Last night, the Minneapolis-St.Paul Business Journal awarded nine of the state’s most deserving Young Entrepreneurs. Amongst the nine individuals was Reside’s very own CEO, Matt Meents. Reside is very excited and proud to celebrate Matt’s strong leadership and accomplisment. Below is the article from the Minneapolis-St.Paul Business Journal.
Matt Meents left Carlson Marketing to launch Web-services firm Reside in March of 2001, roughly a year after the dot-com bubble burst, and a few months before the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks.
It was a tough time to get a tech company up and running, said Meents, adding that he and co-founder Eric Scheel fought hard for each customer during the company’s infancy. Despite a rocky start, Reside not only survived under Meents’ leadership, it grew.
The company, which offers a mix of technology and marketing services, now has about 30 employees and generated roughly $2.7 million in revenue last year. Meents expects sales will grow to about $4 million by the end of 2010. Over the past nine years, Reside also has landed several big-name clients, including AMC Entertainment Inc., Häagen-Dazs and Fridley-based Medtronic Inc.
When Meents, 34, was working for Carlson Marketing, a family friend asked him to build a Web application. He roped Sheel, who also worked at Carlson, into the project and the pair soon decided to launch Reside. “We looked at the business model and thought there’s probably huge demand for this type of development.”
The startup’s first two clients came from the real estate industry, and the company’s name was initially an acronym that stood for Real Estate Software Information Database Experts. However, Reside soon broadened its client base and now builds Web portals that allow companies to interact with customers and clients. For instance, Reside helped Minneapolis-based Fair Isaac Corp. develop a website for professionals who manage credit scores. Users can head to the site to share ideas, access resources and download software, Meents said.
Reside also made a splash early in 2009, when it helped then President-elect Barack Obama launch a “citizen’s briefing book” - a website that let people submit policy proposals to the incoming administration. Meents landed the deal due to Reside’s previous work with Starbucks Corp. Obama’s campaign team had seen a Reside-developed site that allowed customers to offer suggestions to Starbucks.
Reside remained a “virtual” company, with no official bricks-and-mortars headquarters, for its first four years. As the company has grown, Meents has taken pride in developing a strong company culture. The company’s mantra is “Rockin’,” which Meents defines as working together for culture, clients and community.
“Culture is about having great people here who all have shared values and vision,” Meents said. “It’s also about listening, innovating, building and maintaining trust, and responding with a sense of urgency.”
Reside, now based in St. Louis Park, also is active in the Twin Cities community and works with several local charity organizations. The firm gives employees paid time off to volunteer and hosts quarterly “cocktails for a cause” events.
Meents’ strong leadership, and his ability to build a supportive company culture, is one of many reasons he’s succeeded as an entrepreneur, said Scott Litman, managing partner at Plymouth-based marketing agency Magnet 360. Litman has known Meents for three years and is both a client and investor in Reside. “He’s really passionate, sincere and energetic. He really wants the business to be great, and he wants to build it with his team.”
-Katharine Grayson, Staff Writer
