Founder Spotlight: Rachel Cossar (Virtual Sapiens)
Company name: Virtual Sapiens
Company blurb: Machine learning SaaS platform for virtual cues over video communication
Company website: www.virtualsapiens.co
Company headquarters: Boston, MA
Founder’s hometown: Toronto, Canada
Founder fun fact: I just took up single-point trapeze (also known as dance trapeze). I have completely fallen in love with it and it’s the first time since I retired from the stage that I’ve found something physical and artistic I can do at a high level:)
Why did you decide to start a company? Communication and executive presence are often touted as core professional skills, particularly for professionals looking to be promoted. And yet, receiving consistent and personalized coaching is traditionally expensive and/or one-size-fits-all. For years as a presence and body language coach, I have wanted to have a greater impact and to provide more people with quality coaching. Virtual Sapiens is my answer to this — by leveraging AI and video, we are able to provide professionals with quality communication coaching at scale.
What is one thing that you want people to know about your company? We are using AI to help people feel more comfortable and confident as communicators in the future of work. Our focus on body language switches what is usually a blindspot, into a superpower.
When you were younger, what did you want to be when you grew up? Did you always know you wanted to be an entrepreneur? Haha no! I wanted to be an actress:)
What is one piece of advice you’d like to pass on to new founders? Write the reason(s) you started the company down on a piece of paper and always have it handy. As a new founder, you will face a TON of adversity. Whenever you are met with rejection from others or self-doubt, go back to this piece of paper and remember why you are doing this.
