Surgical Conferences, A Welcome Success In The World Of COVID
The pandemic has presented many challenges for everyone. For young companies, face-to-face interactions and the ability to demo a product to customers as they hold and inspect it, is simply irreplaceable. Over the past year, our sales team has done an effective job securing customer meetings and signing on new accounts, despite the restrictions being placed on both hospitals & doctors due to COVID. However, in-person surgical conferences becoming available for exhibitors is exactly what our ClearCam team needed to launch into the next growth stage.
Meetings were quickly set up with multiple global medical device corporations as our team was eager for an opportunity to expand our customer base, as well as catch up with our longtime supporters.
SAGES (Society of American Gastroendoscopic Surgeons)
On September 1st, our VP of business development, David Poirier, and our Operations Coordinator, Silvana Nasreddine, had the booth set up and were ready to engage with attendees. The attendance was a bit lower than usual, but the quality of the attendees was beyond incredible. Douglas Stoakley, ClearCam COO & President, commented, “Doctors and Industry had to make a case in order to be here, so they came with an open mind, ready to explore and learn as much as they can”.
Multiple booths were left empty as a social distancing measure, thanks to the #SAGES2021team being incredibly conscientious of the guests’ safety. As a result, guests didn’t feel bombarded by too many exhibitors, instead, they were inspired and energized to take a good look at the devices presented by both global as well as local or startup companies. John Uecker, MD FACS, CEO and co-founder of ClearCam, was delighted to say “Everyone was impressed with our team, product, and what we’ve done so far. We had very productive meetings with industry leaders, strategic companies, and innovative clinicians.”
AHS (American Hernia Society)
Considering we’re an Austin-based startup, we were eager to go and support AHS! The conference had lower attendance as expected, however, the surgeons we were able to connect with made the exhibit a wonderful experience and investment. We left with multiple leads and feeling invigorated with the need for Kelling™ becoming more apparent with every conversation. David Poirier commented, “I wasn’t expecting such incredible leads, but here we are. I’m very excited to follow up and see what comes next”
Kelling™ was praised and welcomed by both surgeons and other exhibitors. Their faces lit up as we discussed the installation and use of the device. Comments like, “I designed this in my head 30 years ago”, and “it’s so simple and it works, amazing!” were plentiful.
Our team came to the conferences hopeful but left overjoyed with a number of new supporters gained and our relationships with previous ones strengthened. Thank you to everyone who participated in making both of these conferences such a success, a special thanks to Hillary, From SAGES, and Renee, from AHS, for being incredibly helpful throughout the registration processes and on the day of the exhibits. We look forward to working with you again!
What’s next -
Going to the American College of Surgeons Conference? Clearcam CEO Co-Founder Dr. John Uecker, will be moderating a panel discussion on how surgeons can bring their ideas to market, you don’t want to miss it!
On November 15-17, stop by our booth (149) at the #AAGL50THGlobalCongress
