Dr. Audrey Wystrach: Veterinary medicine of the future is my mantra
by Mary Guiden
Dr. Audrey Wystrach is the co-founder and co-CEO of Petfolk, which aims to provide professional, modern, accessible care that is data-driven and bolstered by current technologies. She began her veterinary journey as a young girl growing up on her family's ranch in Arizona, surrounded by animals. From rural house call visits to creating multi-location practice groups, Wystrach’s more than 25 years of experience as a veterinarian has been invaluable in guiding her journey towards delivering transformative and radically different veterinary experiences. She received her Doctor of Veterinary Medicine degree from Colorado State University.
Petfolk launched its flagship location in 2020 in Charlotte, North Carolina and the company now has four locations in North Carolina and South Carolina. Expansion plans and construction will result in 14 new locations in Georgia, Florida, North Carolina and Texas in 2023. She recently spoke with Veterinary33 about her vision for the company, how to lead as an innovator and trends in veterinary medicine.
Q: Tell us about Petfolk – what made you decide to launch the company?
Wystrach: I am a 28-year veteran in this industry, and I am obsessed with what I do. ‘Veterinary medicine of the future’ is my mantra. I want to make sure the veterinary industry maintains its level of professionalism and I want to continue to have that fierce commitment to take care of people and pets. What we’re building at Petfolk is a modern delivery model. Holistically, our approach helps maintain a great culture for our healthcare teams and we have more of a customer-centric model. We are using technology to streamline veterinary services. We can make appointments with our nail salons online, and we should be able to make appointments for our pets that way, too.
With Petfolk, I truly wanted to create a less friction-filled process. We really have nailed it, with three verticals. We have brick-and-mortar facilities, open 365 days a year. We also have pet wellness mobile clinics in multiple markets. Both are surrounded by 24/ 7 virtual care.
Twenty-five years ago, pets didn’t have family member status as universally as they do now. They’ve gone from yard to pillow, with a new emphasis on quality of care, and people are more willing to spend money on the best care.
It’s a challenging feeling, having something happen to your pet at 10 p.m. at night and not knowing what to do. We’re the most loved brand in Charlotte. People adore what we’re doing, and the medical excellence we’re providing is second to none. We’re a veterinary- and female-led business.
Q: With the level of care you’re describing, how does the size of your teams compare with other veterinary clinics?
Wystrach: We have a larger staff than your standard clinic but it’s efficiency at scale. Our virtual staff are based across the U.S., and we have a diverse group of individuals who like to work on different schedules. Some doctors like to work weekends only, two days a week or four days a week. Some might work six days on and have six days off.
With our mobile wellness services, if you just need a vaccine for your pet, you can get that very quickly with one of our partners. But then you can also come into a brick-and-mortar facility seven days a week.
If you’re a pet parent at work, and you don’t have to leave the office or your desk, we can solve problems 30% of the time virtually, and help guide the care. Over 50% of veterinary emergency rooms don’t need to exist. We have a workforce shortage in veterinary medicine and a huge number of pets were adopted during the pandemic. If a pet doesn’t need to be in an ER, but the owner needs to simply speak to a veterinarian, that leaves a spot in the ER for a pet that really needs it, much like what we see in human healthcare.
Q: What trends are you seeing in the veterinary industry?
Wystrach: When comparing human medicine to veterinary medicine, there’s a 10 to 15-year lag in the latter in implementing new technologies and approaches to care. We’ve seen big radical changes on the human medical side, including in dentistry, where we have modern ecosystems to meet customer needs.
At our clinics, we aim to see same-day patients. In veterinary medicine, our consumers are craving a modern approach to solve simple problems.
Q: What’s it like to be an entrepreneur in this realm?
Wystrach: It’s important to surround yourself with incredible teams that believe in your vision. The startup world is challenging but there are also gigantic opportunities.
I previously co-founded Zippivet Pet Hospitals, which is based in Austin, Texas. With Petfolk, in October 2020, I landed in Charlotte, North Carolina, determined that we were going to build veterinary hospitals. I was head of real estate, design, development, veterinary medicine and architecture. I was the proverbial one-man band, in charge of everything.
I’ve built an incredible team filled with real estate, design, marketing and finance experts. I would advise building a team before you’re ready for it, so that you can scale quickly.
I have a cofounder — my brother and entrepreneur Michael Wystrach — who really complements what I do and my strengths. We’re the perfect yin and yang. His strengths include finance, strategy, fundraising, growth and marketing.
We really do have that complementary skill set. There’s enough overlap and understanding between us. And the beautiful thing is that we’re a brother and sister who know that building a veterinary company organically built on a veterinary mindset has been an uplifting experience.
Our parents are entrepreneurs — they’ve owned hotels, gas stations, apartments and restaurants — and that was a large part of our upbringing. We were raised with similar mindsets. Michael worked in the human food industry and sold his company, Freshly, to Nestle. I spent my life’s work addressing veterinary complexities and building veterinary buildings. We’ve created big magic, bringing our ‘superpowers’ together.
You must have superpowers as the founder of a company. I have three children and I teach them to own their space and then own the room. When you decide to do something like found a company, you have to be the greatest subject matter expert you can be and you have to present yourself as the person who belongs in that space.
Being a female founder can be particularly challenging, especially when you’re a venture capital-backed organization, which typically ends up being more of a man’s world. You need to surround yourself with a network and make sure you have people and advisors you can lean on. Be prepared to run at a strong pace. It’s a marathon, not a sprint, as the saying goes.
If your passion is in your heart and you pick something to do that you love, it’s always going to be tough. Being that lifelong learner, I am constantly looking at opportunities and that ends up being something magical.
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