Consolidate That!

An exclusive roundup coming straight from VMX 2021! We asked the experts: “What would you do differently if you knew the pandemic was coming?” From paying attention to the stock market to investing more in employee wellness and telemedicine - hear their unique insights.

Sebastian Gabor, Founder of Digitail, joined us to talk about client communication nowadays. Sebastian shares the three main divisions of his team, and explains why it is so important for software companies to stay on top of changing needs. 

We dove into the role of client feedback and explored why all-in-one solutions are stronger than siloed ones.

Topics discussed:

• How Sebastian approaches change management;
• Digitail’s three main divisions; education, implementation, and customer success;
• Why it is important for software companies to stay on top of changing needs;
• Why all-in-one solutions are stronger than siloed solutions;
• The learnings from client feedback and reviews;
• The role of e-commerce within the PIMS space;
• Why the biggest win is when a client goes to the app rather than approaching Google;

David Boguslawski, CEO of CityVet, reveals some details about their business model and their local ownership of clinics. We also discuss CityVet’s tool to increase transparency and trust levels within the company and ensure that concerns of team members are properly addressed, and recognition is given when due.

To end off this episode, David shares his thoughts on de-novo to acquisition.

Topics discussed:

• Distinctive characteristics of CityVet;
• Freedom through trust; what this core principle of CityVet means;
• Programs that assist staff members in numerous ways;
• MUTTS - the platform that CityVet finds very useful as an internal communication tool, and as a tracking tool for everything related to the business;
• The value that is provided by metrics and KPI’s;
• Examples of ways to provide transparency without making the environment a competitive one;
• The importance of mental health;

Steve Thomas, the Co-Founder and CEO of Vets Pets, joins us to discuss their unique growth business model and talk about the different types of financing based on the different types of seller economics. 

Learn more about how Vets Pets has evolved over the past 14 years, the idea of avoiding private equity money, the cost differences between de-novos and acquisitions and Steve sheds light onto the pros and cons of each. 

Topics discussed:

• Insight into the business’s acquisition economics;
• Why Vets Pets tries to avoid private equity money and how they structure their veterinary partners’ loans;
• Understanding the good-fit target partner;
• The differences in the costs of building de-novo versus acquisitions; 
• The long-term goals of Vets Pets;
• The benefits of being able to leverage assets across existing nearby practices;

Dr. Jaime Pickett, Chief Veterinary Officer at Pet Paradise, joined us for an interesting discussion about the importance of always being ready and willing to pivot quickly and the value of being open to the ever-changing drivers that affect vets.

Dr. Pickett shares her path from a veterinarian to franchising to CVO and why a business degree is beneficial for all vets, especially when moving into leadership roles.

Topics discussed:

• How Dr. Pickett went from veterinarian to franchising to CVO at Pet Paradise;
• Why holding a business degree is useful for all vets, especially when moving into leadership roles;
• Dr. Pickett reflects on client acquisition versus scaling veterinary services during COVID;
• The value of being open to the ever-changing drivers that affect vets and pivoting accordingly;
• Find out how Pet Paradise attracts talent by spotlighting the benefits of seeing happy, smiling pets rather than exclusively ill or injured ones;

Dr. Ivan Zak and Ryan Leech discuss the importance of a reliable support process in a veterinary group. In this episode, our hosts talk about the three main support components: help desk, knowledge base, and learning management systems.

We cover the importance of having a knowledge-accumulation process that should start from the very beginning of the organization, and the opportunity for the veterinary consolidator to streamline the process of hiring/firing, budgeting, and more.

Topics discussed:

• The definition of enterprise support organization;
• Three main support components;
• The importance of having established support at the inception;
• Parallels between software support and support in a veterinary group;
• The benefits of having enterprise support with a specialized team outsourced;
• How the symbiosis of ticketing system, knowledge base, and learning management system could be transformed into a valuable metric for the board;
• How the enterprise support organization removes bottlenecks in the consolidation value stream;

Our guest today, Andrew Schultz, Jr,  Director of Business Development & Clinical Services at Midmark Animal Health, talks about how dentistry can be applied as a strategy for consolidators, the importance of client education on the necessity of dental cleaning for their pets. 

During this episode, Ryan Leech and Dr. Ivan Zak discuss with Andrew how to determine the cost for optimizing dentistry in a veterinary clinic and ways to assess clinics prior to acquisition.

Topics discussed:

• How dentistry can be applied as a strategy for consolidators.
• How Andrew realized there was a lack of skills training and therefore an opportunity to provide post-graduate education around dentistry. 
• Baseline and benchmark training for the entire staff, including the front office staff, as a way to study program effectiveness.
• Doubling revenue through training
• The importance of client education on the necessity of dental cleaning for their pets.
• Andrew breaks down how to determine the cost for optimizing dentistry in a veterinary clinic.

Kison Patel, the Founder and CEO of DealRoom, joins Dr. Ivan and Ryan to discuss the difference between large corporate acquisitions and veterinary industry M&A.
Listen in to hear the fascinating the convergences and divergences between Kison’s journey and veterinary consolidation.

Topics discussed:

• The goal that Kison has for his book, Agile M&A, and the framework that developed from that;
• Similarities and differences between M&A in disparate verticals;
• Inefficiencies of the traditional approach to M&A;
• The role that Kison’s company, DealRoom, plays in the M&A process;
• A common post-acquisition problem and why good communication is the key to solving it;
• People-to-people issues are what make or break a deal, so listening to the HR perspective is essential.

Dr. Bob Murtaugh, the Chief Professional Relations Officer at Pathway Vet Alliance, states that communication is key when it comes to consolidation. Today’s episode is jam-packed with advice on how to make the consolidation process work for everyone involved. 

Our conversation explores the types of skills and educational backgrounds which make good regional managers, and the functions which need to be cultivated at both local and global levels. During this episode, Bob shares how they go about the recruiting process at Pathway and the largely untapped avenue they are beginning to utilize.

Topics discussed:

• Skills that are vital for regional managers at Pathway Vet Alliance; 
• Functions that need to be cultivated at a local level;
• Change management strategies that Bob utilizes;
• Why it is so important to have the whole team on board; 
• Bob’s tips for scaling;
• Platforms to advertise jobs or find people looking for work;
• AVMA’s new research study with graduate students;

Stewart Pollard is an engineer turned leadership coach and the founder of SHiFT Leadership Solutions. In today's episode of Consolidate That!, we talk to Stewart about why purpose is so important in the formation of culture in an organization and how leaders can best instill this in their teams.

So for all this and more about connecting people to purpose through process to achieve the ultimate goal, tune in today!

Topics discussed:

• Why purpose is so important in the culture formation of an organization;
• Being committed to the end goal and solving a customer’s problem;
• Establishing purpose through introspection and finding ‘why’;
• How to give the younger generation a sense of purpose in big corporate roles;
• Using stories to align coworkers to your purpose;
• The value of aligning the purpose of leadership and employees;