VETSTER

Mark Bordo co-founded Vetster in Toronto in 2020, right as the pandemic made in-person everything complicated and telehealth suddenly legitimate. The founding premise: millions of pet owners have questions that don't require a physical exam — is this rash serious, is my cat eating enough, should I be worried about this behavior — and they're either calling their vet's emergency line or going to Google.

Both are terrible options. Vetster built a marketplace where licensed veterinarians offer video consultations on their own schedule, charging a fee that splits with the platform.

Pet owners get expert answers fast. Vets get flexible income.

Vetster takes the cut in the middle.

Vetster operates as a two-sided marketplace. Pet owners pay per consultation — typically between $50 and $150 for a video call with a licensed vet.

Vetsters keeps a platform fee from each transaction. Vets sign up independently, set their own availability and rates, and get access to pet owners who need help outside traditional clinic hours.

The model doesn't require Vetster to employ a single vet. The platform also offers a subscription tier for pet owners who want on-demand access without paying per-visit prices each time.

Corporate partnerships with large veterinary networks add a B2B revenue channel alongside the consumer marketplace.

On-demand video consultations — the core product. Pet owners connect with a licensed vet in minutes for real-time video calls.

Scheduled telehealth — book a video appointment with a specific vet for a future time slot. Vetster for Employers — a B2B product offering pet telehealth as an employee benefit, which is a growing market as companies add pet care perks to compete for talent.

The Vetster app handles booking, video, payment, and consultation notes in one place for both vets and pet owners.

The Mars Petcare partnership was the most important move Vetster made. Mars owns over 3,000 veterinary hospitals globally through its VCA, Banfield, and BluePearl brands.

When Mars partnered with Vetster, it gave the platform immediate credibility and a potential referral pipeline that no amount of consumer marketing could have built as quickly. Vetster also expanded internationally faster than most North American pet startups — launching in the UK and Australia while still in early growth stages, giving them a larger addressable market and a head start in markets where pet insurance and vet telehealth are already more normalized.

The fundamental limitation of veterinary telehealth is the exam. A vet can see your pet's eyes, assess behavior, and discuss history via video — but they cannot listen to heart sounds, feel a lump, or run bloodwork.

This means a significant portion of pet health concerns require an in-person visit regardless. Vetster works best as a triage and guidance layer, not a replacement for the clinic.

The regulatory environment complicates this further: many states and countries restrict what vets can prescribe or diagnose without a prior physical examination of the patient. Navigating those rules across multiple jurisdictions while maintaining quality care is an ongoing challenge.

Vetster raised funding from investors including Pender Ventures and Greenoaks Capital, alongside strategic backing tied to the Mars Petcare partnership. The strategic relationship with Mars — which is owned by the Mars family and operates as one of the world's largest private companies — provided more than capital.

It provided distribution access to thousands of vet clinics and a signal to the industry that pet telehealth was a serious category.