Not Your Typical Vet Clinic - Modern Animal (Full Episode 192)

The veterinarian industry is changing right before your eyes, but unless you’ve been paying close attention, you probably haven’t noticed.
For years, the vet industry has been defined by small mom-and-pop clinics.
However, large investment firms have been buying up practices, yet offering nothing new or innovative.
These old practices still keep their patient records on paper, don’t offer 24/7 access, and if you are out of town, it’s nearly impossible to book an emergency appointment.
And this is all while, according to Time, suicide rates among veterinarians are extremely high, and as a matter of fact, women vet suicide rates are 3.5x the national average.
Our guest today is changing all of that, from how the clinics are built to waiving exam frees for members, Modern Animal is redefining what it means to practice veterinary medicine from the ground up.
In today’s episode, we talk with Steven Eidelman, the founder of Modern Animal. We discuss:
How Modern Animal is working to avoid vet burnout with this new approach
Setting up a tattoo parlor at a vet conference
The nationwide vet shortage, and what that means for the pet industry in the coming years
#businessinterview #podcast #podcasts #startup #startupcompany #losangeles #veterinary #veternarian #petindustry #animalcare
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🐈 Modern Animal Social Media:
Website: www.modernanim...
Instagram: / modernanimal
Facebook: / modernanimalvet
LinkedIn: / modernanimal
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🎙️ Startup to Storefront Social Media:
Instagram: / startuptostorefront
Facebook: / startuptostorefront
Linkedin: / startup-to-storefront
Twitter: / startuptostore
Spotify: open.spotify.c...
Apple Podcasts: podcasts.apple...
Website: www.startuptos...
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😎 Our Team:
Diego Torres-Palma: / diego_ventures
Nick Conrad: / nickgconrad
Lexi Jameson: / lexijamesonyt
Owen Cappellini: / owencapp
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🎵 Our Music:
/ doubletouchofficial
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⏱️ Timecodes:
00:00 Intro to Modern Animal
1:08 Modern Animal Explained
2:52 Why Steven Eidelman was hesitant to work in the pet industry
3:31 Why Steven Eidelman initially founded Whistle
4:29 The painful process of discovering product market fit
5:59 The Mars x Whistle Buyout
7:19 Getting back to the whiteboard (again)
8:50 It all felt so similar
10:14 What the pet industry was missing
12:55 What's behind the double doors?
13:59 The wave of consolidation in the pet category
13:54 What does the tech enable me to do?
16:47 The mental health crisis in the vet industry
18:02 The Modern Animal Experience
19:31 Ending outrageous exam fees
21:00 Data collected on pets. What was uncovered?
22:40 The 4 commitments for Modern Animal
24:58 Do you acquire pre-existing practices?
26:56 The problems with commission pay for vets
30:39 How do you value design?
33:07 The shortage of vets
35:31 The big milestones for 2023
40:03 Where tech and animals meet
41:59 Exciting marketing in 2023
43:53 Tattoos at a pet conference

[@TheDoralKid]

As vet struggling within the corporate system, this direction is really encouraging.

[@DVMCellini]

I enjoyed this interview. You can tell he knows this industry experientially without actually being a veterinarian which is pretty rare.

[@StartuptoStorefront]

So true, and we are happy to hear you enjoyed it!

[@sally5846]

I hope modern animal is successful in keeping prices down/fair. I had 3 vets who wanted to charge me $3,000 for an fho but i chose the $1,000 vet who did an amazing job.

[@Rosalina19-84]

I watched this podcast as a prospective employee of Modern Animal. I found Steven to be an incredibly informative and well-spoken guest, and it was refreshing to hear that MA's founder actually understands the hardships that us veterinary professionals face and designed a company with intention to alleviate them. Just some constructive criticism for Diego though -- the constant interruptions of your guest while he was speaking was incredibly frustrating as a listener (and probably for him too). There were so many times when i wanted to hear his train of thought and you interrupted him and got him off track. And your flippant assessment of the veterinary professional shortage (which IS a crisis) as "America is just lazy" was borderline insulting. I think Steven was internally cringing when you said that. I know I was.

[@StartuptoStorefront]

Thanks for tuning in!