Courtesy / MedMatrix
From left, Cole Siefer, Ann Giedd and Carrie Siefer partnered to start MedMatrix at the
Updated: July 24, 2023
Two practices in one: Functional medicine and aesthetics services open in SoPo
Courtesy / MedMatrix
From left, Cole Siefer, Ann Giedd and Carrie Siefer partnered to start MedMatrix, offering both functional medical services and aesthetics services.
A new practice offering both functional medical services and aesthetics services, called MedMatrix, opened in a 4,500-square-foot leased space at 198 Maine Mall Road in South Portland.
The business was founded by Ann Marie Giedd, Carrie Siefer and Siefer’s son, Cole Siefer.
Giedd is a board-certified family practice and past emergency and hospital medicine provider with a history as an educator and specialist in the field of functional medicine.
Carrie Siefer has many years of experience in the medical aesthetic industry, specializing in nonsurgical, noninvasive skincare procedures.
Cole Siefer, age 19, is responsible for conceiving of and marketing the company.
“Functional medicine means treating the root cause of our problems,” he said. “Instead of treating the cough, it treats what is causing the cough.”
From accident to recovery
Born and raised North Conway, N.H., Cole Siefer graduated from high school at age 16. A year ago, he and a partner were running a financial education business and podcast called Daily Traders, which he said helped him hone his social media and marketing skills. But he had a serious mountain biking accident, resulting in brain trauma and other injuries. His entrepreneurial pursuits seemed to be in doubt.
Giedd was running a practice called Concierge Care NP, which specializes in functional medicine. She was renting space for one of her offices from Cole’s mother. Giedd started Cole on a course of ozone therapy, which he said accelerated his healing process.
“After almost fully healing and returning to the podcast in two weeks, my friends and family were shocked at my speedy recovery,” he said.
Giedd started Concierge Care in Atlanta, then moved it to Eaton, N.H., and subsequently added locations in Bangor, Presque Isle and North Conway, N.H. The practice specializes in a one-on-one approach to treating the root cause of illness. She has specialized training in IV nutrition and peptides, hormone therapy, endocrinology, anti-aging, bariatrics and weight loss, and aesthetics. Her clinical background includes level-one trauma centers in Washington D.C., Atlanta, Seattle and Maryland.
In 2021, Giedd began working in side-by-side offices with Carrie Siefer, who founded and runs Advanced Skin Care Center in North Conway, N.H.
Combined practice
Cole Siefer said that his speedy recovery, in Giedd’s care, led friends and acquaintances to ask him where they could get such treatments. So he approached Giedd about opening a combined practice that would offer her functional medicine services and Carrie’s skin care services.
“He asked if I’d be willing to join together to do something bigger, to do more of these therapies and treatments,” Giedd said. “I said, ‘Okay, let’s do it.’”
Courtesy / MedMatrix
Renovations at 198 Maine Mall Road included removing walls, outfitting treatment rooms and redoing the air system and electrical writing.
Cole wrote a business plan. Living in Portland, he initiated a search for real estate to lease.
“I said, ‘See what you can find real-estate-wise,’” Giedd said.
Search parameters included high visibility and an easy commute for patients and other practitioners.
“We needed a location where people could see us and know what we’re doing,” she said. “I knew Portland was a big pull area.”
Renovations
Cole credited Sasha Phillips with the Boulos Co. for help in the search.
“We probably looked at 10 places,” he said.
One hot summer day, Cole and Carrie stopped by a burger joint and were sitting by the window.
“I looked over and saw a ‘for lease’ sign at 198 Maine Mall Road, next to a Planet Fitness,” he said. “People were walking around and it was a nice space. It’s a central location. A lot of people go to the mall. And there‘s great parking.”
Courtesy / MedMatrix
MedMatrix now has a dozen practitioners.
The three partners hired Michael Coyne of Archetype Architects in Portland to draw up renovations for the space.
“We needed it to look and flow a certain way,” Giedd said. “It had been a salon. So we had to gut a lot of the walls. We needed a certain number of treatment rooms. The air system and electrical writing had to be redone. We had to get water in there, and plenty of bathrooms.”
The $480,000 renovation was financed by a $200,000 loan, plus cash and $150,000 worth of supplies from Giedd’s business.
12 practitioners
MedMatrix includes functional medicine, cellular medicine, stem cell therapy, IV nutrition therapy, anti-aging therapies and aesthetics services.
Giedd continues to run Concierge Care in Bangor and North Conway and, on a scaled-back basis, in Presque Isle. Siefer continues to run Advanced Skincare in North Conway. Both also practice in the South Portland office, which, all together, now employs 12 practitioners. That includes a general manager, two additional office staffers, and five registered nurses and a licensed practical nurse who work with Giedd.
Giedd credited Cole Siefer for his work pulling the partnership together.
“Cole is one of the smartest young men I‘ve met as far as marketing,” she said. “He’s the face of MedMatrix, whereas Carrie and I are the backbone.”
Giedd said the field of functional medicine is gaining currency.
“People say, ‘I don’t want a pill. I want to know what’s wrong,’” she said. “Many people come in who want to know what to do so they don’t get sick again. Others want to be proactive. This is where traditional medicine has failed them.”
Most Recent
Most Recent
0 Comments