About this episode
Michael’s entrepreneurial journey started at 12 with a paper route and grew into building Thrive Pet Healthcare into a billion-dollar company. In this episode, he shares exactly how he scaled from one affordable vet clinic to 250+ locations, the mistakes and pivots along the way, and how he’s now tackling home services with the same playbook.We talk market opportunities, raising private equity, scaling operations fast, and the mindset needed to push through slow starts and build industry-leading businesses. Whether you’re building your first startup or scaling your 10th, this episode is packed with practical takeaways. Watch the full episode @FundsAndFounders What you’ll learn:- How to spot and validate opportunities in massive markets- The business model behind affordable pet care- Scaling from zero to $1B top line in 5 years- Why acquisition can outpace building from scratch- Lessons on being relentless as a founderTimestamps0:00 – Intro & Michael’s first hustle at 123:25 – Early lessons from the paper route7:48 – Baseball card collecting & the value of collectibles11:40 – From M&A to starting Thrive Pet Healthcare15:28 – Identifying the affordable pet care gap21:02 – Building the first clinic: model, pricing & efficiency27:44 – Surviving a slow start & hitting profitability31:55 – Scaling to multiple locations & hiring the right team38:19 – Raising capital & accelerating growth42:56 – Inside the pet care market size & opportunity48:03 – From 20M to $1B revenue in 5 years54:32 – Challenges of scaling fast & integrating acquisitions1:00:50 – Industry consolidation & competing with giants1:05:24 – Why Michael moved into home services1:10:12 – Parallels between pets & HVAC (and the crazy costs)1:15:30 – AI opportunities in vet care & home services1:20:15 – Michael’s 1 lesson for founders: Be relentless1:24:07 – Where to connect with Michael
