PICA Member Spotlights
Q&A with independent consultants who successfully “made the leap” and created the consulting career of their dreams
Q: Please introduce yourself and tell us about your consulting specialty.
A: Hi, Liz. I launched dougherty.consulting, llc at the end of 2019. I advise medical device, digital health, and clinical laboratory companies on regulatory strategy, quality systems, risk mitigation and compliance, and value-based reimbursement. Simply put, I help clients overcome hurdles to bring new medical technologies to market.
It’s been really interesting work. For example, in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, I was able to help secure emergency use authorizations (EUAs) for ventilators, PPE, and lab tests in the US, Canada, and the UK. Since then, I’ve helped some of these same companies transition from temporary marketing authorizations to permanent regulatory approval and reimbursement.
I’ve been working in the medtech space for almost 30 years and have met a ton of very smart, creative, committed, and in some cases, “mission-driven” clients and colleagues, and that's been both personally inspiring and professionally enjoyable! For much of that time, I worked within larger organizations: a global contract research organization, a major drug distribution company, large law firms. While they offered a really stimulating work environment, over time, the fees we had to charge to cover overhead at these large businesses became increasingly less affordable for my clients. Ultimately, I made the decision to launch a smaller firm, to bring more focus to client work and to provide high quality advisory services at a significant discount over what I was having to charge at these larger organizations.
Q: Do you typically work for one client at a time, or do you juggle multiple clients or products at the same time?
A: Usually multiple clients, multiple products at the same time. Actually, that's part of what makes the job so interesting, because I work with a range of product types in different therapeutic areas. Earlier today I was on a call with the U.S. FDA about a renal dialysis technology and later today I’ll be speaking with a client about a new system for draining fluid from the abdomen of patients suffering with late stages cancers. There’s a lot of variety.
Q: It sounds like you have a lot of clients already, even though you've only been independent a little over a year. How did you make the leap to independent consulting and get your first clients?
A: I had developed some very good working relationships over the years with a number of clients and reached out to them directly and through LinkedIn. I started with a couple of smaller projects for two or three good clients, then have essentially been networking since then to develop a broader range of relationships. I pretty much told everybody I know that I was launching a new firm and tried to explore the unique value we could provide them. That’s essentially how it all began.
Q: What's been your biggest challenge in the last 13 months?
A: A couple of things. The first thing is there's been an inevitable ebb and flow in the work that comes through. There are weeks and months where you can hardly catch your breath because you have so many deadlines and deliverables all at once. Then you have time where there's less going on. I think that’s always a concern in the professional services industry. Ultimately, you want to develop a steady revenue stream. I also started without a long financial runway, so I really had to jump in quickly, but it worked out pretty well. I feel like I'm still working out project pricing and billing issues like the ones I’ve heard you address in the PICA Billing Rates and Pricing Strategies workshop.
The other challenge, frankly, has been not to under bid in an effort to win a project. On the one hand, who wants to give up work when they are just starting a business? But, on the other, I’ve had to decline a couple of projects because the numbers just didn’t work.
Q: You're in a nice position where you have a healthy basket of clients. What do you have planned when you think about next year?
A: There are two things that come to mind for me: The first is that COVID has forced some fundamental changes in the medtech sector. I think we’re going to see another round of big changes over the course of 2021 and into 2022 as the world transitions out of the public health emergency in the way healthcare is delivered, how it's paid for, the types of products that are available, and so on. I want to make sure that, like Wayne Gretzky, I can “skate to where the puck is going, not to where it is now . . .” That's what I really want to be able to do.
The other thing is more practical. I am getting to the point where I am ready to build a team to help grow the work. I am developing a plan for incremental growth over the next year so that we will have the right expertise in place at the right time.
Q: What do you like best about running your own consulting firm?
A: I like the flexibility of being able to take on projects I'm interested in and to develop more focused relationships with clients. If I were still working in a broader enterprise, I would have less flexibility or time to do that. I've met some wonderful people and have enjoyed the personal relationships as well as the professional relationships that have developed, I really like that.
Q: If people have questions about you, your business, or ideas for maybe working together, what’s the best way to find out more or to reach you?
A: Right now, the best way is through LinkedIn or email. I offer potential new clients an hour or so of free consulting, just to sort of help them understand what the framework might be and to get to know them and their product a little bit. That's often a good way to initiate a business relationship.
By the way, I’d like to take this opportunity to thank you for all that you do for independent consultants through PICA. Although I haven't had a lot of interaction with you or the other members yet, the online resources that you have are really helpful and the webinars I've attended have been very practical and helpful. I thank you for providing such a terrific service to the entrepreneur community. Jumping out on your own is a leap of faith. I think you have developed a very easy manner in encouraging people and recognizing all of those worries and concerns and it's really valuable. [Editor’s note: Thank you for the shout-out, Ed! Much appreciated.]
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