- September 27, 2022
- No Comment
- 4 minutes read
In Her Own Words: Dr. Audrey Wystrach's Petfolk grows with pandemic pet boom – Bizwomen – The Business Journals
Ellen Sherberg, Bizwomen Contributor
Handout
Dr. Audrey Wystrach, Co-CEO & Founder, Petfolk, Charlotte, North Carolina
While many suffered through the pandemic, pets generally prospered. More were adopted and even more were cared for. Veterinarian Dr. Audrey Wystrach and her start-up Petfolk benefitted from pet popularity.
“My veterinary journey began when I was a young girl, growing up on my family’s ranch in Arizona. I was surrounded by animals, and I saw the compassion my family vet showed our animals and their owners, which is why I knew I wanted to be a veterinarian when I was six years old. I spent 25 years practicing veterinary medicine and gaining experience from rural house call visits to creating multi-location veterinary practices before I started building my own pet care brand.
I launched Petfolk, a pet care brand built by vets who love pets, because I wanted to develop new ways for pet parents and veterinarians to be seen and heard. As a current pet parent and someone who has been around pets my whole life, my goal is to create a community of care for pets, pet parents, the Petfolk team and our industry partners through nurturing and educational visits. Petfolk makes everything about pet care clearer and more convenient, empowering pet parents to make the best decisions for their pets.
Launching a startup company is a huge leap of faith: Doing so in the middle of a global pandemic would be considered downright crazy by many. I started building Petfolk around the onset of the pandemic and immediately ran into challenges. The world shut down for six to eight months. Fundraising became more difficult as investors prioritized support of their existing portfolios. Investing in a new company during this period of uncertainty and chaos was not a priority for most funds. As an entrepreneur and founder, I had to be patient to build a successful venture.
Thank you for sharing. Your email has been sent.
Sisters-in-law and Prairie Elder Care founders Mandy Shoemaker and Michala Gibson are working on a new senior care startup. Connectivities offers activity-focused subscription boxes for dementia patients and their caregivers that are designed to spark purposeful and personal interactions.
The appointment comes following an “extensive search,” after the organization’s longtime CEO Heather Arnet departed near the end of its 2021-2022 fiscal year.
Experts say there are several red flags that illustrate when a worker could be at risk of quiet quitting. Here’s how companies can respond.
© 2022 American City Business Journals. All rights reserved. Use of and/or registration on any portion of this site constitutes acceptance of our User Agreement (updated 1/1/21) and Privacy Policy and Cookie Statement (updated 7/20/21).
Your California Privacy Rights.
The material on this site may not be reproduced, distributed, transmitted, cached or otherwise used, except with the prior written permission of American City Business Journals.
Ad Choices.
#ot-sdk-btn { color: #FFFFFF !important; border-color: #1a3d7f !important; background-color: #1E4794 !important; font-size: inherit !important; line-height: inherit !important; display: none !important; /* remove when we add ccpa to bizwomen */ } #ot-sdk-btn:hover { color: #FFFFFF !important; border-color: #1a3d7f !important; background-color: #1a3d7f !important; } .ruby #ot-sdk-btn { color: #FFFFFF !important; border-color: #9e2021 !important; background-color: #B32426 !important; } .ruby #ot-sdk-btn:hover { color: #FFFFFF !important; border-color: #9e2021 !important; background-color: #9e2021 !important; } .emerald #ot-sdk-btn { color: #FFFFFF !important; border-color: #10512b !important; background-color: #146636 !important; } .emerald #ot-sdk-btn:hover { color: #FFFFFF !important; border-color: #10512b !important; background-color: #10512b !important; } .sapphire #ot-sdk-btn { color: #FFFFFF !important; border-color: #1a3d7f !important; background-color: #1E4794 !important; } .sapphire #ot-sdk-btn:hover { color: #FFFFFF !important; border-color: #1a3d7f !important; background-color: #1a3d7f !important; }