Copyright American City Business Journals Aug 23, 2002Age: 27
Company: Hill Technology Partners
Title: Owner
Career philosophy: "You can't fail at something if you haven't tried."
Desert-island CD: "Who is Jill Scott?" by Jill Scott
Billye Hill moved to Cincinnati from Atlanta just three years ago, but already she has identified a need in the city and filled it.
"There was a gap out there in terms of information about the African-American community," Hill said. "People thought there was nothing going on, but I knew there was."
In response, her Hill Technology Partners created AroundTheNati.com, a virtual meeting place offering news, information, chat rooms and more. The site averages 5,000 visitors per week, and Hill expects 10,000 per week by year's end. Her business plan calls for rolling out similar sites in 20 cities dining the next five years, concentrating first on Louisville, Columbus and Indianapolis.
"The Internet is my passion; high-tech is my passion," said Hill, who has an MBA in information technology and marketing from Georgia Tech.
This love spills over into her volunteer work. She teaches Web site design to students at Withrow High School and teaches teens to use the Internet responsibly through Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center's Teen Advisory Board.
"It's important for people to see positive role models," Hill said.
My Research
