Nashville start-up offers virtual vet visit for sick dogs and cats
Pet owners know the dilemma well.
The family dog eats chocolate in the middle of the night. Or there is a troubling cyst on a paw. It is probably a harmless incident or a self-healing bump — unless it isn't. The only way to find out is to visit the vet or an emergency clinic, a trip that could take hours and yield a hefty bill — whether the predicament warrants professional care or not.
Nashville brothers Curt and Mason Revelette, owners of Jonathan's Grille restaurant chain, have created an app that brings telemedicine to dogs and cats. Vet On Demand, launched this month, instantly connects pet owners with veterinarians any time of day, allowing them to explain and show their animal's ailments through video chat.
"(It provides) the ability to get in touch with the vet and get those common health questions answered that come up somewhat regularly and usually at an inconvenient time," Mason Revelette said. "Looking at all the telemedicine for humans, why don't we have this opportunity for pets?"
Instead of paying hundreds of dollars for the peace of mind a vet consultation can provide, pet owners pay by the minute through the app. Vets can offer insights, advise treatments or let the owner know that an in-person examination is needed.
Story continues after photo
The model also provides additional revenue opportunities for veterinarians, who can work when they choose — between appointments, nights or weekends. The option could be especially useful to vets who are building their practice, those in smaller markets and those who wish to work more flexible hours.
"This opens them up to a nationwide list of possible clients," Curt Revelette said.
The app costs users $2.50 a minute, with 70 percent going to the vet. That translates to $105 for a full hour, higher than the $47 average hourly rate for vets in the U.S., according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
Through the app, a vet can take notes and screenshots that can be viewed by the owner and that will stay with the animal's profile so the user does not have to start from scratch with the next Vet On Demand visit.
Vet On Demand, available on iOS, is in early stages, with close to 20 vets having signed on across the U.S. — Seattle, California and Nevada — and Canada. The challenge that comes with building the new service is ensuring there is an adequate supply of vets as a customer base develops, and the Revelettes said they are timing their rollout accordingly. A few hundred users have downloaded the app.
The company marks a new direction for the brothers, who have established themselves in local entrepreneurship circles through their expanding sports grilles. They entered the business in 2010 when their parents ran two Jonathan's Grille restaurants, and they have since grown the chain to five locations — Green Hills, Cool Springs, Bellevue, Mt. Juliet and Spring Hill. Until 2014, they also owned Maristone Senior Living, which they sold to Utah-based real estate investment firm Bridge Investment Group Partners.
Pet care and mobile technology were niches they stumbled into after taking their parents' aging and sometimes unwieldy German shepherd to the vet.
"It's always a hassle and a stressful situation to get her loaded into a car, which hurts her hip," Mason Revelette said. At the vet's office, "she barks at every person and animal there. I thought there has got to be a simpler, more cost-effective, less stressful way of doing this."
Once they began sharing their Vet On Demand idea to friends, it seemed like everyone had a similar story, affirming the need for their business. Eventually, they would like to expand the app to include other small animals, even farm animals.
The Revelettes enlisted LionHouse software development firm in East Nashville to build Vet on Demand's software. They have self funded the business but are in the process of raising $1.5 million, which would allow them to add to staff. In May they will exhibit Vet On Demand at the Collision tech conference in Las Vegas, which will help them gain awareness among national, tech-savvy investors and entrepreneurs.
Reach Jamie McGee at 615-259-8071 and on Twitter @JamieMcGee_.