Molly Chan’s story starts out much like a fairytale. Earning a law degree from Michigan State University, finding a loving husband to share her life with while pursuing her passion for law and having thee beautiful children to watch grow. Although entrepreneurship likely began with a lemonade stand at a date somewhere in the distant past; Molly helped her husband start Alliance Payment Solutions, Inc. (APS) in 2003 while she was a full time litigator. Molly eventually stepped away from litigating full time to spend more time with their growing family, and Edward served as the CEO of APS.
With her own part-time law practice in full swing, the entrepreneurial fire continued to burn as Molly utilized her extra time to build a highly successful network marketing business. This success spilled over into her founding two other businesses enterprises, Heat Salon and Joy Ride Pedal Tours in the Greater Lansing area. Her life was what she considered near perfect. Her world, however, was flipped upside down following her husband’s esophageal cancer diagnosis at the age of 39. Edward lost his battle to cancer a mere 8 months after he was diagnosed, leaving Molly with three children and a new position as CEO of APS.
Molly’s first inclination was to sell APS, but she was offered an asset only purchase which would result in all 15 plus employees who worked for APS, some from day 1 with Edward, to lose their jobs. This struck at Molly’s heart chords, and she made the decision to dissolve her part time law firm and step into the role as CEO of APS. An entrepreneur at heart, Molly had the determination and dedication needed to lead APS in addition to her two other businesses.
Over the following 12 months, Molly created a new executive team, invested in newly upgraded equipment and core processing software and looked to the future. APS was posed to generate more rapid growth and expansion of client base, products and revenue. The efforts to grow the company resulted in the opening of production offices in Detroit, MI, Charlotte NC, Sarasota, FL and growth through acquisitionwhen Molly acquired a very similar 20-year-old lockbox company in Indianapolis, IN. Under Molly’s leadership, APS has enjoyed a whole company revenue jump of over 150%. APS remains in an aggressive growth minded pursuit targeting both the organic and acquisition methods.
With Maya Angelou’s words “Still I Rise” and her favorite bible verse, “Be Still and Know” tattooed on her wrist, Molly Chan has taken devastating circumstances and proved not only to be a survivor, but also a fighter. Her compassion moved her to keep a company for the families that chose to remain part of the team, but her faith, persistence, grit, vision and overall can-do attitude is what has kept it successful.