Page 40 - Innovation Delaware 2019

WHAT IT’S LIKE TO INNOVATE IN
DELAWARE
These success stories were shaped by the First State BY ROGER MORRIS
MATT MEYER
One of Delaware’s unique assets
is the close connection between its policymakers and innovators. Take Matt Meyer, who sits at the center of the policymaker/innovator Venn diagram. After all, he was a serial entrepreneur before he became New Castle County Executive.
Meyer’s “abbreviated” resume is a testament to the restless mind he shares with other entrepreneurs — graduate of Wilmington Friends, Habitat for Hu- manity volunteer, graduate from Brown University in political science and computer science, partner in legal and private equity firms, Swahili-speaking adviser to the U.S. State Department in Kenya, local teacher at Prestige Acad- emy and currently head of Delaware’s most populous county.
When Meyer saw an unmet need while in Kenya, he founded EcoSandals Footwear in an African shantytown in 2008. EcoSandals shoes were sold to contented buyers around the world.
Then, while teaching at Prestige
in Wilmington, he used his business acumen to acquire a federal grant for an after-school program — “See It, Believe It” — that taught technology to 100 students and continued operating long after Meyer left teaching.
Meyer’s latest startup, VituMob, was founded in Wilmington in 2014. Its goal is to improve Kenyans’ access to the global e-commerce market.
“Kenya is so far ahead of America when it comes to financial technolo- gy,” he says. “Even supermarkets in the poorest neighborhoods use a variety
of digital payment options.” So Meyer created a special app to help Kenyans shop online with more than 20 leading global e-commerce sites and have their purchases delivered to their doorstep. Although he no longer runs VituMob day to day, he remains an investor.
Meyer’s work with the State Depart- ment and serving as economic adviser to
former Gov. Jack Markell proved to be the bridge between a career in business and a budding career in public service. “Like starting a business, running for office is a risk of time and money,” Meyer says. “Running a campaign with no prior experience was like running a startup.” And as with a developing business, “pub- lic service is figuring out what is working and not working, and then trying to figure out how to fix what isn’t.”
Supporting innovators and entrepre- neurs is an important priority for Meyer. One entrepreneurial program the county heads is the Route 9 Library & Inno- vation Center, which uses a library-like program to teach and provide sources for people of all ages who want to learn how to innovate and grow ideas.
Meyer also sees the possibility of creating a “Port of Tomorrow” as part of a plan by global port operator Gulftainer to invest $580 million in upgrading the Port of Wilmington. Meyer believes
MATT MEYER: ENTREPRENEUR
AND COUNTY EXECUTIVE
38 DelawareBusinessTimes.com
CARVERTISE PAYS DRIVERS TO WRAP THEIR CARS WITH COMMERCIAL ADVERTISING.