March 23, 2024 • 25 mins
Discover the inspiring journey of Beth Green, CEO of Vetmedux. She takes us through her remarkable transition from veterinary publishing into a leader of tech innovation in this field.
As the brains behind Clinicians Brief, Beth's tale is one of pioneering spirit and ingenuity, turning a stack of unread journals into an essential resource for vets everywhere.
Her company's strategic acquisition of Plumb's Veterinary Drugs is just one highlight of how Vetmedux has become a staple in every veterinarian's toolkit.
Special mentions:
Caleb Frankel
Indu Mani
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Ira (00:04):
Hello and welcome.
I am Ira Gordon and, along withStacee Santi, the host of The
Accidental Entrepreneurs podcast.
We each previously foundedsuccessful companies Along the
way.
We became business owners andeventually sold those businesses
despite us having no realbackground in business or ever
even planning to becomeentrepreneurs.
In other words, we did this alldespite originally having no
(00:25):
idea what we were doing orgetting ourselves into.
In each episode of this podcast, we will share stories and tips
from our journey and we'llanswer a randomly chosen
question about our experience.
Let's jump right into the show.
Stacee (00:41):
Alright, guys, we're in for a special treat today.
We have the CEO of Vetmeduxhere with us, Beth Green, and I
have known Beth for quite awhile because I was so fortunate
that she was one of my advisorson my advisory board for Vet2
Pet.
And the way I got to know you,beth, was I was looking around
(01:04):
for advisors and our friend,Martin Traub-Werner, said "you
have to meet Beth Green.
She's a badass and she's goingto help you build this company.
So I said I would be honored tomeet her.
Do you think she would meetwith me?
And then I reached out to youand you said yes, and it's been
(01:27):
amazing because you yourselfhave quite the company.
Beth (01:32):
Oh my gosh.
Well, thank you, yeah, and, bythe way, I heard that I should
meet you too, because I heardthere was this amazing
veterinarian who's thisincredible entrepreneur, who was
building this incredibleproduct, and so it was.
Yeah, it was mutually excitingfor us to connect.
Stacee (01:52):
Yeah, match made in heaven.
Yes, for sure.
So tell us, let me just fill inour listeners.
Brief Media, Plumbs, PlumbsPro, Clinicians Brief.
All of this is yours and yourecently rebranded to Vetmedux
(02:12):
and you've got some excitingnews that you're going to share
here at the end.
But to get started, tell us alittle bit about how you got
your idea and how you gotstarted with your company.
Beth (02:24):
Yeah, that's, I think, a great story.
I was working for a companythen called Veterinary Learning
Systems.
Veterinary Learning Systems wasa publisher and they produced
the compendium on continuingeducation, Veterinary Technician
(02:45):
magazine, the Equine VeterinaryJournal in North America.
Then we're also very integralin helping our founder was in
helping start NAVC.
So during my time with them, Inoticed that every time I went
into a veterinary hospital andwent into the office of the
(03:07):
veterinary, there would be thishuge stack of journals I'm
familiar, yeah, and when you'republishing a journal, you're
like, oh my goodness, this is.
You always wanted yours to beon top, and so when I began,
there was a time I decided totake some time off and raise my
(03:29):
two children.
They were about a year and ahalf a part, and so I took some
time off and went back and didmy MBA at that time, and so I
was forced to or a marketingclass, develop a new product and
then a marketing plan.
And so I kept thinking, okay,what kind of a product would I
build?
And I felt, wow, that was aproblem I saw years ago in
(03:50):
veterinary hospitals.
How would I do that?
And so, just happenstance, Imet a pediatrician who at the
time was doing reviews of allthe current pediatric literature
and then putting it on at thetime this tells you how long ago
on cassette tapes.
So the people I know, yeah, sothe people could listen.
(04:13):
If you're a pediatrician youcan listen to those on the way
to the office and back and stayup to date on all of the current
pediatric literature.
And I did some work with himand I thought, wow, what if we
built something like that inveterinary medicine?
So I began going to the medicallibrary, began meeting with
(04:34):
veterinarians, eventually doingfocus groups, and just listened,
just listened and put togethera journal that had everything
that they said they wanted.
It ended up being wildlysuccessful.
Stacee (04:51):
That was that.
Clinicians Brief, right?
Was that the name of it whenyou first started?
Beth (04:56):
Yeah, it was Clinicians Brief.
Yeah, we never changed the nameand we've changed our company
name multiple times, that right.
But yeah, Clinicians Brief wasalways Clinicians Brief and we
partnered, took the idea to theNorth American Veterinary
Conference conference and so forthe first nearly decade and a
(05:16):
half it was the official journalof the NAVC.
It was a great partnership forboth of us along the way.
But, yeah, the publication justreally resonated with people in
the industry and continued.
As we saw reading habits beginto change.
(05:38):
When we launched it there werewebsites at that time, but they
certainly the internet and theamount of information available
on the internet and the userexperience was completely
different than what it is now.
So it was still a print centricworld.
A couple of decades ago, whichseems like a century ago now
(06:01):
that was our first product andthen, about 10 years in, I
realized I said wow, it's reallygreat that we have this
successful publication thatpeople love to read and would
always send us great, greatnotes about a particular case
that had helped them.
(06:22):
They'd say I got the journal onWednesday and on Friday that
case walked into my office andhere I was prepared.
So it was always great to hearthose kinds of comments.
But a decade later I realizedthat a veterinarian doesn't have
to read Clinicians' Brief everyday to be successful.
(06:44):
What is the essential kind ofinformation that they need every
single day?
And in most cases, every singlecase right.
And so Indu Mani was on ourstaff and she said oh well, you
know that would be Plumbs.
She said I think we should gotalk to Dr Plumb.
So I began looking at Plumbsand, of course, I had was very
(07:09):
familiar with Plumbs.
Every time we looked at doing aformulary on our website, every
time I talked with somebodyabout what formulary they use
whether it was a university orsomeone they'd say, oh, we use
this one, but you know, it'sjust not as good as Plumbs.
And I kept hearing that overand over again.
And so Indu said well, I know DrPlumb.
(07:31):
He was in charge of clinicswhen I was doing my residency at
Minnesota and introduced me tohim, and so I proposed to him
that he let us take his legacyof Plumbs and build a digital
platform with it.
And one of the questions heasked me was exactly how many of
(07:56):
these have you built before?
Well, none.
But here's why.
Here's why you should trust usand talk to with him a little
bit about what we have done withClinicians Brief, and he
certainly had had the vision awhile ago that wouldn't it be
great if I could take you know,all of this treatment
(08:19):
information in Plumbs andconnected with diagnostic
information or case reports oryou know broader content?
I think he must have trustedIndu.
He must have I don't knowfigured he was going to take a
wild bet on me and we built theproduct.
What year was that?
NAVC of January 2015.
(08:41):
So it's been nine years now andyou know, today we have over
38,000 individual subscribers toPlumbs and, of course,
corporate sponsors, a lot ofpharmacies, some of the big
chains we have in our nationwide.
(09:01):
We have subscribers in, I think, 130 different countries and
anyways, though it's yeah, it'sreally great to see how that
product is grown, and I rememberone time speaking to a
veterinarian who was a youngassociate to see year or two out
of school in a 15-doctorpractice in Australia and she
(09:26):
said do you know how much timethat you have saved me not
having to run through thatpractice and figure out who had
the book?
Stacee (09:33):
Exactly.
There was always just one,maybe two books, if you were
lucky, and then when you get anew addition, I graduated when
it was a red book, and then theyreleased the green book, and so
you're always like I want thegreen one, though.
Who's got the green book?
Well, you can have the red book.
This weird conversation goingon.
Beth (09:54):
Right, yeah, it was a big deal every year to figure out
what color the next cover wasgoing to be, and apparently the
original one was orange.
It's not the first addition,but the original hand-done one I
think that he put togetherbecause they called it the
orange virus, because everybodywanted it one.
(10:17):
So I have yet to see one,though I'm dying to see one.
Stacee (10:22):
So you met with Dr.
Plumb.
You got your meeting throughmutual connection and you
convinced Dr.
Plumb to let you turn thisthing digital and then you just
went for it.
Then what happened?
You've got people like easily,like this was easy to adopt, I
would imagine, because peopleknew the product and now it was
(10:45):
just now able to get it on theirphone.
Were you just at that pointcontent or did you decide
there's more for me to do?
Beth (10:57):
So we launched it in 15 and then it was already 16.
The end of 16 we said what?
What is next?
And so we said Up- to-D ate.
You know, Up- to-D ate is youso widely in human medicine and
I had a friend of mine who wasan author for up to date and so
(11:17):
it was very familiar with howthat process worked and how
widely used it was.
My own GP used it and what isit?
I don't even know.
Up-to-D ate is?
It's a diagnostic and treatmentplatform for human physicians.
I can't remember how many youknow tens of thousands of
subscribers they have right now,but mainly for GPs.
(11:39):
So anyway, we wanted to buildthe Up- to-D ate, if you will,
for veterinary medicine.
So that was the next phase andwe had looked at you know, is
there somebody else out therethat already has a written,
written format like Plumbs thatwe could adopt to to digital and
(12:00):
didn't find anything that ourveterinary team would approve of
that we didn't have to makelots of edits to to get it in
the format we needed.
So we decided to build thecontent from the ground up.
So which is is not the it's notthe easiest thing to do, but
certainly the path that we'vebeen down.
(12:21):
And you know I was talking witha couple of pros, subscribers
and at VMX that you know.
He said I'm in this every dayand I need to get my my techs in
here too.
How do I do that?
So we got him set up to to getall of his techs in there as
well.
Stacee (12:38):
So anyway, you're just digitizing everything.
Beth (12:42):
Well, and it's the way, it's the wave of the future,
right?
We?
You know, and I think we seethat in veterinary medicine it's
still lags, you know, behindhow they've embraced technology
in the human market and you knowthey've had maybe some other
factors like health insuranceand things like that, that have
(13:03):
really pushed that much, muchfurther in human medicine than
it has in veterinary medicine.
But we're on the cusp of thosechanges coming, you know, in the
next couple of years, right.
Stacee (13:16):
Yeah, for sure it feels like it's getting really fast
all the sudden, doesn't it?
Right, it does so.
Last week you made a hugeVetmedux that has been acquired
by Instinct.
To tell us all about that.
We want the inside track here.
Beth (13:35):
Okay, well, so the inside track.
Yeah, yes, the big news is Igot a demotion.
I'm no longer president ofVetmedux! But yes, we got
acquired by Instinct Science.
And when I was getting ready,you know, to embark upon this
journey of building the digitalversion of Plumbs, I often tell
(14:01):
Indu Mani, our Chief ScientificOfficer, Indu, I wish I would
have gone to veterinary school,even if I wasn't going to
practice, just so I had, youknow, the perspective and the
insight right.
And so I knew that I had tohave somebody that really
understood workflow in apractice and understood the
(14:26):
problem of how to build this,you know, to make it right.
So, for instance, one of thebig things that we heard from
vet, our nurses, is that theywould work in a practice and
everyone would write their notesin the book, right, and then
whoever owned the book wouldleave and go to a different
practice and they took the noteswith them and they were
(14:47):
devastated.
And so we're like, oh wait, wecan fix that, we can fix that
With digital right, that we cankeep notes, you know, even have
your subscription changes, so.
But I needed somebody whounderstood that, and so I was
introduced to Caleb Frankel backthen and I say that I
(15:08):
eventually borrowed him frompractice for a couple of years
to come and really become ourDirector of Development and
Business Development.
So he worked with us on Plumbsand then we, you know, again as
we began to think about buildingup to date, and then he was
even then saying we've got tofix this problem of having a
(15:30):
better PIMS or EMR in thismarket.
Right, and we knew that too,because we had done some
research, trying to figure outwhat were the things that
veterinarians looked up everyday in practice to make sure
that as we were building this,we were addressing what was
really happening in practice.
And I remember the researchcompany came back to us and they
(15:51):
said, "hey, forget about thatup to date thing.
Could you build an EMR?
Because everyone, everyone,dislikes the one they're using.
And so we didn't embark on that.
But Caleb eventually did, youknow, left Vetmedux and at the
time Brief Media and went on anddeveloped Instinct Science then
.
So anyway, and have done areally good job in primarily
(16:14):
specialty, emergency anduniversity clinic settings.
So anyway.
So, as we began to look at thenext step, you know where is
technology going over the nextcouple of years?
And making sure that essentialinformation is there when you
need it, right and the rightinformation in the right place.
(16:38):
And so we know that, even withPlumbs and with the Pro
information, it needs to beintegrated right into workflow.
And then, when we connectedback with Caleb and found out
that our purpose was to care forcare takers you know the
veterinary caregivers and hishis was also the same thing.
(16:59):
You know how many times do youfind somebody in business when
you're looking at comingtogether, where your North Star
is exactly the same?
Yeah, so, and of course, ourteam and staff already knew and
had very high regards for forCaleb.
So, yes, this, we think, is areally great move for us.
(17:23):
It doesn't prevent us fromworking outside of you know,
other systems in and workingwith other other clients, other,
you know, pims clients, etc.
We want Plumbs to be everywhereand Caleb and his team are very
committed to that.
So, anyway, so, yes, I'm, I'mexcited and and it's great, I
(17:47):
think you know, as anentrepreneur, you've, I know I
have likely experienced that itcan be lonely, sometimes right,
like one day something happensand you're like we're killing it
, we're amazing, and you're, youknow, you're really excited.
And then the next day somethingelse happens and you're like,
(18:09):
oh my god, we're gonna go out ofbusiness.
And those are the two extremes.
I'm talking vastly in between,right, you know, because you
tell yourself stories that youknow that may be a little bit
more dramatic than they reallyare, and so it's.
It was really great for me tocome back and Caleb's expertise
(18:34):
and, first of all, he's aveterinarian and even though I
might still I don't know somedaygo to veterinary school, he, he
has that perspective and he'sdone a really great job of
building both a culture ofinnovation but also phenomenal
service of people that are justhighly dedicated to, you know,
(18:58):
to doing what they do best,which is caring for their
clients and the and thesubscribers that they do have
for their instinct products.
So, yeah, I'm super excited andit's really great to be back
kind of dreaming, innovating andgetting ready to see what we
can build next.
Stacee (19:16):
Well, it's a great story and I know everyone's just
going to want you to reassure us.
And nothing's happening toClinicians Brief, and nothing's
happening to Plumbs, because youhave mastered two products that
veterinarians absolutely can'tlive without, yeah, and I think
you know I laugh about reallywish and I had gone to
(19:37):
veterinary school.
Beth (19:38):
But sometimes I wonder to Stacee if that wasn't part of
what help make it good, right?
Is like I had to rely onsomebody else to tell me.
I had to listen so intentlyright to somebody else
describing the problem for methat you know who knows.
(19:59):
And then I had the right peopleon the team right.
So I have incredible people,people like Indu.
She was a subscriber toClinicians the very first year.
And so it's been great to havegreat people you know that have
been a part of that along theway, including Caleb right that
(20:20):
helped build that out.
Stacee (20:22):
So, yeah, wow, it's just great.
You deserve all the success.
Beth (20:27):
Oh well, thank you.
Thank you, it'll be fun, yeah,so the only thing that will
change with those two productsis that they're going to get
better.
Stacee (20:36):
I like that.
Well, I want to ask you a finalquestion before we wrap up.
What advice would you give anentrepreneur that's up and
coming?
Beth (20:48):
Wow.
Well, first of all, I think itrelates back to the story that I
just said, and that's that,know what your North Star is
right?
What is it that you'repassionate about?
What is it that you're tryingto accomplish?
And don't ever lose sight ofthat, Because and I'm sure you
(21:10):
can attest to this, being anentrepreneur it's a marathon,
not a sprint, and I know inthose early, especially the
first year, I was fueled byadrenaline.
You're so excited abouteverything that you're doing.
I lost 10 pounds.
I lost 10 pounds because I wasso fueled by adrenaline that I
(21:32):
would forget to eat.
You know, oh, my gosh, yeah.
And so, anyway, that finallygot itself worked out and I no
longer have that problem.
And the other thing to do isdon't let someone come and tell
you you have to do it this way.
I see you know you've got, ifyou say true to who you are and
(21:55):
you definitely you know you wantto talk to everyone that you
respect and admire to getinsights into what works and
what doesn't work.
But there's no one way to do it, and each of us have different
skills and passions and waysthat we conquer the world on a
(22:16):
daily basis, and so those arethe things that you want to stay
true to is doing what you dobest, and I love it.
I think several years ago therewas a friend I know, a female
veterinarian, who decided shewas going to become a practice
owner, and she told me the storyabout meeting with a consultant
(22:36):
and she laid out her planhere's what I'm going to do and
her husband was in business, soshe had run everything by him.
She met with the consultant andhe told her you cannot do this,
this is not the way we do it.
This is the model that works.
You will fail.
(22:57):
And I remember her telling methat she went home and she
talked to her husband andrethought everything and she
said no, I think I'm areasonably smart person, I think
I've gotten good.
And so she went out with herplan.
She was wildly successful.
She was in the black, I don'tknow month two, month three,
went on to hire specialists, etcetera.
(23:19):
And so I throw that out, notbecause I mean I'm sure that
there were other models outthere that worked, but it didn't
mean that hers wasn't going towork.
And so I think you have to betrue to who you are and, like I
say, not forget that, north star, but keeping focused on where
you want to be in the long termwill change, I think, how you do
(23:42):
things on a daily basis.
Stacee (23:43):
So great advice, really, really great.
Thank you for sharing, and I'mgoing to twist your arm and see
if you will join me for one moreepisode and take a shot with me
at spinning the wheel ofstarting questions.
Beth (24:00):
I've always wanted to do like wheel of fortune.
Stacee (24:03):
Yeah, it's like wheel of fortune.
Beth (24:04):
It's like a wheel of fortune of veterinary podcasts.
Yeah, it's exciting of course.
Stacee (24:10):
Ok, well, let's spin the wheel and we'll see what our
question will be, and then youguys can join us for the next
episode to hear the answer.
Ok, here we go, I'm going tospin the wheel.
So the question is "how did youfind your business partner?
Beth (24:31):
Oh wow, that is a great questions, Stacee.
Stacee (24:38):
We'll see you next week and you can hear best answer in
my answer.
See you guys.
Thanks for listening to theshow today.
Hello and welcome.
I am Ira Gordon and, along withStacee Santi, the host of The
Accidental Entrepreneurs podcast.
We each previously foundedsuccessful companies Along the
way.
We became business owners andeventually sold those businesses
despite us having no realbackground in business or ever
even planning to becomeentrepreneurs.
In other words, we did this alldespite originally having no
(00:25):
idea what we were doing orgetting ourselves into.
In each episode of this podcast, we will share stories and tips
from our journey and we'llanswer a randomly chosen
question about our experience.
Let's jump right into the show.
Stacee (00:41):
Alright, guys, we're in for a special treat today.
We have the CEO of Vetmeduxhere with us, Beth Green, and I
have known Beth for quite awhile because I was so fortunate
that she was one of my advisorson my advisory board for Vet2
Pet.
And the way I got to know you,beth, was I was looking around
(01:04):
for advisors and our friend,Martin Traub-Werner, said "you
have to meet Beth Green.
She's a badass and she's goingto help you build this company.
So I said I would be honored tomeet her.
Do you think she would meetwith me?
And then I reached out to youand you said yes, and it's been
(01:27):
amazing because you yourselfhave quite the company.
Beth (01:32):
Oh my gosh.
Well, thank you, yeah, and, bythe way, I heard that I should
meet you too, because I heardthere was this amazing
veterinarian who's thisincredible entrepreneur, who was
building this incredibleproduct, and so it was.
Yeah, it was mutually excitingfor us to connect.
Stacee (01:52):
Yeah, match made in heaven.
Yes, for sure.
So tell us, let me just fill inour listeners.
Brief Media, Plumbs, PlumbsPro, Clinicians Brief.
All of this is yours and yourecently rebranded to Vetmedux
(02:12):
and you've got some excitingnews that you're going to share
here at the end.
But to get started, tell us alittle bit about how you got
your idea and how you gotstarted with your company.
Beth (02:24):
Yeah, that's, I think, a great story.
I was working for a companythen called Veterinary Learning
Systems.
Veterinary Learning Systems wasa publisher and they produced
the compendium on continuingeducation, Veterinary Technician
(02:45):
magazine, the Equine VeterinaryJournal in North America.
Then we're also very integralin helping our founder was in
helping start NAVC.
So during my time with them, Inoticed that every time I went
into a veterinary hospital andwent into the office of the
(03:07):
veterinary, there would be thishuge stack of journals I'm
familiar, yeah, and when you'republishing a journal, you're
like, oh my goodness, this is.
You always wanted yours to beon top, and so when I began,
there was a time I decided totake some time off and raise my
(03:29):
two children.
They were about a year and ahalf a part, and so I took some
time off and went back and didmy MBA at that time, and so I
was forced to or a marketingclass, develop a new product and
then a marketing plan.
And so I kept thinking, okay,what kind of a product would I
build?
And I felt, wow, that was aproblem I saw years ago in
(03:50):
veterinary hospitals.
How would I do that?
And so, just happenstance, Imet a pediatrician who at the
time was doing reviews of allthe current pediatric literature
and then putting it on at thetime this tells you how long ago
on cassette tapes.
So the people I know, yeah, sothe people could listen.
(04:13):
If you're a pediatrician youcan listen to those on the way
to the office and back and stayup to date on all of the current
pediatric literature.
And I did some work with himand I thought, wow, what if we
built something like that inveterinary medicine?
So I began going to the medicallibrary, began meeting with
(04:34):
veterinarians, eventually doingfocus groups, and just listened,
just listened and put togethera journal that had everything
that they said they wanted.
It ended up being wildlysuccessful.
Stacee (04:51):
That was that.
Clinicians Brief, right?
Was that the name of it whenyou first started?
Beth (04:56):
Yeah, it was Clinicians Brief.
Yeah, we never changed the nameand we've changed our company
name multiple times, that right.
But yeah, Clinicians Brief wasalways Clinicians Brief and we
partnered, took the idea to theNorth American Veterinary
Conference conference and so forthe first nearly decade and a
(05:16):
half it was the official journalof the NAVC.
It was a great partnership forboth of us along the way.
But, yeah, the publication justreally resonated with people in
the industry and continued.
As we saw reading habits beginto change.
(05:38):
When we launched it there werewebsites at that time, but they
certainly the internet and theamount of information available
on the internet and the userexperience was completely
different than what it is now.
So it was still a print centricworld.
A couple of decades ago, whichseems like a century ago now
(06:01):
that was our first product andthen, about 10 years in, I
realized I said wow, it's reallygreat that we have this
successful publication thatpeople love to read and would
always send us great, greatnotes about a particular case
that had helped them.
(06:22):
They'd say I got the journal onWednesday and on Friday that
case walked into my office andhere I was prepared.
So it was always great to hearthose kinds of comments.
But a decade later I realizedthat a veterinarian doesn't have
to read Clinicians' Brief everyday to be successful.
(06:44):
What is the essential kind ofinformation that they need every
single day?
And in most cases, every singlecase right.
And so Indu Mani was on ourstaff and she said oh well, you
know that would be Plumbs.
She said I think we should gotalk to Dr Plumb.
So I began looking at Plumbsand, of course, I had was very
(07:09):
familiar with Plumbs.
Every time we looked at doing aformulary on our website, every
time I talked with somebodyabout what formulary they use
whether it was a university orsomeone they'd say, oh, we use
this one, but you know, it'sjust not as good as Plumbs.
And I kept hearing that overand over again.
And so Indu said well, I know DrPlumb.
(07:31):
He was in charge of clinicswhen I was doing my residency at
Minnesota and introduced me tohim, and so I proposed to him
that he let us take his legacyof Plumbs and build a digital
platform with it.
And one of the questions heasked me was exactly how many of
(07:56):
these have you built before?
Well, none.
But here's why.
Here's why you should trust usand talk to with him a little
bit about what we have done withClinicians Brief, and he
certainly had had the vision awhile ago that wouldn't it be
great if I could take you know,all of this treatment
(08:19):
information in Plumbs andconnected with diagnostic
information or case reports oryou know broader content?
I think he must have trustedIndu.
He must have I don't knowfigured he was going to take a
wild bet on me and we built theproduct.
What year was that?
NAVC of January 2015.
(08:41):
So it's been nine years now andyou know, today we have over
38,000 individual subscribers toPlumbs and, of course,
corporate sponsors, a lot ofpharmacies, some of the big
chains we have in our nationwide.
(09:01):
We have subscribers in, I think, 130 different countries and
anyways, though it's yeah, it'sreally great to see how that
product is grown, and I rememberone time speaking to a
veterinarian who was a youngassociate to see year or two out
of school in a 15-doctorpractice in Australia and she
(09:26):
said do you know how much timethat you have saved me not
having to run through thatpractice and figure out who had
the book?
Stacee (09:33):
Exactly.
There was always just one,maybe two books, if you were
lucky, and then when you get anew addition, I graduated when
it was a red book, and then theyreleased the green book, and so
you're always like I want thegreen one, though.
Who's got the green book?
Well, you can have the red book.
This weird conversation goingon.
Beth (09:54):
Right, yeah, it was a big deal every year to figure out
what color the next cover wasgoing to be, and apparently the
original one was orange.
It's not the first addition,but the original hand-done one I
think that he put togetherbecause they called it the
orange virus, because everybodywanted it one.
(10:17):
So I have yet to see one,though I'm dying to see one.
Stacee (10:22):
So you met with Dr.
Plumb.
You got your meeting throughmutual connection and you
convinced Dr.
Plumb to let you turn thisthing digital and then you just
went for it.
Then what happened?
You've got people like easily,like this was easy to adopt, I
would imagine, because peopleknew the product and now it was
(10:45):
just now able to get it on theirphone.
Were you just at that pointcontent or did you decide
there's more for me to do?
Beth (10:57):
So we launched it in 15 and then it was already 16.
The end of 16 we said what?
What is next?
And so we said Up- to-D ate.
You know, Up- to-D ate is youso widely in human medicine and
I had a friend of mine who wasan author for up to date and so
(11:17):
it was very familiar with howthat process worked and how
widely used it was.
My own GP used it and what isit?
I don't even know.
Up-to-D ate is?
It's a diagnostic and treatmentplatform for human physicians.
I can't remember how many youknow tens of thousands of
subscribers they have right now,but mainly for GPs.
(11:39):
So anyway, we wanted to buildthe Up- to-D ate, if you will,
for veterinary medicine.
So that was the next phase andwe had looked at you know, is
there somebody else out therethat already has a written,
written format like Plumbs thatwe could adopt to to digital and
(12:00):
didn't find anything that ourveterinary team would approve of
that we didn't have to makelots of edits to to get it in
the format we needed.
So we decided to build thecontent from the ground up.
So which is is not the it's notthe easiest thing to do, but
certainly the path that we'vebeen down.
(12:21):
And you know I was talking witha couple of pros, subscribers
and at VMX that you know.
He said I'm in this every dayand I need to get my my techs in
here too.
How do I do that?
So we got him set up to to getall of his techs in there as
well.
Stacee (12:38):
So anyway, you're just digitizing everything.
Beth (12:42):
Well, and it's the way, it's the wave of the future,
right?
We?
You know, and I think we seethat in veterinary medicine it's
still lags, you know, behindhow they've embraced technology
in the human market and you knowthey've had maybe some other
factors like health insuranceand things like that, that have
(13:03):
really pushed that much, muchfurther in human medicine than
it has in veterinary medicine.
But we're on the cusp of thosechanges coming, you know, in the
next couple of years, right.
Stacee (13:16):
Yeah, for sure it feels like it's getting really fast
all the sudden, doesn't it?
Right, it does so.
Last week you made a hugeVetmedux that has been acquired
by Instinct.
To tell us all about that.
We want the inside track here.
Beth (13:35):
Okay, well, so the inside track.
Yeah, yes, the big news is Igot a demotion.
I'm no longer president ofVetmedux! But yes, we got
acquired by Instinct Science.
And when I was getting ready,you know, to embark upon this
journey of building the digitalversion of Plumbs, I often tell
(14:01):
Indu Mani, our Chief ScientificOfficer, Indu, I wish I would
have gone to veterinary school,even if I wasn't going to
practice, just so I had, youknow, the perspective and the
insight right.
And so I knew that I had tohave somebody that really
understood workflow in apractice and understood the
(14:26):
problem of how to build this,you know, to make it right.
So, for instance, one of thebig things that we heard from
vet, our nurses, is that theywould work in a practice and
everyone would write their notesin the book, right, and then
whoever owned the book wouldleave and go to a different
practice and they took the noteswith them and they were
(14:47):
devastated.
And so we're like, oh wait, wecan fix that, we can fix that
With digital right, that we cankeep notes, you know, even have
your subscription changes, so.
But I needed somebody whounderstood that, and so I was
introduced to Caleb Frankel backthen and I say that I
(15:08):
eventually borrowed him frompractice for a couple of years
to come and really become ourDirector of Development and
Business Development.
So he worked with us on Plumbsand then we, you know, again as
we began to think about buildingup to date, and then he was
even then saying we've got tofix this problem of having a
(15:30):
better PIMS or EMR in thismarket.
Right, and we knew that too,because we had done some
research, trying to figure outwhat were the things that
veterinarians looked up everyday in practice to make sure
that as we were building this,we were addressing what was
really happening in practice.
And I remember the researchcompany came back to us and they
(15:51):
said, "hey, forget about thatup to date thing.
Could you build an EMR?
Because everyone, everyone,dislikes the one they're using.
And so we didn't embark on that.
But Caleb eventually did, youknow, left Vetmedux and at the
time Brief Media and went on anddeveloped Instinct Science then
.
So anyway, and have done areally good job in primarily
(16:14):
specialty, emergency anduniversity clinic settings.
So anyway.
So, as we began to look at thenext step, you know where is
technology going over the nextcouple of years?
And making sure that essentialinformation is there when you
need it, right and the rightinformation in the right place.
(16:38):
And so we know that, even withPlumbs and with the Pro
information, it needs to beintegrated right into workflow.
And then, when we connectedback with Caleb and found out
that our purpose was to care forcare takers you know the
veterinary caregivers and hishis was also the same thing.
(16:59):
You know how many times do youfind somebody in business when
you're looking at comingtogether, where your North Star
is exactly the same?
Yeah, so, and of course, ourteam and staff already knew and
had very high regards for forCaleb.
So, yes, this, we think, is areally great move for us.
(17:23):
It doesn't prevent us fromworking outside of you know,
other systems in and workingwith other other clients, other,
you know, pims clients, etc.
We want Plumbs to be everywhereand Caleb and his team are very
committed to that.
So, anyway, so, yes, I'm, I'mexcited and and it's great, I
(17:47):
think you know, as anentrepreneur, you've, I know I
have likely experienced that itcan be lonely, sometimes right,
like one day something happensand you're like we're killing it
, we're amazing, and you're, youknow, you're really excited.
And then the next day somethingelse happens and you're like,
(18:09):
oh my god, we're gonna go out ofbusiness.
And those are the two extremes.
I'm talking vastly in between,right, you know, because you
tell yourself stories that youknow that may be a little bit
more dramatic than they reallyare, and so it's.
It was really great for me tocome back and Caleb's expertise
(18:34):
and, first of all, he's aveterinarian and even though I
might still I don't know somedaygo to veterinary school, he, he
has that perspective and he'sdone a really great job of
building both a culture ofinnovation but also phenomenal
service of people that are justhighly dedicated to, you know,
(18:58):
to doing what they do best,which is caring for their
clients and the and thesubscribers that they do have
for their instinct products.
So, yeah, I'm super excited andit's really great to be back
kind of dreaming, innovating andgetting ready to see what we
can build next.
Stacee (19:16):
Well, it's a great story and I know everyone's just
going to want you to reassure us.
And nothing's happening toClinicians Brief, and nothing's
happening to Plumbs, because youhave mastered two products that
veterinarians absolutely can'tlive without, yeah, and I think
you know I laugh about reallywish and I had gone to
(19:37):
veterinary school.
Beth (19:38):
But sometimes I wonder to Stacee if that wasn't part of
what help make it good, right?
Is like I had to rely onsomebody else to tell me.
I had to listen so intentlyright to somebody else
describing the problem for methat you know who knows.
(19:59):
And then I had the right peopleon the team right.
So I have incredible people,people like Indu.
She was a subscriber toClinicians the very first year.
And so it's been great to havegreat people you know that have
been a part of that along theway, including Caleb right that
(20:20):
helped build that out.
Stacee (20:22):
So, yeah, wow, it's just great.
You deserve all the success.
Beth (20:27):
Oh well, thank you.
Thank you, it'll be fun, yeah,so the only thing that will
change with those two productsis that they're going to get
better.
Stacee (20:36):
I like that.
Well, I want to ask you a finalquestion before we wrap up.
What advice would you give anentrepreneur that's up and
coming?
Beth (20:48):
Wow.
Well, first of all, I think itrelates back to the story that I
just said, and that's that,know what your North Star is
right?
What is it that you'repassionate about?
What is it that you're tryingto accomplish?
And don't ever lose sight ofthat, Because and I'm sure you
(21:10):
can attest to this, being anentrepreneur it's a marathon,
not a sprint, and I know inthose early, especially the
first year, I was fueled byadrenaline.
You're so excited abouteverything that you're doing.
I lost 10 pounds.
I lost 10 pounds because I wasso fueled by adrenaline that I
(21:32):
would forget to eat.
You know, oh, my gosh, yeah.
And so, anyway, that finallygot itself worked out and I no
longer have that problem.
And the other thing to do isdon't let someone come and tell
you you have to do it this way.
I see you know you've got, ifyou say true to who you are and
(21:55):
you definitely you know you wantto talk to everyone that you
respect and admire to getinsights into what works and
what doesn't work.
But there's no one way to do it, and each of us have different
skills and passions and waysthat we conquer the world on a
(22:16):
daily basis, and so those arethe things that you want to stay
true to is doing what you dobest, and I love it.
I think several years ago therewas a friend I know, a female
veterinarian, who decided shewas going to become a practice
owner, and she told me the storyabout meeting with a consultant
(22:36):
and she laid out her planhere's what I'm going to do and
her husband was in business, soshe had run everything by him.
She met with the consultant andhe told her you cannot do this,
this is not the way we do it.
This is the model that works.
You will fail.
(22:57):
And I remember her telling methat she went home and she
talked to her husband andrethought everything and she
said no, I think I'm areasonably smart person, I think
I've gotten good.
And so she went out with herplan.
She was wildly successful.
She was in the black, I don'tknow month two, month three,
went on to hire specialists, etcetera.
(23:19):
And so I throw that out, notbecause I mean I'm sure that
there were other models outthere that worked, but it didn't
mean that hers wasn't going towork.
And so I think you have to betrue to who you are and, like I
say, not forget that, north star, but keeping focused on where
you want to be in the long termwill change, I think, how you do
(23:42):
things on a daily basis.
Stacee (23:43):
So great advice, really, really great.
Thank you for sharing, and I'mgoing to twist your arm and see
if you will join me for one moreepisode and take a shot with me
at spinning the wheel ofstarting questions.
Beth (24:00):
I've always wanted to do like wheel of fortune.
Stacee (24:03):
Yeah, it's like wheel of fortune.
Beth (24:04):
It's like a wheel of fortune of veterinary podcasts.
Yeah, it's exciting of course.
Stacee (24:10):
Ok, well, let's spin the wheel and we'll see what our
question will be, and then youguys can join us for the next
episode to hear the answer.
Ok, here we go, I'm going tospin the wheel.
So the question is "how did youfind your business partner?
Beth (24:31):
Oh wow, that is a great questions, Stacee.
Stacee (24:38):
We'll see you next week and you can hear best answer in
my answer.
See you guys.
Thanks for listening to theshow today.
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