The use of Zoom spiked during the COVID-19 pandemic allowing organizations to have meetings virtually. Studies have shown that team members take notes in meetings, but only 10%-15% of the meeting content is considered noteworthy. Leaders and team members now have the option to use digital solutions that capture pertinent content and translate it into dynamic and effective content.
In today’s podcast episode, we interview Richard White, Founder & CEO at Fathom.video. Today’s topics include how Richard built his company from the ground up, actionable tips for good leadership in the virtual world, and noteworthy meeting experiences using the Fathom app so that you can Team Anywhere.
What Surprised Richard Over the Last 2 Years
For Richard, the past 2 years set a high bar for him and his team members. Since this was not the first time he founded a startup company (10 years experience with UserVoice), he was able to build Fathom with ease because, as he said, “we’ve played this game before, we know where the trees are located for cutting”.
Richard’s Secret in the Development of Fathom
According to Richard, his secretin developing the Fathom app is not surprising at all. He used basic human psychology to determine what is pertinent to each separate group that is being addressed. For example, CEO’s want to hear about product feedback and a VP of Sales wants to hear about competitors. No one is going to rewatch or listen to an entire recorded meeting and be interested in all agenda items. For each person, 80% of what is discussed tends to be repetitive and only 10%-15% is noteworthy. With that being said, the development team of Fathom only focused on the important 10%-15% to create content highlights.
How Fathom was Able to be Funded by Zoom
Richard discussed how enticing Zoom to fund Fathom was not by accident! He had this vision of partnering with Zoom that focused a series of deliberate actions. He raised money from an identified group of people who knew Zoom really well. He was even able to entice the person who named “Zoom” as an initial investor. Finally, he cold emailed the key Zoom decision maker, made his pitch, and officially became one of Zoom’s partners. This goes to show that vision, taking massive action, and building the right network can help you achieve both personal and business goals.
Richard’s Actionable Tips for Being a Good Leader in the Virtual World
According to Richard, there are two (2) guiding principles for being a good leader in the Virtual World.
- Mode of Context – As a leader in an organization, it is very important to be on the same page with your team members. Establishing the same mindset and context with team members creates smart decisions and an empowered team..
- Asynchronous Communication – Structured Meetings are not enough. Regularly revisiting the things that work and don’t work and change them as leaders see fit is very important to being a good leader. This will also ensure that everyone on the team knows why they’re doing what they are doing.
Who is Richard White?
Richard White is founder and CEO of Fathom.video, a free app that records, transcribes & highlights your calls so you can focus on the conversation instead of taking notes. Fathom was a part of the Y-Combinator W21 batch, is one of only 50 Zoom App Launch Partners, and is one of a small handful of companies Zoom has invested in directly via their Zoom Apps Fund.
- LinkedIn—https://www.linkedin.com/in/rrwhite/
- Website —https://fathom.video/
To learn more about the creating noteworthy experiences, download this episode now.
Online Courses for Leaders Leading a Team From Anywhere:
Check out these online courses for remote leaders from the Team Anywhere Team.
