About Us
We all find ourselves in the midst of a blur of technological and cultural changes that have infiltrated every aspect of life — and every industry. Taking stock of these changes, deciding what matters, and finding a way forward is why we’re here. Although our work spans many sectors and stakeholders, health and well-being have always been a sweet spot for us.
Overview
Helpfully plays at the fuzzy front end of projects where things aren’t always well defined yet. We help clients distill and crystallize current realities. We roll up our sleeves and do the fieldwork necessary to discover the right problem to solve.
Specifically, we’re a hive-minded constellation — a concentration of domain experts who give you cognitive diversity and emergent thinking. We apply our insights to invent the right new thing. We’re here to help you get — and stay — ahead.
Helpfully is, at its heart, a consulting firm. Our purpose is to be your guide to the new — and the better.
Marcy is Head of Operations and Program Management for Helpfully which means she ensures everybody is equipped with what they need to get the job done - and done well. From streamlining processes to managing large accounts, Marcy’s 25+ years experience and ability to be empathetic to the creative process allows her to organize the details without losing focus of the big-picture business objectives and value to our clients. Having worked on both client side and agency side has given her a well-rounded perspective. Her joy for her work is infectious and is infused in all that she does!
Marcy lives in Tucker with her husband and two children. They have a redbone coonhound dog named Harley who is the self-appointed ‘squirrel police.’ When not working, Marcy enjoys dancing, traveling, and spending time with friends walking and talking.
Katy is experienced in project management and UX design. Driven by empathy and a natural curiosity about others, she takes pride in breaking down the daunting into the doable.
In project management, that means knowing how to map out a complicated project from final celebrations to who should be on the first Zoom Meeting. In UX design, that means turning visions and concepts into designs that focus on accessibility, ease of use, and being intuitive in a way that almost feels familiar. In both project management and design, Katy’s secret weapon is her ability to slow down, lean in, and focus on the person in front of her to understand and empathize with their needs and find the right solution.
Joining Helpfully in 2021, Katy holds a degree in Creative Technologies from Berry College. Aside from work, Katy enjoys thrifting, spending time in her community, and reading through the local library.
Zach Pousman has built a career pursuing tomorrow’s best ideas. Before founding Helpfully in 2016, Zach worked on product at Citibank, Microsoft and several digital agencies and innovation studios. His focus has always been on helping both startups and global enterprises navigate through the fuzzy and ill-defined phases of digital product invention.
Zach has a knack for watching people and decoding their behavior and needs. He has led fieldwork in hospitals, delivered insights through nationwide quant studies about moms and dads and their shopping behaviors, and run workshops and prototyping sprints at UCB Pharma, Anthem Blue Cross Blue Shield, Google, Microsoft Health Solutions Group, and other Fortune 100 companies.
With a Philosophy degree from the University of Chicago, Zach also performed advanced graduate work at Georgia Tech, blending anthropological techniques, design, and technology studies. Zach speaks frequently to audiences on topics including product design, service design, customer discovery research, and futures thinking.
Zach is happiest outside, running, hiking, swimming, camping, and you'll frequently find him skateboarding on the Atlanta Beltline (since we can't surf in ATL).
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Melanie has been fascinated by human behavior and innovation since before she can remember and brings her love of helping people, asking questions, and designing creative solutions into her role as researcher and strategist at Helpfully. A couple of her fav projects include conducting interviews (or having conversations with cool people as she likes to call it) and doing competitor research.
She holds a degree in liberal arts, a certificate in UX/UI design, and in a former life was a qualifier on piano for the world competition in traditional Irish music. She has spent 8+ years crafting customer-centric experiences for various national and international organizations as a program manager.
When not working on Helpfully stuff, she can be found volunteering on revitalization projects in her small town in Ohio, taking long nature walks, reading detective mysteries, basking in music, and concocting delicious meals for friends and family.
Network Connectivity
Helpfully is a deeply connected company with a network of talented individuals with diverse skills, perspectives, and expertise. A community of like-minded achievers who all play well with others.
We build teams from our networks in academia, policy, startup, and enterprise areas. The world is faced today with such diverse and complex problems to solve, we need access to all the perspectives we can collect, in order to answer client questions.
We operate Helpfully as if our organizational walls are a semi-permeable membrane. We reject a rigid structure and forced distinctions between ‘inside’ and ‘outside’ the company. We seamless add value with every interaction.
Here’s how we invest in our network
We at Helpfully are only here today because of what others have given to us and we are here to pass it on.
Academic Cross-pollination
Zach frequently guest lectures at Georgia Tech, Georgia State University, and Georgia College and State University. Plus we’re available to engage high school and middle school students, in STEM and design and build student interest in pursuing careers in tech.
Startup Community
We share our knowledge of product, customer insight, and design at incubators and accelerators — including Comcast’s SportsTech, Techstars Atlanta, and the Intentionally Good Project.
User Research Atlanta
Helpfully is the co-host of the largest research-focused meetup in Atlanta. Join us at our next events if you’re interested in qual, quant, product analytics, and service design research.
Have a pro bono project
in mind?
Are you working for a cause that could use some Helpfully love? Send us a note - we’d love to see how we could help you achieve your organization’s goals. We are also always looking to bring ideas to life for those who might have been ignored or under-represented in technology domains.
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