Launching my company…. Just me and my computer camera

I was so excited when I founded MAACS Biopharma Consulting in January 2020! Who would have suspected that two months later a pandemic that all but shutdown face to face meetings would happen? At first, the easy part was networking with people and sharing ways to help their organizations with Marketing, Analytics, Assessment, Communication and Strategy (hence MAACS). The hard part for me was learning about website design, website platforms, figuring out which calendar app would integrate into the website, and which project management software would best fit my needs. Those first two months were spent sitting in a lot of coffee shops. But even then, with Montreal winter storms and busy schedules, there were people who could not meet in person. Undaunted, I spoke to them on the phone, Skype, WhatsApp or Facetime. We didn’t even use the video function (who did?), good thing because I didn’t have a computer camera (I opted for a super fast desktop, but the screens didn’t have cameras).

WOW, did the situation change!

The value of seeing someone’s face and being able to interact

Having been teaching, training, presenting, and running workshops for years on topics ranging from “Future Strategic Directions for Pharma Companies” to “How to Present Effectively” to “Transitioning from Academia to Industry”, connecting, in person, to an audience, and running organized meetings was second nature to me. I learned quickly, in early March, that having a meaningful conversation required a camera! With the COVID-related rush on all items related to creating home offices, it took almost six weeks for the camera to arrive. Those first few weeks of virtual meetings were hard because when people couldn’t see me, they turned off their cameras and the tone of the conversation changed. I realized that I had to get proactive and creative quickly for multiple reasons.

Learning about video calls, meetings, and events turned out to be educational and a lot of fun for me

In addition to my launching MAACS, I also had the responsibility of conducting a monthly mentorship and advising meeting for Women in Bio. I am so glad that I had this role. Because of it, I had to embrace change quickly. Borrowing my son’s laptop, the late March meeting was held on Google Meet – there were 15 attendees (about 5 more people than used to come to the live meetings).

But Google Meet had issues, so, not satisfied, I tried Zoom in April. Ever one to take on new challenges, since I had no “room” constraints, I invited all of members of Montreal’s Women in Bio chapter to join – there were about 35 attendees. The feedback I got was so motivating, and Zoom was really easy to use, so I decided to go bigger. I collaborated with other chapters and organized a four-person, international panel webinar. For me using a webinar format was a valuable lesson! While attendance was much higher, the panelists needed to be trained how to use the platform and the feedback that I got from attendees was that engagement was difficult. We tried to engage with audience with polls and pauses for questions, but it harder for us to easily navigate all of the functions. Frankly, I agree with them. I attended several webinars and had a harder time focusing on what the speakers had to say when one person talked for longer than about 5-10 minutes. Lesson learned – use the webinar feature judiciously.

While I hate to admit preferences, I have found that for collaborative group discussions, Zoom attendees report feeling more “connected” to the speakers and speakers find using the platform intuitive.

Video meetings really saved me

While I appreciate that many people experience Zoom fatigue, I certainly have not.

Once I got my camera, I felt like the whole world opened up! I connected with people and companies all over the globe and we shared expertise.

As I listened to people’s complaints, I tried to figure out solutions. I modified the rules that I used for live meetings to make them fit video meetings. I admit that, occasionally, people talk over each other, but most of the time we can get enough of the visual cues from someone’s face to be able to wait. I just love the private chat feature because it has helped me to motivate shy people to speak up and share their valuable opinions in a much less noticeable way.

I never previously appreciated how important it was to see someone’s face in order to have an authentic conversation. It might be nice to actually share a cup of coffee in the same room, but for now, I am enjoying my client calls.

I see the upside of video meetings

• I am never stuck in traffic

• I feel like collaboration is easier and faster because we can share a screen or use a whiteboard (and I don’t need to transcribe the information and action items after the meeting)

• I now have global clients and collaborators and travel time is not an issue

• It’s how I met my partner Benedicte Cohen

In another blog, I will share tips and tricks that I have learned along the way. For now, I just want to thank all the people who encouraged me and helped me get MAACS started and the clients who have put their trust in MAACS.

Looking forward to video collaborating with you,

Liz Cooper

Founder & Principal, MAACS Biopharma Consulting