We recently connected with Rachel Cossar and have shared our conversation below.
Hi Rachel, thanks for joining us today. Let’s kick things off with your mission – what is it and what’s the story behind why it’s your mission?
Virtual Sapiens is an evolution of a number of past experiences I’ve had in my life. My first decade as a professional was actually as a ballerina. I danced with Boston Ballet from 2006-2016 and was constantly amazed by just how much we can express through nonverbal communication. When I left the ballet due to an injury, I thought my time as a ‘physical’ professional was over. But boy, was I wrong!
In the years that followed I learned that nonverbal communication, body language and presence were all deeply integrated within more traditional workplaces. I also learned that my perspective as an elite performer really came in handy under pressure.
While I initially started to coach professionals under my own consulting firm and as a facilitator for other training firms, when the pandemic hit, I realized we had an opportunity to democratize training that is typically reserved for the upper reaches of management.
With Virtual Sapiens, we use our AI technology on video to provide more convenient and affordable access to personalized coaching and feedback on critical communication skills.
We believe that today and tomorrow’s professionals will excel when they can confidently show up as their authentic selves on video, as well as in person. We are excited about the possibilities our technology presents to support more impactful connections over video – particularly as we rely on this method for important messages to be shared.
Rachel, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?
Sure:)
Virtual Sapiens uses AI on video to help professionals assess, improve and master their video presence. At our core, we are a human centered company, that uses AI to empower professionals through communication skills building.
The past three years have brought on one of the biggest changes our modern workforce has ever seen and video has become a core channel of communication in the workplace. But communication skills have not been adequately updated, and video remains a very 2 dimensional experience. While many AI softwares focus on verbal/content based insights rooted in transcription and keyword or topic identification, our technology is taking this to the next level through our computer vision and behavioral focus.
Our target users are sales professionals, people who depend on video throughout their day to influence and inspire their customers to alleviate whatever pain point their company addresses. Video is a human channel of communication, and the only digital channel of communication that showcases our nonverbal communication and body language. The number of unintended messages that are sent over video due to a lack of awareness and video communication skills building is astonishing.
Our software supports both the sales professional through providing them with their very own, private communication coach to use on video calls, and off. Our software also support managers of distributed teams by taking care of critical feedback for them, while providing them with insights on where their team members are excelling, and where they may be in need of extra support when it comes to how they are representing the company on video.
We are also beginning to move into the recruiting tech space – helping existing companies amplify their platform with our robust and intelligent behavioral insights.
I wake up everyday being proud of the work we are doing at Virtual Sapiens. We are truly unique in the level of nuance we are able to provide with our nonverbal insights and of course, we couldn’t pull any of it off without our incredible team.
My co-founder, Neal Kaiser came on board about two years ago and he has led the building of our first two products, our popular assessment experience as well as our in-call Sidekick coach.
We just recently brought on a CRO who is helping us continue to refine our value proposition and hone our target customer to an even greater degree.
If you were to have asked me when I was dancing at Boston Ballet if I were to one day end up running an AI tech company, I would have laughed. And yet, here we are:)
How about pivoting – can you share the story of a time you’ve had to pivot?
I’ve had a number of career pivots in my life, but without a doubt the biggest was my transition from being a professional dancer. This transition was somewhat forced in the sense that I would have loved to have continued dancing, but my injury prevented me from doing so – I had to stop. While everyone knows the life of a dancer is relatively short, I didn’t think my career would be over by the age of 27.
There are a number of things that made this transition difficult, notably, the loss of identity (if I am not a dancer…what am I? Who am I?). It was also incredibly challenging to move from one world into an entirely new one, with so much unfamiliarity.
I had no idea what I wanted to do, what I could do, and honestly, was lacking in many of the skills other professionals of my age had. Ahem…office skills like excel and how to sit in front of a computer all day!
My first 9-5 was at Harvard in their fundraising offices. And it was tough. Every day was a challenge, but I knew I had to build some stability in my life and Harvard helped me do that. It was also helpful to be surrounded by an academic environment and I could take other classes for free!
It was also at Harvard that I first realized that my experience as a professional dancer was actually very valuable in some ways I couldn’t have considered without this jarring transition.
And that realization is what has led me, over the years to where I am now, using AI to help people become more aware of what their bodies may be communicating, and how to effectively align what we intend to communicate, with our nonverbals.
I have a TEDx Talk on this whole story here in case anyone wants all the gory details:) https://www.ted.com/talks/
We often hear about learning lessons – but just as important is unlearning lessons. Have you ever had to unlearn a lesson?
Showing vulnerability.
Growing up in very intense and competitive environments, it’s unthinkable to show vulnerability. You are always striving to be stronger, better, faster, more perfect etc.
But that is not a sustainable practice. And that kind of mindset leads to pushing past your limits in a way that is can be irreversible.
Through my career ending injury as well as my journey as a startup founder, I have had to unlearn that tendency and stop being afraid to demonstrate and share my vulnerability. It helps me connect with other founders and even investors – who want to see the real you.
I have also come to believe that not showing up as a full human, with faults and weaknesses is a disservice to other aspiring founders. It is misleading to only present the successes, the wins and the rewards. It is critical to also share the hardship, the stress, the burden and the doubt of entrepreneurship.
I am fortunate to have a phenomenal group of female founders around me who practice this everyday and inspire me to do so too.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.virtualsapiens.co/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/rachelonpointe/
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/rachel-cossar/
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/rachelonpointe
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZzxZ28yU5_U&t=511s