A few months ago, a software developer who had collaborated in the past on some open-source projects with Big Room Studios, a software-development firm in Portland, was passing through the city on his way to a family vacation. The Big Room team, led by co-founders Tim and Sam Mateosian, invited him to work from their office space on Thompson’s Point for a long weekend.
The result, according to Emily Straubel, Big Room’s director of product marketing, was energizing.
“It was a great vibe to be able to nerd out over beer and have someone new to bounce ideas off of. The new perspective on our industry was really refreshing,” she said.
The experience led the Big Room team to revisit an idea they’d tossed around in the past: What if they invited developers from around the world to visit Portland, hang out for a few weeks, enjoy the city, and be free from their daily routine to work on a passion or side project of their choice?
And so the seed was planted for Big Room’s Developer-in-Residence program, which was formally announced on May 8.
The program is inspired by the artist-in-residence and entrepreneur-in-residence models that exist at large tech companies like Adobe, Facebook, and Autodesk, according to Straubel. She was personally inspired by Andela’s Developer-in-Residence program, which brings developers from Lagos and Nairobi to New York City, and the Nesta Technologist in Residence program.
The goal of the program is to build relationships with other developers (and potential future collaborators), grow and strengthen their existing network, while at the same time showing off Portland, Straubel said.
“Our team is hyper aware that great tech isn’t created in a vacuum,” Straubel said. “We often talk about needing to reach out and actively bring new ideas into our organization—and into Portland—if we’re going to stay innovative and competitive.”
While innovation and collaboration happen naturally in large tech hubs like Silicon Valley and New York City, where similar-minded people live and work in close proximity to each other, “in Maine we have to work a bit harder to spark that same collaboration,” she said. “It’s not out of our grasp, but we have to actively and consistently work to make it happen.”
It’s just a week into the project, but the Big Room team has already received a half dozen applications from developers interested in taking them up on their offer, according to Straubel.
The program has very few strings attached. The two-week residency program will run July to October. Invited developers will receive free housing in a downtown Portland apartment and a vibrant office at Big Room in which to work and collaborate with the team there. The only commitment visiting developers need to make is to participate in local events like Hack Night, startup sprint, or give a presentation about their project.
“We know that setting aside time to do something like this isn’t easy for everyone, so we’re working with potential applicants to accommodate their schedules,” she said.
There is a business case to be made for such a program, explains Straubel. Having a continuous inflow of creative people with fresh ideas and new perspectives will create energy in the office. It may even lead to future collaborations and building new things.
“The Big Room team is a lot of fun when we have weird creative problems to solve. Taking the time to contribute to a creative project outside our day-to-day work and help a fellow developer move a product forward, that’s what creates energy in the office,” she said.
But there’s also a community-building motivation behind the project.
Last week, Straubel attended an event where Sen. Angus King said that he believes building a community of remote tech workers is key to a thriving future for Maine.
“We absolutely agree,” she said.
Efforts like Big Room’s Developer-in-Residence program are one, small way to build that community, she said.
“If we want Maine to be a viable tech ecosystem we need to be doing far more outreach and extending our network outside of the state,” Straubel said. “We are leaning into our state’s benefits (cool small city, simpler lifestyle, less commute) to bring people here and hopefully making them consider Maine a place they could live and work. That’s good for us at Big Room as we recruit tech talent and potential clients, and it’s good for our tech community.”
