🐶 Industry News
- Had the chance to speak with Maya Shaposhnik Cadena, the CEO of Vetted Pet Health, a Chicago-based veterinary telehealth startup. Maya and her co-founder met in the MBA program at the University of Chicago. The pair came in third place at UC's 2021 Booth New Venture Challenge and subsequently raised $2 million to grow their business.
Vetted focuses on preventative health for dogs and cats and its services include 24/7 telehealth, reimbursement for preventative care and emergency exam fees, and bimonthly preventive care boxes. Three tiers of plans are offered, ranging from free to $59 per month.
Maya says the focus will remain on preventive care and has no plans to expand into diagnosing illness or writing prescriptions. Sticking to a niche sounds like a smart move, as niche telehealth startups for humans are having the most success in raising funds.
- Leap Venture Studios has announced the startups accepted into its sixth program. This year's cohort consists of seven European companies:
- Borrow My Doggy (UK) - a platform matching dog owners with others looking to walk and sit dogs.
- HiPets (Poland) - a marketplace for pet service providers
- MarleyBones (UK) - dog meal subscription service
- Moggie (UK) - cat tracker
- People who Kaer (Germany) - dog supplements
- Rex (Germany) - modern, high-tech vet clinics
- Petty Well (France) - home delivery of natural meals for dogs and cats
Each company will receive $20,000 and 12 weeks of mentoring from a team of pet industry consultants
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💰 Financing & Deals
- Scatchpay, a California-based fintech company, closed a $35M Series C round. Founded in 2016 as a service to help pet parents pay for vet bills, the company has expanded into financing for human healthcare, including dental, optical and chiropractic treatment. More than 10,000 medical and vet practices use Scratch's payment tools.
- Antelope, a private equity-funded venture looking to acquire consumer pet companies, bought Ark Naturals, a pet supplement brand. This is Antelope's fourth acquisitions since its launch in August 2021.
- Maev, an Austin-based DTC startup that ships raw dog food, closed a $10 million Series A round. Founded in 2019, the company has delivered over 7 million meals and has tripled its subscriber base this year.
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😸 I'm looking for pet industry pros to feature in this newsletter
Do you run a pet startup or invest in the pet industry? I would like to hear your story. Shoot me an email and we can set up a time to chat.
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