Your Name: Megan Driscoll
Business Name: PharmaLogics Recruiting, a bio-pharmaceutical recruiting company
Type of Business: Staffing
Business Location: Quincy, Massachusetts, United States
Website http://www.pharmalogicsrecruiting.com
Twitter @meganbiopharma
Facebook https://www.facebook.com/PharmaLogicsRecruiting
Reason for starting
I wanted to branch out and do something I was passionate about. I love helping people, pulling them up by their bootstraps and get them going on their own path to success and IPS gave me an offer I just could not refuse. They set me up in one of their offices nearby, gave me free rent, services, benefits, an interest free loan and allowed me to maintain over 50% ownership and thus I was able to launch Pharmalogics from there. I knew that I was going to earn less money as an owner but I was okay with that if it meant I could be involved with the hiring and training of staff. And as it turned out, the benefits of building and growing a company has far outweighed the deficits in income of the early years.
How do you define success?
My definition of success is someone who when faced with a challenge picks themselves up by their bootstraps and finds a way to carry on and succeed in the face of a challenge or discouragement. Life isn’t easy. Every challenge is an opportunity for growth. Some people are born with this ability but others need to be surrounded by people who want to help them and believe in their success. I have been blessed with a dose of both innate perseverance, and a strong support group. Now, I pay that back by supporting and helping others to achieve their goals.
Biggest Success
My greatest accomplishment is growing Pharmalogics while at the same time growing my young family. Being able to be successful and not having to sacrifice what I love about being a mom is important to me. So I would say my biggest success is being able to do both [be a mom and run a company] simultaneously.
What is your top challenge and how have you addressed it?
I have two. As a firm, our top challenge is finding and retaining top talent. As we become a leader in bio-pharma recruiting space there are more opportunities within our firm, but with that growth we need to provide our talent with more room for development and a place to go within the organization. I also think that although I have been successful at balancing my work and my home lives, it has not been easy. Every day I am trying to figure out how to be in two places at one time. Two places that I love dearly.
Who is your most important role model?
At the first recruiting company I joined, I was the youngest by at least 15 years, so most of the people were working mothers, many of whom were also the primary breadwinners in their families. I worked closely with a woman named Aline Wildes. She was working full time, with a husband who was employed as a teacher and she had two small children at home. She came in late after putting her kids on the bus, left early for her kid’s school plays, or a soccer games. She took every school vacation off and a few weeks in the summer as well. Yet, with all the time off, she was the most successful woman in our office, consistently year after year. I learned a lot from her about how to manage success and family. How to sit and focus for the time she was in each place and make every minute count. How to stop feeling bad about not being home when she was at work or conversely, feeling bad about not being at work when she was home. She just didn’t try to please people all the time, and knew she couldn’t and didn’t have too. She really would represent the trajectory of my own life and the lessons I learned from her were the seedlings of my success. I feel very strongly now about how my own role is a model for the women who work for me. When I am not in the office because I am on vacation with my kids, or I am leaving early to take my son to a Dr. appt. or arriving at work after my oldest gets on the bus, I believe I am showing through my actions that you can have a successful career and not give up the responsibilities and the joys of being a mom too. Every person in my office should have the same accommodations that I have received.