Question: Tell us about your company and what you do?

Answer: I work for an amazing company called Billhighway. Billhighway is an award winning financial software company that directly integrates with banks to streamline nonprofit accounting and banking processes. CEO Vince Thomas started Billhighway thirteen years ago at Eastern Michigan University.  We are a young, innovative, and award winning company that models a culture sparked by our  innovative founder.

I work in Billhighway’s marketing department, which is an amazing team comprised of Chief Marketing Officer Michelle Lange, my leader Lisa Van Giesen, team lead Charlotte Stowe, and our creative designer Lisa Sauve.  I primarily do a lot of market/growth research and provide the entire Billhighway team with opportunities to get involved in the community.  My team is extremely supportive of my role as a Challenge Detroit Fellow, and they are a major reason why I love coming into work every day.

Billhighway Marketing Team From left to right: Lisa V., Lisa S., Isaac, Michelle, Charlotte

Question: Describe an accomplishment or contribution you’ve made at your company?

Answer: One major project I have worked on is a mobile card reader competitive analysis. I was tasked with the project only a month into my fellowship to help support the go-to-market plan for Give, Billhighway’s mobile fundraising application.  Give helps nonprofits raise more money faster by accepting credit or debit cards using a smartphone.  The product looks and feels similar to Square, PayAnywhere or Intuit’s Go Payment, but it is more unique. Give is not a point of sale application, rather it is a fundraising tool that can be used to collect donations, sell event or raffle tickets, or collect silent auction payments.  For my project I conducted online research, requested card readers and collected pricing information to see how our application stacked up against the competition.  A critical analysis component was that of product packaging.  My research proved invaluable in final decision making on how to package and ship the mobile card readers that accompany the Give application.  I presented my findings, insights and opportunities to management prior to submission of Give to the App Store for distribution.  Overall, it was a fantastic experience, especially at such an early stage in my fellowship.

Another contribution to Billhighway is the D-Blast.  The D-Blast allows me to use some of my creative design skills I learned in graduate school and link it to my passion for Detroit.  Many of my co-workers do not live in the city, but love Detroit.  I felt that in my role of a Detroit ambassador, I could bring Detroit into the office.  I created a one page document, which points out eight to ten events I believe would be interesting for anyone in our office to attend.  I try to incorporate as many free or low cost events as possible.  Events range from local wine tastings at Motor City Wine to major exhibitions, like the Detroit Golf Expo.  In addition to these events, I also include a short write-up about what the Challenge Detroit Fellows are working on and who is being spotlighted during the week.  This document is very well received at work, and it has gained a small following among the fellows.  I distribute it in the office, to the Challenge Detroit fellows, and my mentor every Wednesday.  I publish each edition on my blog, so anyone else who may be interested can read it.

Question: What makes working for your company unique?

Answer: In two words – work culture.  The working environment at Billhighway is like no other.  We have the freedom to express ourselves, as long as results are produced.  In fact one of our ten core values states, “No suits, just innovation.” Because the culture is so great, I found my initial transition to Billhighway seamless.  I continually love coming to work every day knowing that regardless of what I wear, or how I look, I am purely judged on my productivity.

Also, Billhighway understands the importance of giving back to the region in which it resides.  Each quarter, the marketing team, as well as other teams, go out and engage with the community to help bring more good to the region.  So far I have volunteered at Forgotten Harvest and the United Way for Southeast Michigan with plans in the works for something around Earth Day.

Question: Why do you enjoy working in the Detroit community? 

Answer: I love working and making an impact in the community.  I love that Billhighway tries to make nonprofit organization more financially efficient and I love that I have learned so much about nonprofit organizations.  I believe this will help me greatly if I do find myself working in the nonprofit sector in the future.

Question: What’s the biggest highlight of working at your company? 

Answer: There are too many highlights to share; overall everything is a highlight.  Aside from what I described above, I really love how horizontal our organization is.  I work side by side with many members of the executive team, including the CEO, which gives me a great perspective about being a leader and a future businessman.  One major thing I’ve learned is not all decisions will be perfect, but decisions must be made quickly.  Quick decisions help you learn either through quick failure (never be afraid to fail, as my CEO says), or through bringing long term success.

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Contributed by fellow Isaac Gilman