VisionTech Portfolio Company WorkHere Adds SalesForce Alum Lisa Helms to Lead Customer Engagement

workhere-lisa-helmsStart-up companies are a different kind of animal. What works for an established company often doesn’t work for a startup, which is why we agree with Robert Reffken, CEO and founder of Compass, recently quoted in Entrepreneur:

“When getting a company off the ground, there is no room for bosses, only leaders.”

Reffken goes on to explain that bosses stick to a preordained script and defined roles, connoting little else but hierarchal authority and approaching their contributions in the context of their own careers, compensation and personal goals. Leaders, on the other hand, inspire positive change in others, earning trust, creating cohesion and raising morale. In short, bosses tell people what to do, while leaders inspire people to do their best.workhere-logo-og (2)

Which is why we’re pleased to see Carmel-based WorkHere, a VisionTech portfolio company and disruptive start-up, recently add Lisa Helms as vice president of customer engagement. Lisa joined WorkHere after a number of leadership skills-building positions, including manager of global recruiting for Salesforce Marketing Cloud (formerly ExactTarget) and strategic account director for enterprise accounts at Jobvite, a social recruiting website. Lisa also held various HR and recruiting leadership positions for Yoh, ASSIA, Tradescape and Midwest Transmission System Operator.

WorkHere Founders Howard Bates, Rick Wehrle, Mike Seidle (L-R)


Lisa joins WorkHere’s impressive leadership team that includes’s lead architect, Rick Wehrle; Truevision founder and Adobe computer scientist, Brad Pillow; data scientist, Doyle Groves; National Labor Exchange architect, Mike Seidle; and entrepreneur Howard Bates.

WorkHere is a work-life social network designed to connect employers and workers. Workers can quickly find a nearby job using a simple map. Employers can connect and instantly reach out to local workers who show interest in their open positions. The WorkHere app is free to workers.

Commenting on Lisa’s hiring, WorkHere CEO Bates said, “It’s not often that you’re able to attract the kind of thought leadership and talent we’ve assembled at WorkHere. We’re working on a product that is changing people’s lives and making the employee hiring and job seeking market much more efficient. We could not be more excited to have Lisa on our team as she is a recognized expert and thought leader in the recruiting and social marketing world. We welcome her as a partner in our company, one who will lead the build-out of our customer engagement team.”

Lisa is up to the challenge. In a news release put out by WorkHere, she said, “WorkHere is addressing a critical need that employers are facing today, locating and engaging with talent in their communities. Employers have lots of choices ranging from job boards to social networks. It’s how employers engage with their prospective employees in a more meaningful way that makes the greatest impact. When it comes to recruiting people that get the work done, there is no other app like WorkHere that utilizes geo-location powered maps to target specific locations. What WorkHere offers is a game changer to the recruiting industry.”

WorkHere’s leadership team—and VisionTech Angel investors—believe that today’s tech savvy workforce will embrace their app, which works much like other successful mobile geo apps such as Uber, Zillow and Pokemon Go. Map-driven apps are easy to understand and are designed to work on Android, Apple and Amazon mobile devices as well as on the web. The app can be downloaded from the App Store, Amazon and GooglePlay.

Please join VisionTech is welcoming Lisa Helms to WorkHere.