Fletcher Kittredge, founder and CEO of GWI

Dr. Lisa Belisle:

My next guest is Fletcher Kittredge, who is the founder and CEO of Maine based Internet service provide GWI. In the last 20 years, GWI has grown to 55 employees and $16 million in annual revenue. Thanks so much for coming in today.

Fletcher Kittredge:

Well, thank you so much for having me.

Dr. Lisa Belisle:

You've been doing some very interesting things with your educational background, which includes having a BA in English from Colby and an Ms. In Computer Science from Harvard. When you started this life that you've created, did you think that you'd be going in this direction?

Fletcher Kittredge:

I certainly 30 years ago wouldn't have anticipated it, but it, it's, it's, it's really served me well. And so it's hard not to advocate for it because if, if something works for you, you just assume it works for everyone else. So I was, I think, think I really benefited from getting a liberal arts degree as an undergraduate degree and because of the breadth, if I look at what and the sorts of things I learned, there's a difference between education and training. And education is teaching you underlying principles and developing skills that are fundamental and really Shaping who you are and then training is giving you specific knowledge to get a task done. And because the world that I've been in is a high tech world, and the evolution and the change is just extraordinary. I've really benefited from having that broad liberal arts background. If I just had technical training, the math doesn't change, and math is one of the few eternal things. But so much of the technical training changes. And I know engineers that end up getting essentially isolated and marooned if they don't keep up with their ongoing education because they, they miss out on those, those things. So they either plateau in their career, that sort of stuff. So it's been, it's been a real advantage to me to have both. And I think that it's something that people need. And the other thing that I should say about my graduate degree is it was night school, or actually it was day school, because Harvard doesn't do night school. But I got it over time, one course at a time, while I was working, so as adult ed. And I think that that's incredibly valuable. It's just a wonderful way to learn. If you can take something like that, you know, an applied degree and you're working in the field at the same time, you get that immediate reinforcement of, say, oh, you know, I understand now, I understand the principles behind that, and it really sticks with you. So the combination of a liberal arts degree and then ongoing learning I think is really valuable.

Dr. Lisa Belisle:

You moved to Maine from Cambridge?

Fletcher Kittredge:

Well, I moved back to Maine from.

Dr. Lisa Belisle:

Moved back to Maine. All right, well, tell me a little about your background.

Fletcher Kittredge:

So my family, or at least some of my ancestors, got here in the 1640s and 1650s to Maine, and, and my family was here for a long time. My branch of the family moved to Ohio around the Civil War, but we always kept ties here. So I used to come back in the summer when I was a little, little kid. And then my father, who was a college professor, was to some extent part of the back to the land movement. And in 75, we moved back to Maine when I was 15. So I did high school here, went to college here, and went down to Cambridge to get a job in the computer industry. Because even though I was an English major, computers were kind of getting out into society when I was in college, the first few PCs and that sort of stuff, and I got really interested in them and went down to Cambridge to get a job and then to go to school. So I was there for. We were out of state for 11 years. And we're very happy that Just, it was just a amazing feeling to be able to move back here. And that's why I started the gwi, was to have a job in Maine. And so I achieved that goal and we were able to give my kids the advantage of a Maine childhood, which is one of the greatest gifts you can give people.

Dr. Lisa Belisle:

So if your father and presumably your mother were behind this back to the land movement and you decided, oh, I'm gonna go back to the city, yeah. How did that go over for them?

Fletcher Kittredge:

Oh, well, you know, when I graduated from college, there weren't a whole lot of jobs around in Maine. And my sibling, there were four of us. And I was the only one who moved back to Maine. I mean, it was just, it. They're, you know, young people leaving Maine is not a new phenomenon. It just was, you know, there was. There weren't a whole lot of options. And I felt like I needed, in fact, to come back. I felt like I needed to make an option for myself. So that's, I mean, literally, that's why I started the company so is so that I could have a job and live. Live here and have my family here. And fortunately, I married someone whose allegiance to Maine was wrong, as I was, and has made it very clear she's not moving now that she's back here.

Dr. Lisa Belisle:

And were you somehow able to. This idea of being back to the land, I mean, the single largest, I think idea was that you're self sustaining.

Fletcher Kittredge:

It is, and I should say we were in that culture. But my parents were not, not farmers. I mean, my mother wishes she was a farmer and she has a truly extraordinary vegetable garden and orchard. But my father was in construction. He was an architect. He had been teaching architecture and then came up here to become a partner in a company. And my mother was a school psychologist, so she worked in the school system. But. What I think one of the things that attracted them to Maine is you asked me what. What is my favorite place in Maine? I said all of it. And one of the things that I just absolutely love about Maine, and this may be true of many places, and it's just that I know Maine well, is there's just all these little subcultures in Maine which are culturally distinct and neat in and of themselves. And there is this kind of rural, same set of values around the back to the land, and they very much fit in that I grew up in, that raised our kids in, that I went to an alternative school, which is, I think, for me was the heart of that that no longer exists anymore. And my Kids went to the school around us and the new school in Kennebunk. I don't know if you know those, those sorts of places and so on the edge of that. But no, we did not live in a yurt and we were not subsistence farmers. But the set of values about trying. Maine's a deeply conservative state across the political spectrum and the only difference is what you're trying to conserve and the allegiance to the environment and local self reliance and those sorts of things were I think important values to them.

Dr. Lisa Belisle:

Well, I guess one of the things I think about is if you are attempting to be self sustaining then creating your own company to create your own job is actually that it is.

Fletcher Kittredge:

And I think that you know, Maine's and Maine needs more that and Maine I think in general, you know, those different cultures in Maine create different cross currents and how we think as a state. And there is, I believe still out there some nascent Yankee ingenuity. And particularly in rural communities and fishing and farming communities, there is a sense of self reliance. But then there's this other strain that I think has to do with the fact that we used to be big manufacturing and manufacturing got to be big companies rather than people tinkering. And there's that waiting for the big employer or waiting for the government to come in and solve the problem. And it isn't going to happen. I mean it just is, you know, Maine's problems, Maine has the capability and it is a requirement we fix them for ourselves because we're just not going to get the help from other people. And the nice thing is if we fix them by them ourselves, if we build the sort of self reliant economy, then it's a much more stable environment. You bring in a big employer, big employers come. But then big employers go, Government programs come and government programs go. But if we can build in our own communities self reliance, a broad based economy. I think one of the great things about the the economy that started that you see the economic vitality in the state is to a large extent around the arts and science and technology and those sorts of things. If you've been watching Biddeford and you mentioned you had a background, it's just extraordinary the way that that has changed. And if you look at where the growth's coming from, it's much more broadly based. It's not a big mill that can shut down, that can grow rapidly and employ thousands, but they can also turn around and lay off thousands. And we have the ability to do that. And one of the things that Makes me sad is that more people don't look at starting their own business and starting their own venture that, that at something that's actually decaying. And it's unfortunate because one of the things that I've learned in the last few years is there's this incredibly strong support network for entrepreneurship in the greater Portland area at least, which there didn't used to be. When I started GWI 23 years ago, all these mistakes I made and which were costly and unpleasant and now I find that there are people to turn to who are willing to help. I'm on the board of Maine center for Entrepreneurial Development, which is kind of the oldest, most senior of the entrepreneurial type organizations. But that's not the only one. There are, there are, you know, dozens now. There's Venture hall, there's mti there, there, there are University of Maine, all sorts of things going on and there's a lot of support and for people who are starting companies and it is, it is a, it's a really good thing to do. And I would say I'm not, you know, it's stressful and it's, it's a lot of work, but boy is it worth it. And if you get the help, I think your chances of being successful go way, way, way up. So I, you know, that's one of the things Maine could do. And if we started a lot of companies, I think you'd find that we'd have a much better economy. So you, you brought it up.

Dr. Lisa Belisle:

So I'm going to ask. You talked about mistakes that you made that were very costly. Tell me about some of those.

Fletcher Kittredge:

Oh, wow. Where to begin? I would say, well, one of the things that I did is I tended to be very isolated when I was starting out. I didn't, I'm not, I'm not an outgoing person and left to my own devices, I mean, I like to talk to people about the stuff that interests me, but left to my own devices, I, you know, I'd rather be at home and splitting wood or reading a book. So that was not reaching out enough for help. I also self financed and I think the biggest part of that is if you, if you self finance, that means you don't have other, other people who are really interested in what you're doing because they put money in it and they're going to watch over your shoulder and give you advice. So not, you know, if I had to do over again, I would have spent a lot more time going around meeting people, introducing myself, telling them what I was Trying to do, you know, kind of essentially asking for help. And I really, really tried to do too much myself. So I really would have benefited from engaging with other people early on. So that's. I'd say my biggest mistake. And lots and lots of little mistakes fall out of that. And the other thing was not really. And I think if you're, you know, if you're just one person, you just can't get that much done. I mean, there's a real limit. If you get together a group of interested people, then it's much easier.

Dr. Lisa Belisle:

How do you think that we can get people past the point of fear and to the point of forming their own businesses? Because I do believe you are correct, that there is this idea that we should wait for somebody who's going to employ us because that is, quote, stability. And having worked in Maine myself for many years, I have seen that this. Things change. The Navy pulled out of Brunswick, so even though I still have military patients, there's a lot fewer of them going up there. And that was something that nobody foresaw.

Fletcher Kittredge:

Well, I think it's a really important question. And unfortunately, the natural response that comes to me is to start out telling people they should be more afraid. And the world is changing. It's going to continue to change. If anything, the rate of change is going to increase because one of the reasons it's changing is technology. And the more and more technology we have, the more and more we can speed up the rate of change. The more that we can instantly share ideas, the more rapid things change, the more that companies can instantly bring out new products, the more technology allows new business models to come along and destroy old business models, creative destruction. So change is going to be constant. And I believe the way to deal with it and the happiness is to take charge of the change and not be. The stick being swept down the stream. But really figure out, start thinking about the future. Start thinking about actively taking control. The future is not going to be like today. What do you want to be? Where do you want to be? Those sorts of things. And then start taking charge of yourself. There's no way any of us can avoid unless we just end up in a very bad place. Continually educate ourselves, because the jobs we have are going to change. And you don't want to be. As someone who's eyeing 60 from a pretty close range and have friends that age. The last thing you want to be is reaching a point where you're in your early 60s and the world has changed in such a way that your job isn't needed anymore. And you're in your early 60s trying to find something new. Because I promise age discrimination is very real and it's almost impossible. I don't know anybody who manages to avoid it. So you want to be in that situation. And the way to do it is keep educating yourself. You got to push yourself. It may not be what you want to do. I know that I have to push myself. Oh, I don't really feel like reading this. I better. That's a conversation I have in my head every single day. And so I think the first step is to do that and then treat yourself like you're a celebrity and work on your brand. And that is making sure that you're doing these things. And you have a way of demonstrating to the world through credentials or whatever that you're doing these things. And if you're doing that and you're thinking about yourself that way, and you should always be thinking of yourself as a solo practitioner, because you probably are, I think then it's a step from that to saying, okay, I'm thinking about the future. I'm seeing these opportunities, getting myself ready for the opportunities. And maybe part of that is starting a business. And then the other thing I'd say is don't make the mistake. I did absolutely, positively reach out to other people. No person. The idea of the heroic founder that starts a company and is the person who does it, it's got to be a team or a group of people, because no person has all that. When you're small, you need to do all these different things. You could to be your own hr, you need to be your own finance person, you need to be your own product person, you need to be your own marketer and all those things. No one can do all those things and do a good job of it. So you got to find other people and working with them, come up with a common vision or find someone who has the vision and you want to be on their team. And the most important part of it is whether you. You can trust them and there's someone that trust. Find people that can trust you and you can trust and use the organizations. Use the main center for Entrepreneurial Top Gun program or all that. A score or all that. There are dozens of different startup and create week and venture hall and all sorts of things. But they're. If you want to start a business, you're going to get. If you reach out for it and look for it, you're going to get a lot of help, a lot of very valuable help that you would pay large amounts of money for. And by and large you can either get it really cheap or free because starting businesses is so important to society. So I'd say pay attention to yourself and who you are, realize the world is changing and start to figure out how you think it's going to change. A lot of these things, you can predict the future and then start to look for like minded people and remember that you know, as much as you may not like it, you're a brand and think about your brand.

Dr. Lisa Belisle:

Well, it's interesting to hear you talk about some of these things that I ponder a lot because, well, for example, in medicine, technology is enabling us to do really wonderful things. I mean, we really have done a lot with what we have to offer our patients. And yet. And I'm probably going to get myself in trouble by saying this, but I've been in this field a long time, so I feel like I can say this yet. There's enough people who are very well educated who want to know what they know, are willing to learn a little bit more about medicine, but don't really want to do anything that's going to like move them out of their safe space. And it's hard. I think it makes it really hard because there's so much more that could be accomplished if people were a little bit more open to thinking in a broader way.

Fletcher Kittredge:

I completely agree. If I understand what you're saying, it's hard not to settle into a safe space. I think it's absolutely human nature and I know that I do it. But I also know there is no safe space. The world is changing enough so that you need to push yourself. And that's true on so many different levels. I mean, I think it's true mentally and professionally and what you do with your job, but also as you age, as my mother would say, is, I think a lot of people say aging isn't for sissies and you have to become an athlete. And the difference of quality of life you're going to have if you do that or if you don't is profound. So there is no safety in standing still. The safe place is an illusion. To some extent. You need to keep moving. So I think that's certainly true. I'm not sure if that's what you're saying. And if you're learning and you're educating yourself, there's no better way to learn and educate than educate yourself about yourself. How people think, how you think, the health aspects. I must admit, as a computer science, I find medical science very Frustrating because it's so inexact and it seems to move in fits and starts and a lot of false starts. But keeping track, keeping up on those sorts of things, I think is important.

Dr. Lisa Belisle:

Well, I agree with you, and I think it's interesting to me, and I keep using the word interesting because I don't want to say challenging or frustrating. I guess I want to keep this in a positive way, that. There's this weird thing that I think that many people go into life with, which is that I'm going to get a certain amount of experience, education, I don't know, academic degrees, whatever it is, and then I'm good. I'm good. And this is going to be all I need to be the rest of my life. And they're just going to burrow down. That's crazy.

Fletcher Kittredge:

And that might have been the world we grew up in, but it isn't the world in which we live. And every day it's getting more and more wrong. And I think you set yourself up for profound disappointment because the rules are changing. And if you play by the old set of rules, you're going to end up really disappointed and maybe bitter because you did the things that you thought you were supposed to do and found out they didn't result and the results. So, I mean, and a bunch of that is stuff that we can't change. I mean, we might, through politics, try to organize society in such a way that you could hold, but since it's being driven by technology and we can stop using the technology, but even if we, as an entire country stopped, slow down, try to deliberately slow down the pace of technology, if the rest of the world is doing it, it's going to overlap onto us anyhow. So I don't see how you can stop that. And if that's happening, it's worth paying attention to. And when I talk about thinking about how you think, one of the things is the way you think about the future. And I know this is hard because it's hard for me, and it's something that I actually find exciting and interesting, but it's just so hard to visualize. Our minds think that tomorrow will be like today, but it's not going to be that way. And how can we pay attention to how it might be different? And I think more than people realize, you can predict what the changes are going to be. I'm holding up an iPhone now, which is pretty amazing, when I grew up in the woods of Arundel, Maine, to say I'd be carrying around something that holds the sum stores of human knowledge, just an extraordinary amount of information. It's not really in there, but it's available to me through the network connection, you know. But it was ultimately predictable, particularly if you look back a few years. I mean self driving cars. There's going to be a lot of pain and suffering between here and there. A lot more than people realize. I think it's going to be a bumpy, bumpy road, to use the wrong metaphor, but it's going to happen. And how will that change things? You know, You can see the way the nature of jobs through automation and robots are going to change and you can see that there are certain things that probably won't and will be become of greater value. Anything that's human, anything that's creative empathy, people skills and certain medical. If you look at medical professions, certain things probably radiology doesn't have a very good shelf life because that's stuff that we think of as intense and needs a lot of intelligence, but actually could be done by a computer ultimately and some types of diagnosis, but other types of diagnosis, no. And human interactions in bedside manner are probably more and more important. Probably the model for the next 100, 150 years is empowering people through technology. So paying attention to that and figuring out not using technology for the use of technology, but using technology because you have something you want and you have something you want to do and it's a way to get what you want is I think is going to be really important.

Dr. Lisa Belisle:

Well, this has been a fascinating conversation.

Fletcher Kittredge:

Thank you.

Dr. Lisa Belisle:

I appreciate you taking time out of your very busy schedule. I've been speaking with Fletcher Kittredge who is the founder and CEO of Maine based Internet service provider at GWI. In the last 20 years, GWI has grown to 55 employees and $16 million in annual revenue. Keep up the good work.

Fletcher Kittredge:

Thank you.