To set up a company under quarantine

Tepsivo was established under strict lockdown rules and we had no other option but to embrace the new reality right from the company’s conception. It is clear to us now that we wouldn’t choose anything else even if we could. The ability to work remotely on your own time, schedule only important meetings and be less distracted has shown to be incredibly productive – after all, we managed to set the company up, build QMS, and develop a unique Pharmacovigilance services delivery platform over the course of a few weeks (not to brag).

Silver lining

We have no intention of going back to the old-school work practices even as that becomes possible in the hopefully not so distant future.

Thanks to smart digital tools like e-signatures, virtual conferences, or nifty team management programs, we’re just fine staying on this track. Besides, there are other, perhaps obvious, but very important benefits; we don’t need to use paper at all, and we can substantially limit our air travel as TCs become the norm. Undoubtedly, beyond what we see as increased productivity and other silver linings of this unfortunate health crisis, there is an opportunity to espouse more sensible and socially responsible action on climate change. But that’s of course a large topic in and of itself.

To run a company remotely

Everyone working at or with Tepsivo can do their job perfectly well from wherever they feel most comfortable. Even the three co-founders live in a different country each. Our office in Helsinki is virtual and we really only need it for visitors, who want to come over. At the end of the day, the main Tepsivo promise is to be the most effective PV provider, that also means we don’t need to employ and house many full-time employees. We prefer to utilize automation instead of occupying many FTEs with mundane work that brings little added value. This type of work can be largely limited or even completely eliminated. For us, it means that we can continue to maintain a small team even as we run global projects. We know that because we fully committed to digitalization and what it entails. Further thoughts on digitalization’s impact on PV specifically later on.

Being modern

Our mission is to modernize the Pharmacovigilance industry and becoming a fully digital provider is still unique but an absolutely necessary step number One. Step number Two is streamlining all PV processes and delivering services effectively in a modern, digital way. Step number Two was also already achieved at our company – but more on that later.

We welcome any thoughts on this blog post as well as any criticism to our approach (old school favouring competitors included…)

Recommended read on how to adapt to a new era at the workplace here: https://trello.com/remote-work-guide.

Trello is one of those nifty tools that certainly has its place in a modern and effective workplace. Highly recommended.