VetVerifi: Changing the Game for the Pet Care Industry with Fast, Secure Vaccination Record Management
The Leap Venture Studio blog series is back for another exciting year! In March 2024, six innovative early-stage pet care startups joined the 12-week program to accelerate their ventures.
These companies partnered with experts from Mars Petcare and Michelson Found Animals, gaining access to venture capital investment, mentorship, and tailored programming designed to help meet their individual needs.
Plus, for the first time, one company joined the Leap Venture Studio as a company of impact, where they received an award to further their exceptional level of social impact for both pets and their people.
VetVerifi connects vet clinics to pet service providers on a secure, automated platform to find, verify and share vaccination records in seconds.
Chris Lynn, Co-Founder
Tell us about your startup?
Chris: VetVerifi’s mission is to enhance the connection between veterinary clinics and local pet service providers — such as boarding, grooming, and training — by leveraging a secure, automated platform that seamlessly fetches, verifies and shares vaccination records on demand.
Our founding team are data verification experts by background and that’s our secret sauce.
How has your startup made a difference for pets?
Chris: On the veterinary clinic side, we estimate that administrative staff can save upwards of 30 hours a month by using VetVerifi to automate vaccine verification requests from both pet service providers and other clinics in their communities. Our hope is that the time saved can enable clinics to focus more on what really matters like looking after pets and the people that care for them — rather than be bogged down by the noise of phone calls and emails for medical records.
For pet services, our goal is to ensure every scheduled reservation has a verified, up-to-date vaccination record on file that meets each facility’s unique requirements. Pet owners walking into these facilities can be confident that the other animals their pets will interact with are protected from serious and potentially life-threatening diseases.
What are the greatest challenges you’ve faced as a startup founder and how have you overcome them?
Chris: As first-time founders, my co-founders, Dave Servodidio, Tim Ridgway, and I have had an incredible learning journey. Prior to launching VetVerifi, we worked together for several years, so we already had a strong understanding of each other’s strengths, working styles, and challenges. Despite this, the majority of our time building VetVerifi has been spent working remotely. While we make it a point to meet in person whenever we can, the realities of starting and scaling a business have largely unfolded behind a screen.
One of the biggest challenges we’ve faced is striking the right balance between day-to-day operations and strategic thinking. As we continue to navigate the demands of building the business, we’ve gotten better at carving out time to zoom out from the grind and focus on the bigger picture. However, it’s a discipline we’re constantly refining, as it requires both intention and focus.
What is your biggest takeaway from the Leap Venture Studio?
Chris: The biggest takeaway from our experience is how incredibly supportive the community is, from the partners themselves to the other companies in your cohort, to the long list of successful alumni. It truly is a group of people that want to see you succeed and actively will do whatever they can to help you. Leap companies have been early customers of ours, partners, friends, and just genuinely helpful, even if our business had nothing to do with theirs. It’s a wonderful pocket in the global pet care industry that attracts some of the best all-around human beings we know!
What advice would you give fellow pet care founders just starting their journey?
Chris: The journey of building a business can sometimes feel overwhelming and isolating, but it’s important to remember that there’s a supportive community of people who are eager to help. Connect with other founders early and often, it’s invaluable to share experiences and learn from one another!
Equally important is prioritizing your own mental and physical well-being. To show up as your best self for your teammates and your business, you need to take care of yourself. Whether it’s carving out time each day or week to focus on your personal well-being, make sure to create that space. It’s essential to recharge, whatever that looks like for you.
Tell us about your pet(s)!
Chris: My wife and I have two dogs and two cats. Truman and Shady are the dogs. Truman is a lab/pitbull mix who loves car rides, swimming, and chewing shoes. Shady came to us during the COVID lockdown when we thought we needed a second dog (we were mostly right). He’s a mutt with endless energy who loves to run and fetch. He keeps me active! The cats, Warren and Howard, tolerate their canine brothers and mostly eat and sleep in their older age.
To learn more about VetVerifi, visit their website.
If you are interested in connecting with their team, email us at leapventurestudio@gmail.com.
