In a rapidly expanding business vertical, it can be easy to feel lost in a sea of new hires and unfamiliar requirements. Sometimes it’s easier for established employees to just stay put.
But that wasn’t the case when Ryan Frere stepped up to lead Flywire’s growing B2B arm earlier this year. The global payments enablement and software company had been growing this vertical under its commercial group for several years, but after it became clear a dedicated team was needed, the company looked to its internal strengths for a solution.
“Our experience has allowed us to act quickly,” said Frere, now executive vice president and general manager of B2B at Flywire. “Really, we’re iterating in B2B and leveraging the power of our payments platform and network to do so.”
While Flywire’s decade of experience simplifying global payments was a welcome launchpad from a product perspective, Frere had another institutional strength to rely on: existing employees who are passionate about solving issues around some of the world's most important and complex payments. Through the company’s internal career mobility program, known as OneFlywire, managers actively encourage existing employees to explore new roles and different departments. This results in dynamic, multifaceted teams that can quickly assemble to solve some of the biggest problems in delivering complex payments all around the world.
“It’s been fun,” Frere said. “It is so energizing to get a team in place and get in the same early-stage mindset of driving toward one goal and one objective — and have a blast doing it.”
Their team’s success reflects the larger momentum at Flywire, which has rapidly expanded from serving educational institutions to the travel and healthcare industries, among others. Today, the publicly traded company’s platform processes approximately $7.5 billion per year in digital payments in more than 240 countries and territories and 130 currencies.
Built In Boston connected with Frere and two members of the B2B team, Lucy Cano, a senior customer success manager, and Nick Feltham, an account executive, to learn more about what it’s like to accelerate the B2B vertical — and how doing so has propelled their careers forward.
Why did you decide to join the B2B team?
EVP and General Manager of B2B Ryan Frere: There were a few factors that enabled me to make the decision to come over to B2B. One was the chance to hire the best people and put them in a place to succeed. Secondly, it’s an exciting project. We've got this global payment network that we've built for over 10 years and we've done really well in the verticals we're in today. And then when you look at the opportunity in front of us for B2B and how we can apply what we’ve already done to that sector — I personally see no better way to impact the future growth of this company. So why not take that role?
Senior Customer Success Manager Lucy Cano: When I first joined the company, I was on a small client success team in our healthcare vertical. Our team very much had a startup mentality as we grew over two years. So, when the company announced it was going to be further expanding in B2B, I was so excited to do it all again. But this time, I could take the learnings I had with my previous clients and use those to grow with a new variety of clients.
It’s one of the most healthy, open cultures I’ve seen when it comes to new opportunities.”
Account Executive Nick Feltham: I wanted to join this team because of the opportunity, the adventure and the ability to go a bit outside of what an average day-to-day job would be. I really get to express my creativity and get involved in things I wouldn’t normally get to. That’s what makes this all so exciting: Everything is so fresh, and we all want to move forward and strive to be the best we can be.
Another reason for joining the team is because I knew this team was going to be the best because of what leadership wanted this vertical to become. I wanted to be a part of that and be surrounded by people who are the most elite at what they do.
You all joined B2B after working on other teams. What about Flywire makes it so easy to explore new opportunities?
Cano: Our culture is so focused around growth, finding your place within the company and how to best utilize your strengths. It’s one of the most healthy, open cultures I’ve seen when it comes to new opportunities. Joining B2B was a healthy transition through our career mobility program, which gives FlyMates the opportunity to apply early to open roles before they are opened to candidates outside of the organization, and it was exactly what I’d dreamed of. It’s unique to find a company where employees are able to have their current and future managers involved in the whole process.
Feltham: Learning and development is key at Flywire. Whenever an opportunity presents itself for internal movement, managers ask themselves, “Is this going to help this individual learn?” If that opportunity is there, it’s a great fit. Everyone wants to see each person succeed and grow.
Frere: We do things very intentionally here and ensure employees can be vulnerable when they put themselves out there about their professional growth, without fear of retribution or that their career will be impacted. We invest so heavily in our employees — they’re the most important resource to our business. If we have folks interested in exploring something new, why wouldn’t we encourage them to do it here?
How does working on the B2B team help people expand their skills?
Feltham: It was a massive opportunity for me because I was able to jump in and give input on every direction we have as the team grows. We really hone our skills in what makes us successful in our day-to-day roles by trying out new things with other members of the team, like in marketing or product. What those individuals are doing blends really well with what I’m doing. The communication levels we have on our team have really accelerated my career.
Frere: As a team, we’re constantly iterating processes, trying new things, getting feedback and figuring out what’s working. When we hire, we’re looking for people who know that their day isn’t going to look just like their job description — people are responsible for doing a whole lot of other things, too, so there’s no room for ego. From day one, people have my trust to do their job and are empowered to move the business forward. I’m here for support and to pave a smoother road so they can be successful.
What does the future hold for B2B? What are you most excited for?
Feltham: What most excites me is that every person I’ve been having conversations with has a different tactic and strategy in place to solve problems on their own. While everyone has their own unique strategies, we’re also able to all come together and elevate those processes.
I also think it’s really cool to learn about all of these different companies and industries that we can help. Right now, we’re speaking to a lot of manufacturing supply chain companies. I’m learning so much more just by talking to new people every day.
We invest so heavily in our employees — they’re the most important resource to our business. If we have folks interested in exploring something new, why wouldn’t we encourage them to do it here?”
Cano: What I love about my job is that I get to grow with my clients. We’re on this journey together, trying new things, iterating and being bold with new processes. Our clients really trust us and come to us when they have issues they want to solve. It’s so fun getting to be creative with them and allowing ourselves to go after new ideas. I can’t wait to see our growth with our current clients, as well as the new clients Nick and the team brings on board.
Frere: Staying hyper-focused on what we do well is key to successfully scaling, and we know that because of our experience at Flywire.
