On the Record: Portland entrepreneur launches app for schools, education organizations

Kippy Smith seated, holding laptop that shows her app on the screen

Photo / Jim Neuger 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.

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By Renee Cordes

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.

Mainebiz: What is the Small Wins Dashboard and who are the intended users?

Kippy Smith: The Small Wins Dashboard is a team goal-tracking app for schools and education organizations. It helps teams track their big goals together, and in the process, generate 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. The 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: There are over a hundred users across multiple schools and education organizations in Maine and as far away as California. The ultimate goal is to have thousands of users in at least 50 schools and organizations. As an educator, parent and local entrepreneur, growing 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 otherwise 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. The 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. They’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. The 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. They’ve integrated the Small Wins Dashboard into their existing professional learning and collaboration structures.

MB: At a time when many school budgets are strained, how do you keep the service affordable?

KS: The Small Wins Dashboard supports continual school improvement and professional learning, two priorities for which schools have dedicated funding (in addition to technology funds). The per-user cost for a yearlong subscription 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 dedicated 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 organizations set big, complex goals that require the collective knowledge, creativity and belief of the whole team. The Small Wins Dashboard generates 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 useful for service-providing organizations, and organizations who prioritize learning and development.