On the rise: Mapleside Farms owner Greg Clement launches outRise app for adventures near and far

outrise_01.jpgCourtesy of Outrise

The concept for outRise came to Greg Clement somewhere between solo motorcycling through the Rocky Mountains in 2018 and tasting his way through various pizza joints in Venice, Italy, with his family of five in spring 2019.

 

“It was during some pretty epic trips that the idea for outRise was born,” recalls Clement, an avid traveler and adventurer. “There is no feeling quite like hopping in a car or plane and visiting another part of the world—it just doesn’t get better than that.”

 

Though those opportunities have been few and far between in the last year due to COVID-19, Clement is hoping that outRise will pave the way for post-pandemic exploration, and—in the meantime—provide plenty of local inspiration for adventures closer to home.

Designed as what Clement calls a “social experience platform,” the outRise app highlights user-curated experiences and suggested itineraries across a list of six cities and growing. The app first launched in Cleveland in December 2020 with 10,000 downloads, a number that has more than doubled in less than two months.

 

“Social media is designed for consumption of other people’s lives, so this is more about mindful creation and bringing to life cool experiences for other people,” says Clement of the outRise app. “All of the content is user-generated, much like on YouTube; we’re seeing a focus on food, adventure, and obscure experiences like waterfall chasing.”

 

Cases in point: an urban legends tour of Cleveland with eight haunted stops, or a sunset chasing itinerary with scenic favorites like the Solstice Steps and George V. Voinovich Bicentennial Park. While anyone can sign up and share their suggestions, Clement has also enlisted local bloggers and influencers such as Cleveland Bucket List and “World of Dance” alumna Chloe Mihacevich to contribute content as well.

 

“We’re building a network of creators with people who love the mission and see the potential of the platform,” says Clement, who created outRise in tandem with founding AirBNB designer Shaun Modi and product designer Matthew Cloutier.

 

Clement is no stranger to living the good life—after all, he and his wife Kelly own Mapleside Farms in Brunswick, where they regularly host events like Concerts Over the Valley and Vino the Way (a wine and beer tasting adventure held in a corn maze). “Since we bought the farm 10 years ago, we’ve gotten really good at creating unique experiences for people,” says Clement. “Mapleside may be a farm and outRise may be a technology company, but both are built around experiences.”

 

Over the next few months, Clement and his team will continue to finalize version 1.0 of outRise and hone the user experience. In the future, Clement hopes to add the ability to tip your favorite content creators for enjoyable experiences, as well as more group functionality for users to co-create and plan itineraries in tandem, as well as upload shared photos.

His ultimate hope is that people will use outRise to get an off-the-beaten-path experience of places both near and far, with a little help from locals and area enthusiasts. "Our mantra is 'adventure local,'" says Clement. "The whole idea is to press 'go' on new experiences and discover new spots in your own backyard."

Jen Jones Donatelli
Jen Jones Donatelli

About the Author: Jen Jones Donatelli

As an enthusiastic CLE-vangelist, Jen Jones Donatelli enjoys diving headfirst into her work with FreshWater Cleveland. Upon moving back to Cleveland after 16 years in Los Angeles, Jen served as FreshWater's managing editor for two years (2017-2019) and continues her work with the publication as a contributing editor and host of the FreshFaces podcast.

When not typing the day away at her laptop, she teaches writing and creativity classes through her small business Creative Groove, as well as Literary Cleveland, Cleveland State University, and more. Jen is a proud graduate of Ohio University's E.W. Scripps School of Journalism.