Fast 15: Micah Bender
by May 8, 2023 7:49 am 1,074 views
Problem solving motivates Micah Bender. A thinker who is always learning, he likes to be in the details and do the thinking to help his team execute. “I like to take on challenges,” he said.
Bender’s biggest challenge and highlight of his career so far was helping raise $25 million in series B funding for SupplyPike, a supply chain software company that works with retail suppliers. The funding allowed the startup to increase 2022 revenue by 100% year-over-year and double headcount from 50 to 104 employees. The result was gratifying because it was “impactful to people’s lives and the community here,” he said.
Having grown up in Fayetteville, Bender graduated from the University of Arkansas in 2015 and earned a master’s degree in 2017, both in accounting. He became an associate for PwC, was promoted early to senior associate, and worked for BNSF Logistics for a short while. He joined SupplyPike in May 2021 as controller. In August 2022, he was promoted to vice president of finance and was in that role for nine months before becoming chief financial officer in April of this year.
“I loved the spirit that SupplyPike had — just the opportunity to take a business and continue to grow it and be a leader at the company,” Bender said. “I really love my job. It covers all levels from the highest level of being a CFO, but also getting into the weeds and trying to figure out the problems. I love having both ends of the spectrum.”
Bender manages annual budgeting and forecasting and is the point of contact for the board of investors, presenting financials to the board each month.
Passionate about his work and always working, he aims to “continue to lead SupplyPike to become a $100 million company and be the largest tech company in Northwest Arkansas.”
Bender negotiates the generation gap by seeking to understand people and their points of view. “Once you really understand a person, there’s not as big a gap,” he said.
A member of an Accelerate Leadership group, Bender also mentors employees fresh out of college, works to support the local startup community, has been a mentor with Big Brothers Big Sisters and leads the way for SupplyPike’s volunteer days.