw ingredients of cheese. Once her path as a cheesemaker became clear, she pushed hard to build her business, Crooked Face Cream- ery in Skowhegan. At every point of growth, the Nor- ridgewock native had to raise money, attend classes, find real estate, build out space, get certifications, permits. But the process is something she's gotten good at. In that way, her startup journey is similar to entrepreneurs in any industry. From her cheese-making opera- tion and retail store at 42 Court St. in Skowhegan, in the Maine Grains building, she is surrounded by pho- tos, cheese products, artwork and the shop dog, an ancient Basset hound named Howard. Rowbottom talks about her jour- ney: She's faced challenges at every turn, personally and professionally — starting with no money, being a single mom, finding and fitting out opera- tions space, navigating the pandemic. "ere's no easy way to get off the ground. You take classes, you get on the road. You have to do the work. I got rejected so much," Rowbottom says. "I've been at this for 14 years, dairy farming and 6 or 7 years of farmers markets. I didn't have any money. It's been slow going, but patience has taught me a lot." Slow money, sound advice Starting from a small "cheese room" on a dairy farm in Norridgewock, Row- bottom got her first financial backing from No Small Potatoes, an invest- ment fund that was part of the Slow Money Maine effort that was led by Bonnie Rukin. Slow Money Maine, which was dissolved in 2021, was an offshoot of the Colorado-based Slow Money Institute. "No Small Potatoes made micro loans of $5,000 or less," Rowbottom says. "at got me off the ground." While she was still working out of a cheese room she'd built out at her fam- ily's farm in Norridgewock, she was eli- gible for grants from the USDA's Farm Service Agency. e grant stipulated that 50% of the milk used by Crooked Face Creamery was produced on site — a resource she hasn't been able to tap into since moving into the Maine Grains building. M A R C H 6 , 2 0 2 3 16 F O C U S Slow money, fast growth A cheese maker's journey has had a fast pace B y P e t e r V a n A l l e n Slow money, P H O T O / F R E D F I E L D Crooked Face Creamery 42 Court St., Skowhegan / crookedfacecreamery.com Founded: 2009 Founder: Amy Rowbottom What they do: Artisan cheese making, retail cheese shop Amy Rowbottom, founder of Crooked Face Creamery in Skowhegan, has developed a grassroots network of funding, distribution and support.