They Raised $4.3M to Fix a Broken System

Issue #164

March 10th, 2025

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In today’s newsletter, we chat with David Servodidio, one of the co-founders of VetVerifi.

In one paragraph or less, explain VetVerifi.

VetVerifi is a technology company that connects your pet’s vaccine records to the places you need to go, securely, setting the standard for pet care compliance as people continue to live active, fun-filled lives with their pets. We build and curate data verification pipelines to meet the specific health & safety compliance requirements of companies like groomers, pet resorts, multi-family housing properties, short-term rentals, and beyond - essentially anywhere pets go.    

As three co-founders, how did you come together to start this venture and how did you meet?

Tim, Chris, and myself all met and got to know each other as teammates working together to solve problems on the human side of healthcare. But the original idea started as just that - sharing a concept between friends after a frustrating experience as a pet owner while trying to drop our pups off at a pet resort before a family vacation. The epitome of a “what if we built this? Could we build this?” convo that has turned into the wild and wonderful ride it’s been.      

What were your professional backgrounds before launching VetVerifi?

Tim Ridgway is a commercial leader that has built & led high-performing sales teams in tech, working with companies that have shaped entire categories such as Tableau and Equifax. 

Chris Lynn is a data and engineering leader who has built, managed, and scaled data verification pipelines and large verification teams. 

David Servodidio is a marketing and strategy leader that has led strategic planning at multiple organizations and built high-performing teams at category-building companies, from energy drinks to healthcare.

What inefficiencies or gaps in the pet healthcare industry led you to create VetVerifi?

The problem we solve is simple, but yet has never been solved. Let’s set the stage: It’s the day before my family vacation, I need to drop my pup off at pet resort for a week’s stay, and to do so requires an up-to-date vaccine record on file from my vet. There are no tools - zero - that help connect your vet clinic to the companies that require a verified health record from a veterinarian. And thus everyone in the industry is calling each other multiple times a day with the same question - “can you send over Max’s vaccine records for boarding?” And pet owners (like us) are caught in the middle of trying to get a vaccine record sent from the vet clinic to the groomer. We’re told to use apps on our phone, to carry around paper receipts, to fax over requests, to save screenshots on our phone, etc. It’s a broken, economic problem. We’re here to solve it.   

Last year you were accepted into the Leap Ventures accelerator, how was that experience, and what impact did it have on your growth as an early-stage startup?

The team at Leap is fantastic, and the backing partners (MFA, Mars Petcare, and R/GA Ventures) collectively are a powerful trio with incredible industry perspectives and influence. Like anything, a venture studio is what you make of it - for those that lean in the accelerator, build connections across the portfolio, and are intentional about the role that it plays in their startup’s story, you’ll find it to be an amazing corner of the pet care ecosystem and a great springboard.

Beyond the program, we maintain active relationships with the cohort and with the Leap partners - they continue to do what they can to help us further our mission and achieve success. I consider the individuals that run Leap to be “master networkers” in their own right, and to have that alone in your corner is invaluable. But like anything - you simply must hustle your tail off to earn that endorsement.    

In 2024, you closed a $1.5M pre-seed round, and recently you raised a $2.8 million seed round. What has the fundraising process been like, and how have the two rounds differed?

Fundraising is always a grind and a necessary distraction at times. However, it’s critically important, and to do it well becomes at a minimum a part-time job you’re adding on. The best fundraisers manage the process like a sales quota - you understand where you must be, then work backwards. The magic happens when you start to find really good fits for your organization and culture. 

In my opinion, raising pre-seed is a bit tougher than seed. At pre-seed stage, it’s almost entirely a bet on founding team, idea/concept, and some early traction signs. You’re looking to bring on investors that believe in your team and vision, but know that plenty of pivots are coming - this is normal! These investors aren’t exactly the easiest to find. At seed stage, particularly when you look to bring on a sizable lead investor, it’s still a bet on the founding team, but there are many more market indicators to lean on - team, traction, KPIs, financials, etc…

It becomes much more of a multi-year exercise and ensuring you, your co-founders, and your new investors are all aligned with the vision for the company and the trajectory you are on collectively. We’ve raised 2 rounds of capital and I’m really proud to say we have a fantastic, diverse, passionate cap table that leans in to help us often. We very much value each of them, from the smallest angel check to our largest VC, as part of the VV story.    

How do you see the veterinary and pet health tech landscape evolving over the next five years?

A big question for sure! I have a biased, and likely naive vantage point, but 2 things in particular come to mind. 

1. Pet owners are more active than ever and are seeking more seamlessly connected, integrated experiences with their pups. Convenience and connectivity continue to drive consumer preferences. What’s fascinating is that these consumer decisions are more frequently influenced beyond the four walls of the veterinary clinic. Ex 1: your pet-friendly luxury apartment complex is investing in pet-friendly services, like mobile grooming and onsite veterinary care. Ex 2: your local pet resort requires fecal exams and begins administering them onsite v. referring to a clinic. Ex 3: your local dog park bar requires Bordetella vaccines and offers a referral program to the clinic next door, which isn’t your home clinic. Incredibly convenient to the consumer, and throws a wrench in the frequency of interactions at the vet clinic, and perhaps even disrupts care planning of the veterinary team. Consumers will continue to prefer experiences that are connected and integrated (both with technology and with physical experience) to their lives, not their vet. And veterinary groups that embrace that, in my own opinion, will write the next chapter of animal health care.

2. In human healthcare, you can’t walk more than five feet at HIMSS, VIVE, HLTH, etc. without engaging in a conversation about AI & Interoperability. Conversely, at VMX or WVC, you’ll see endless AI applications and tools, but the Interoperability approach, (again) in my opinion, remains unsolved and often opposed - this will limit how incredibly powerful AI can really be, simply because the picture isn’t as complete and comprehensive as could be. There’s no doubt AI will revolutionize much about our lives; not tackling interoperability as an industry makes this harder than it really needs to be. 

How do you approach brand building when running a B2B brand vs a consumer product? 

As a marketer, I love this question. “Brand”, to me, reflects how the industry and customer “feels” about your startup, leading to how they interact with your company. And in the early days, that is a reflection of the founding team and early team members. Brand building extends far beyond a website; it's how you show up at trade shows, how you follow up after meetings, how you treat people, how you handle conflict, and how you lead. Someone once told me “the behaviors of the leaders become the values of the organization”. And when it comes to branding, particularly for a B2B company, this is where brand really begins. Then amplification starts - social, PR, content marketing, etc.   

What advice would you give to other entrepreneurs looking to innovate in the pet industry, especially when it comes to securing funding?

Find a coach or mentor. Someone who’s done this before (ideally recently and in the industry), and ask for help/guidance. I was fortunate to have a coach specific to fundraising while raising this last round - we met weekly for 3 months. She kept me accountable, was a great sounding board, helped us strategize, made intros when appropriate, and really pushed me to think critically and move us forward. Similarly, pay attention to market trends (ex: following Carta’s Insights Team on LinkedIn) - these will dictate valuations, equity grants, etc. and give you common ground for wading into the investor waters.

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See you Wednesday!