Veterinary Entrepreneurs: Who Are They?

Stacee Santi, DVM, Vet2Pet App Builders, Durango, Colorado

ArticleLast Updated November 20183 min readWeb-Exclusive
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Veterinarians make great entrepreneurs. In practice, veterinarians may be faced with complex problems and limited diagnostics, so they must make clinical decisions for their patients with just a few facts. They often have to make life or death decisions with little time to consult and collaborate. Veterinarians often develop intuition, powerful observational skills, and the ability to pivot in a moment’s notice, all of which are the same skills an entrepreneur needs to be successful.

In this series, we have looked at starting, building, branding, and growing a successful business. To wrap up the series, we will look at several veterinarians who found a problem in the veterinary industry they wanted to solve and went on to found their own businesses.

Steps to Successful Entrepreneurship

  1. Be sure your idea solves a real problem.

  2. Create a prototype and test your idea before you quit your day job.

  3. Stay in your lane and gain product market fit as quickly as possible.

  4. Raise funds strategically from friends, family, or investors to grow your company.

  5. Assemble a team that shares your vision and will help build a culture of innovation.

  6. Create and promote your brand to secure your place in the market.

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Caleb Frankel, DVM

Instinct

Dr. Frankel, a practitioner in a busy specialty practice, was frustrated with the practice’s treatment sheets. He envisioned a more efficient method that would automatically connect work orders from veterinarians to invoices for clients. He formed a technology start-up called Instinct, a company that builds software for veterinary emergency and specialty teams that improves team communication, patient care, and fee capture. Although the product launched only last year, Instinct has entered the market at a rapid pace and already serves more than 30 practices.1

Conclusion

I will leave you with the question, “Is there anything you feel inspired to change?” 

New ideas are important for our profession. When entrepreneurs like those above come together to solve problems in the veterinary industry, everybody wins. (See Personal Experience) Your idea may be just a dream today, but it could be the next big success story tomorrow. If you do not try, you will never know.

Personal Experience

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The Vet2Pet team

Here is the author’s personal story:

I remember one day walking out of the examination room and throwing my hands in the air because yet another client had not given her pet monthly heartworm prevention as directed over the summer. All my suggestions to help clients remember their pets’ medications were falling on deaf ears. I knew there had to be a better way to remind my clients to medicate their pets.

I came up with the idea of sending a push notification to clients’ smartphones on the first of the month, which I was sure would solve the problem. However, no such thing existed forsmall-practice veterinarians, so I founded a company in California that turned my idea into a reality. My clients loved it. 

And so began Vet2Pet. Today the Vet2Pet team, composed primarily of former practice managers, veterinary nurses, and customer service representatives, is focused on helping veterinary teams to connect better with their clients, implement efficient systems, improve patient care, use innovation to grow revenue, and create space to foster happiness and professional success. From its beginnings of building one app per month in my bedroom after work, Vet2Pet now services more than 600 veterinary practices in 9 countries.