Hi there and welcome to Vet Chat, a new podcast for the veterinary profession brought to you by the webinar vet. We're gonna discuss all things from clinical cases to hot topical debates. I'm your host Ben Sweeney, and for the first time in my life over the episodes ahead of us, I'm aiming to listen more than I talk, and I can't wait for you to join me for the adventure.

Hi everyone and welcome to Vet Chat. Today I am delighted to be joined by the founder and chief exec of the webinar vet itself, Mr. Anthony Chadwick.

Anthony qualified from Liverpool in 1990. And has already got a certificate in veterinary dermatology from 1995. He spends a large proportion of his career exploring that interest in dermatology, and indeed that formed the very first webinar way back in 2010 now.

When the webinar vet was established, there was no real online space for vets and nervous and nurses to develop their CPD skills. And since then he's gone on to grow a very successful business in this field. He has indeed by many people within the profession been called er the chief of disruption across the profession.

He's interested in mixed reality in veterinary medicine and is of course a keen guitarist, as many of us have seen. He can speak several languages in his own terms in a mediocre fashion. And has a keen interest in all of the common birds that we would see in our gardens back at home.

So Anthony, thank you so much for joining us this morning. It's a very interesting prospect to be interviewing your boss. So it's a great opportunity for us to get down to the nitty gritty of the webinar vet.

So first and foremost, I really just wanted to ask you, why did you start the webinar vet way back in 2010? Well, Ben, it was really about, I was always interested in the sort of online space and in the. Internet and in fact, I'd had my own practise in Liverpool since 1997.

People used to come and say, you've got the best website in the city, so that's why we've come to see you as a vet, because obviously the internet was, you know, starting to really grow at that stage. And they loved the fact that we seem to have a very professional website. Off the back of that, I still started an online pharmacy, and that was going well.

And so in 2010, January 2010, I just I decided that I probably needed to go to an internet conference rather than a veterinary conference to see what was out there and how we could, you know, develop the website for the veterinary practise, but also the online pharmacy. And I went to that conference quite different from any veterinary conference I'd been to. I think it's important that we have people within the profession who look outwards.

We can be quite an inward looking navel gazing profession. I think we've become a lot better over the last 10 years. There was nobody really in that whole online space at that time, so I went.

To the online conference, and there was, you know, a lot of stuff that wasn't really very good quality, but there was a guy called Stephen Esser there who was talking about webinars, an Australian guy, and he had a course that he was pitching at the end of this which I joined, because there was a light bulb moment when he talked about webinars. I thought, why are we not using this to educate vets? You know, you know the situation perhaps as well as as I do that, you know, in 2010 to do our CPD we'd go to conferences, or we'd do.

Evening meetings, which were often, you know, an hour away from where we lived. Quite often I would drive up to Preston or Manchester at the end of a busy evening surgery, you know, by the time you got there, there was a mediocre buffet to eat with some curled up chicken sandwiches, and then you might get an hour, an hour and a half of CPD, then you'd get into the car again, perhaps after, you know, half an hour in the bar where you couldn't obviously drink because you were driving, and you'd drive home and by the time you got into bed, it was probably midnight. And the next day you were back on that hamster wheel again.

And so it was quite difficult to do CPD. I think myself and many others saw 35 hours as a target, not as a minimum. And and so when I saw Stephen talking about webinars, I thought this has got to be a better way, certainly of doing evening meeting type CPD.

I mean, there's obviously a value to go to, you know, BSAVA or or one of the other conferences, you get to meet other people, discuss cases. But it's still expensive and to do CPD if you like, the old fashioned way, when I started the company in 2010, I reckoned, all things being equal, it was costing me £5000 a year to do my hours. So I wanted to find a cheaper way so that we could do more training and become better vets because of it.

Fantastic. So obviously since launching, you know, technology has moved on masses in the last decade, and how have you found that. The webinar vet over that journey for you has has changed and evolved in in that in that 10 year period.

I think it's really important, you know, when we put our first website up there, we were the only one really in the space, and a year later, people were coming to us and saying, you know, who were in the CPD space, who were saying, gosh, we don't believe you're getting 1000 people at a webinar. And obviously, you know, we were, and what I think has happened, some of it is less people watching live. People watching his recordings.

I think if you look at our website now compared with the one we had 10 years ago, it's much more sophisticated in tracking CPD, the MCQs, and so on. So it's an area that perhaps 10 years ago, because it was so new, you know, pretty much anything was acceptable, whereas now I think the bar is higher, you know, we all know about the Netflix experience, Amazon, and I think people want similar experiences in the way they do their CPP. As well, so there's been a definite improvement also in the speed of broadband, so we can do more on the webinars.

Technology is moving very, very quickly, and of course, as the head of webinar that we need to make sure that we're always, you know, at the front of the curve as we have always been. Yeah, absolutely. And obviously, when you identified the, the, you know, the, the opportunity with webinars within our profession, that was a big step up and a big.

Evolution, within, within the CPD sphere. So from that side of things, what, what do you maybe see as, you know, that next evolution for the next decade in terms of CPD? I think the, the easier we can make it, so I think people are also wanting smaller bite CPD, so things like the podcasts, I think can be really useful, more use of video.

I'm very excited about mixed reality. Some people may remember that we did some work with the. Holovet, the Microsoft HoloLensn developing Shiba, the first virtual dog, and then we also went and worked with Microsoft in their campus to develop a virtual cow called Daisy, with the help of Harper Adams.

So that was really exciting, and we, we did quite a lot of work with that as well. We've not really pushed that forward as much as we would like, but I certainly see that as an area that we, or others will, will. Into as a way of helping with surgery, from a student perspective, actually helping them with their anatomy as well.

So that's a really fascinating area that I think will grow over the next decade. Yeah, I mean I think that it's a really exciting sphere looking at, you know, the augmented reality and the virtual reality side of things, and certainly, you know, looking at it with, with family members who are in the medical sphere, the use of those kind of technologies in, in the, the treatment plans of. Is just phenomenal looking at the the areas that they can be used and the insight that they can give.

I think it's, you know, like you say, it's a really exciting time for for that, that area. So looking at that, that decade that you've been in this sphere, it's, there's obviously a lot of positives for you as an individual, for the company as a whole, but what's been your proudest moment, what's been that real cherry on top of the cake for the last decade within the webinar be? Well, I've loved the fact that we've made.

It just so much easier for people to do their training, and we have many people, you know, approaching us at conferences and so on, or leaving messages to say, you know, life's so much easier. We, we do live, as you know, Ben, in a, a stressful profession, and part of our mission was to make veterinary education more accessible, more affordable, and by doing that, and obviously the quality that we produce is is fabulous, and by doing that, we help to reduce people's stress. Yes.

So I think the fact that we've been involved in that whole process of, of making this a more fun profession, you know, I was at BSAVA last year, and there was a poster there that said, one of the things that gets vets and nurses juiced up is CPD. You know, they actually love doing it. So it's become from 10 years ago when it was a bit of a bind and a bit of a chore to being something that people get excited about.

If we've had something to do with that, I think that's brilliant. But I think probably my most proud moment was when we did the, the mindfulness training for vets and nurses and practise members in general, and we've had, Several 1000 people go through that training with Mike Scanlon. As I've said, our, the quality of our clinical CPD is excellent, but you, and you might get a, you know, a testimonial saying thanks very much, that was an excellent course, etc.

Etc. But with the mindfulness training, we were getting testimonials that said things like, this has changed my life. I've gone on holiday for the first time in 10 years and not been just thinking about the practise all the time.

I'm not shouting at members of staff when I'm in the practise. And so they were really life changing ones, and, you know, on several occasions I had people coming up and saying, gosh, this really helped me get through a difficult phase in my life, you know, because of the training and the, the friendliness of the team that we have at Webinar vet, and that really gives me a warm and fuzzy feeling that hopefully we've really been able to help, you know, individuals within the profession. And if you help one person, it's probably enough reason to start the business.

Yeah, absolutely, and I think that's something that will resonate with so many people. Who've been exposed to help from either the webinar vet or anyone else across their profession, you know, to you as an individual on the receiving end of something positive, it, it can have massive life changing impact, so I think that's brilliant. And of course it's very easy for us to celebrate the positives and, and, you know, the successes of any businesses, but have there been anything that you've really struggled with or really, you know, particularly large challenges during your journey thus far?

I think there's always challenges, but I, I mean, I tend to come at everything from a very optimistic viewpoint. You know, challenges are just opportunities that need to be overcome. So, you know, on the whole, I'm pretty positive about things.

I think developing a website can be really difficult. And so in the end, we've actually, you know, developed our own, our own tech team, which I think is the best way of actually improving your website, because when you go to an agency, they don't really understand the business. In my experience, they tend to overpromise and underdeliver.

So I think certainly the tech thing was very important for us, so I would say if you went back 5 years, we would have cast ourselves as a content business, you know, we created CPD content. Because of that, we worked really hard to try and develop into a tech business. We brought on some people into our non-executive board, and then we started to actually recruit people at, you know, into the team who are tech experts, and I think that's been really instrumental in helping us to develop.

The, you know, fabulous site we have today. I think there's a danger that, you know, we, we now hear of companies trying to develop tech when they have no experience of it, and that will be a very interesting journey to see how, you know, some of those veterinary companies manage when they have no experience in that area. Yeah, and we talk about obviously, you know, growing a team and bringing in people who are, you know, better than us in different areas and that side of things, but as, as you've grown your team, how have you.

How have you adapted your own approach to the business and and that sort of element of relinquishing bits of control over the overall project to to trust other people with, you know, what is essentially your baby. You know, you're asking me about proud moments and I'm very, very proud of the team that we have. One of the things that I've used from very early on in the business is, is a, a, a test called the talent dynamic test, and that helps me, one, when I did it myself to realise what my strengths were, but also the many weaknesses that I.

Had. And so within recruitment of the team, I've always looked to find cleverer people than myself in those areas in the business where I'm weak, and, you know, Ben, you've worked with me, it's not difficult to find cleverer people than me in areas anyway, so that's that's made my life a little bit easier, but I'm very happy, you know, I know where I am, reasonably talented and, and where, you know, I don't have those talents. So I've been very, very comfortable in relinquishing control to to people who are much more.

Than I am, and I think that's the only way that you grow, and if you, you know, we, we have politicians at the moment who want to be the cleverest people in the room, whereas, you know, I'm quite pleased not to be the cleverest person in my business because I want people that will help the business to grow, and the only way that you do that is really by, as Richard Branson says, taking on the best people that you can afford to take on. Yeah, absolutely, I always remember one of my bosses, a chap called Jason Atherton saying to me, you know, if you're the cleverest in the room, you're in the wrong room, and that is always very. Much resonated with me.

I think, I, I know personally and and having worked with you professionally, Antony, that one of the, the biggest and most important factors to you in terms of your professional life is that sense of community. And I just wonder, you know, what's, what's your, your hopes and your aspirations for the webinar, that community as you know, the next decade approaches. I think we just want to be there, you know, our, our culture, our, our vision is to be a loving and caring company, that's we're very purpose centred.

If we can continue to. Make a difference in people's lives, then, you know, it's worth us carrying on down this journey. So, you know, the more that we can help people, the more that we can make their lives easier, the more that we can help them stay in love with what is probably one of the best professions in the world, then, you know, we'll be carrying on and trying to remain relevant in a, in a changing world.

And I think probably finally that that million dollar question is, you know, what's your hope for the next 10 years, and where do you see? Webinar vet in 10 years' time. That is such a difficult question, and I think the reason why it's so difficult is because the world changes now so quickly, and I think a business now that has a 5 year or 10 year plan is a foolish business.

So I think you have to wait and see, you know, how the world changes also. I mean, obviously, I'd love our community to grow. Our vision is very much to have the most educated, confident vets, because we know that if the vets are, you know, an expert in their field, that.

Be able to walk into the consulting room and not be worried about what they may find. Sometimes, you know, as vets, we can be a bit negative about ourselves. So I think if we can, if we can help people to remain confident, if we can make sure that the quality of the CPD that we're putting out is, you know, the best in the world, then that community should grow into other countries.

We've got quite a lot of interest, you know, from other countries. We had the virtual congress a couple of weeks ago with 10,000 plus vets and nurses register. From over 100 countries.

So for us to really continue on that journey of making the company, you know, a real global company, developing technology in the areas of mixed reality and so on. But being open to those things that will happen, you know, over the next 10 years, and being able to adapt quickly and to look out to other professions and see what they're doing and bring those talents and skills into the veterinary profession, I think if we can do that, then I'll be really, really pleased. Fabulous.

Well, thank you. So much for giving up a bit of your time this morning, Anthony. I will look forward to seeing you very shortly when you're in the office.

And yeah, I think thank you so much for everything that's gone on in the last decade. I for one, am certainly really looking forward to the next decade that lies ahead of us. So yeah, really looking forward to sharing with the next part of the journey with you.

And thanks Ben for all the stuff you're doing in recruitment and I'm very excited to see where that will go over the next 10 years as well. So I'm sure together we can, hopefully solve some big problems. Thanks for joining us for today's episode of Vet Chat.

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