• Napo

  Participated · Series B · Feb 2025

  Napo operates a digital-first pet insurance platform that offers lifetime coverage including dental care, 24/7 vet access, behavioural consultations, and preventive care. Its platform reduces administrative costs and processes claims through an online system, and it offers multi-pet discounts to encourage larger household bundles. The company emphasizes AI-driven claims handling combined with human expertise to increase efficiency and empathy. Napo reports an NPS of 70+ and standout Trustpilot reviews as indicators of customer satisfaction. The business model focuses on controlling the full value chain to deliver seamless experiences for pet parents. The new funding will be used to strengthen AI and automation capabilities, drive market share growth, grow the team, and support geographic expansion; to date Napo has raised approximately £30M. Napo combines pet insurance with preventative health and education services aimed at improving pet wellbeing. Its offerings include 24/7 online vet consultations, obesity awareness resources and expert-led live classes for puppy training. The company launched last December and claims to have insured over 35,000 pets in the year since launch. Napo emphasizes owner education and preventative care as a route to better pet health and lower claims. Leadership says the model aligns stakeholders to reduce claims, lower premiums and increase customer satisfaction. The business has just completed a £15 million Series A to support growth and product expansion.

• Smalls

  Led · Equity · Mar 2023

  Smalls is a cat-only fresh pet food brand that makes ultra-high-protein, human-grade fresh meals formulated for feline long-term health. The company positions its products as avoiding carbs, grains, and unnecessary ingredients common in many cat foods. Smalls says its food yields healthier, more energetic cats and has created a community and conversation among cat owners. Founded in 2017, the brand emphasizes cat-specific nutrition after decades of pet brands focusing on dogs. Financially, Smalls had previously raised more than $35 million in funding prior to the latest round. The company plans to expand growth with the support of its new lead investor, including TV-driven customer acquisition. Smalls produces ultra-high-protein, human-grade fresh food and batch-cooked meal plans sold direct-to-consumer with an exclusive focus on feline nutrition. The company positions itself as a cat-first brand addressing what it describes as long-standing underinvestment in cat-specific products. Since launching in 2017 Smalls has generated eight-figure sales and says it has fed more than 100,000 cats. The recent capital infusion will be used to make the brand more accessible as it enters retail for the first time and to increase product offerings. Smalls plans to expand headcount by nearly 25% and highlights a people-first culture, including a fully remote, four-day work week. The company frames the opportunity against a growing pet industry and rising consumer investment in premium pet care. Smalls sells direct-to-consumer cat food, offering fresh human-grade chicken and beef, freeze-dried proteins (chicken, turkey, duck), treats and non-food items like litter and toys. The company launched in 2018 and was started by co-founders Matt Michaelson (CEO) and Calvin Bohn (COO), who began by cooking food in their New York City apartments before moving into Brooklyn Foodworks. Smalls now manufactures its cat food in a facility in Chicago. After taking a quiz on Smalls' website, subscription plans were offered at roughly $3–$4 per cat per day. Management reports "several thousand" active subscribers, up 4x year-over-year. The company says pandemic-driven pet adoption and a shift toward direct-to-consumer purchasing are growth tailwinds, though it has faced some supply-chain challenges.

• Scratch

  Participated · Series C · Sep 2022

  Scratchpay provides point-of-care financing across veterinary and human healthcare verticals, including dental and optometry. The company offers a single-dollar approval financing model (as opposed to credit limits) and follows a BNPL-like “care now, pay later” approach. Scratchpay is integrated into core patient health record systems and is expanding its product set to include digital invoices, appointment reminders and other patient communication tools. Founder John Keatley says the new funds will accelerate development of technology to help providers connect with clients and manage end-to-end patient experience. The company processes payments for both human and nonhuman patients and expects to have processed over $1 billion in patient payments across more than 10,000 practices by year-end. Interest rates on Scratchpay plans can reach the mid-20% range. Scratchpay is a Los Angeles-based company that provides mobile-first payment plans to finance veterinary care. The company leverages proprietary data elements, advanced machine learning models and alternative data sources to underwrite financing. Since launching in 2016, Scratchpay has enabled owners of over 70,000 pets to receive vital veterinary care and partners with more than 5,000 pet hospitals across all 50 U.S. states, Washington D.C., and nine Canadian provinces. The Series B equity will be used to invest in product development and to advance the company’s proprietary underwriting model. The debt portion of the round will support demand from pet owners by providing a $50M warehouse facility for financing capacity. Founders are John Keatley and Caleb Morse. Scratchpay Financial offers payment plans that allow pet owners immediate access to veterinary care. The company was co-founded in 2016 by John Keatley and Caleb Morse and is based in Los Angeles, CA. It partners with over 2,000 participating veterinary clinics. Scratchpay intends to use recent funding to continue developing its business and expand nationwide. The company won the $25k first-place prize at VMX Pet Project 2018. Its core product focuses on point-of-care financing for veterinary services.

• Companion

  Participated · Seed · Mar 2021

  Companion provides an AI-powered interactive device for dogs that uses onboard computer vision, machine learning, and positive-reinforcement techniques to engage pets for hours a day. The device includes a camera, onboard computer, AI software, and a treat dispenser and can react and “converse” with dogs using the pet parent’s voice. Companion’s service offers scheduled and on-demand sessions with games, behavioral programs, and training, and the app delivers bespoke videos and updates on dogs’ improving skills. The company also uses activity and posture monitoring to look for sudden or subtle shifts that may indicate pain, anxiety, or stress. Companion is based in San Francisco and was founded by John Honchariw. The company recently raised additional capital to expand operations and broaden its business reach, bringing total funding to over $14M. Companion, based in San Francisco and led by CEO John Honchariw, builds a device and coaching service that helps pet parents engage and train their dogs at home. The device uses computer vision combined with machine learning to precisely detect and analyze dogs’ movements and behaviors. Using positive reinforcement techniques and proprietary data and algorithms, Companion rewards dogs for desired behaviors such as sit, down, stay and recall. By training basic obedience skills the system aims to teach independence and confidence and offers engaging activities for dogs. The company is rolling out the device and coaching service to early adopters and intends to use the new funding to continue that rollout.

No current team members are available.