Monika Mleckova at SlidesLive: Kickstart with a Startup
An innovative team can only emerge in an open environment. For Monika Mleckova, Production Manager at SlidesLive, that perfect atmosphere is found within the world of SlidesLive.
As a college student, Monika discovered her passion for production as well as organization, two skills needed to become a successful production manager at SlidesLive.
“I studied at the University of Economics, Prague and got my degree in multimedia,” Monika said. “I’ve always enjoyed organizing stuff, which later transformed into organizing events and people. Back at the university, I produced two short movies and a few events which I enjoyed. That is why I decided to work in production.”
Monika manifested her passions when she began working for SlidesLive. With strong organization skills, Monika learned how to put together a dedicated team to deliver top-quality work.
“It starts with clients,” Monika said. “A production manager is responsible for meeting clients’ expectations and needs. Then, I also need to find a team; this means local videographers, editors, stream engineers, etc. The main responsibility is to make both sides happy, not only the client but the team as well, because without a great team, it would not be possible to deliver great work.”
Meeting a client’s needs while simultaneously fulfilling a team’s desires is difficult to manage, yet Monika is able to find a balance where neither side loses. With neither side of the scale tipping, high-quality production and hard work can be met with pleasure.
However, finding the perfect balance is only one piece of the pie that is successful production.
“Production managers at SlidesLive are not only producing events, their work is much more complex than it might seem at first,” Monika said. “A production manager needs to know what he or she is doing. We need to learn all the technical things which we then teach new teammates. We need to know how to set up cameras or livestream or even how to get feed from a soundboard.”
Once Monika learns how to use all of the SlidesLive technology, she must ensure that her knowledge flows in a predictable path, from one team member to the next.
“It’s a circle which works pretty well,” Monika said. “You always pass the knowledge onto someone else; it doesn’t end with you. It’s very important to share knowledge.”
In addition to sharing knowledge, Monika also enjoys traveling with the SlidesLive team and experiencing new places together. Traveling bonds the team together, allowing them to work in a more friendly and cordial manner.
“My favorite part of working for SlidesLive is definitely when we have a big production going on and the whole team meets in a different country,” Monika said. “It is great to have a bigger group with you. We can always help each other and also gain new experiences, especially when we are abroad.”
And the SlidesLive world isn’t all-work-no-play.
“There is always a huge responsibility, that is for sure, but also a lot of fun (and beers),” Monika said. “After a long day, it is revealing to discuss all the difficulties and fun stories after a 14-hour work day on foot. We are always the first ones to enter the conference center and the last ones to leave. The best part is when we wrap up and do some hiking or sightseeing in a new city.”
Whether it be from traveling or learning how to use new technology or leading a team, Monika thanks SlidesLive for the new experiences and for helping her kickstart her career in production.
“SlidesLive showed me (and still does) that anything is possible,” Monika said. “Working for a start-up was definitely the best thing I could do to kickstart my career. There are no limits; you can do things that really interest you, be innovative, bring up new ideas and thoughts, and learn new things about technology. SlidesLive is not only a company I work for but a group of people that I can rely on, kind of like a family.”
