The Biz Deal Room Podcast

A Live Marketplace For Vets, Groomers And Pet Owners | Episode 138

GenFM with Matt and Steve

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0:00 | 4:01

Welcome And Deal Overview

SPEAKER_00

Welcome back to the BizDeal Room Podcast. I'm Matt Holland, co-founder of BizDealroom.com, the platform connecting Australian business owners, capital raisers, and deal makers with sophisticated investors, buyers, strategic partners and funders across Australia and internationally. With me as always is my co-host Steve. Steve, good to have you.

SPEAKER_01

Great to be here, Matt. So what are we looking at today?

A Live Marketplace In Pet Care

SPEAKER_00

Today we're profiling a live digital marketplace that sits inside Australia's pet care industry. And when I say live, I mean the platform is built, it's launched, it's operational. This isn't a concept deck, the business is trading.

SPEAKER_01

Okay, that's already interesting, because pet care is a massive spending category. I feel like everyone I know has a dog or a cat these days.

The Size Of Australia’s Pet Spend

SPEAKER_00

And the numbers here are genuinely striking. We're talking roughly 6.9 million Australian pet owning households. That's almost 70% of all households, and total annual spend on pet care is well north of $30 billion.

SPEAKER_01

Those are serious numbers. So what's the opportunity this business is going after?

Why Booking Pet Care Is Broken

SPEAKER_00

Here's the thing. Think about how you book a doctor's appointment today. You open an app, you find availability in your suburb, you're done in 60 seconds. Now try to book a vet or a groomer. Suddenly you're ringing clinics, scrolling through websites, posting in Facebook groups. It's 2026, and booking care for your pet is still stuck in the dark ages.

SPEAKER_01

Which is wild given how far booking technology has come in every other part of our lives.

SPEAKER_00

Right, and that's the gap this business has been built to close. It's a two-sided marketplace. Pet owners on one side, providers on the other, vets, groomers, trainers, sitters, walkers, daycare, all searchable from one place. And the owner side is free permanently.

SPEAKER_01

Keeping it free for pet owners makes a lot of sense for building that community quickly. So how does the platform generate revenue?

Subscriptions And Booking Fees Explained

SPEAKER_00

So the model's actually quite familiar if you've looked at other marketplace businesses. Think Health Engine, think Airbnb, think any well-run two-sided platform. Revenue comes from providers through tiered subscriptions with more powerful features unlocked at each level. And there's a transaction fee on completed bookings.

Solving The Marketplace Cold Start

SPEAKER_01

Now the big question with any marketplace business is always the chicken and egg problem. Providers won't join if there are no users. Users won't join if there are no providers. How have they cracked that?

SPEAKER_00

That's exactly the right question. And the way they've solved it is one of the most impressive things about this business. It's genuinely clever and it's proprietary. I won't give it away here because it's the founder's IP, but what I will say is that the cold start problem is solved. The information memorandum touches on it, and for serious parties who get into due diligence, the founder will walk you through the full picture.

SPEAKER_01

Okay, so the go to market's clearly well thought through. What else stands out about this one?

Lost Pet Register And Community Pull

SPEAKER_00

The Lost Pet Register. It's a free, real-time, community-powered feature. You post a lost or found animal and it mobilizes your local area immediately. Nothing like it exists in Australia. It drives the kind of organic emotional engagement that money can't buy. And the team behind it?

Built Bootstrapped By The Founder

SPEAKER_00

This is a fully bootstrapped business. The founder backed themselves, built the entire platform without any external capital, and got it to market. That's a rare thing, and it says a lot about the caliber of the person behind it.

SPEAKER_01

So what stage is the business at and what's next?

Capital Raise And Growth Priorities

SPEAKER_00

It's early stage. The platform launched in May 2026 and is pre-revenue. The founder is now seeking capital partners to fund the operational team, the native mobile build, and national provider acquisition. It's a well-constructed opportunity, but as with any early stage technology venture, there's execution work ahead.

SPEAKER_01

Matt, the groundwork is done, the platform is live, the business

How To Find The Opportunity

SPEAKER_01

is trading. For anyone listening right now who wants to get across this opportunity, where do they go?

SPEAKER_00

Head to BizDealroom.com and search for the listing ID ending in 4919, take a look at what's on offer, and like any business opportunity, make sure you complete your own due diligence. Each week we have new deals going live, so if you're a sophisticated investor, a business buyer, someone seeking a partnership, or a lender looking at private business funding, keep listening and keep an eye on

Weekly Deals And Closing

SPEAKER_00

the platform. Thanks for joining us. I'm Matt Holland, and this has been the Biz Deal Room Podcast.

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