Vidhisha Chaturvedi From Pedibreed Trying To Disrupt How Pet Care Industry Works

The most important factor in taking care of animals is making a commitment to them; they are living, sentient creatures, not accessories! They need love, food, veterinary care and training. They need a clean environment and gentle, respectful handling. Like humans pets also feel pain, they also fell ill, they also love and love being loved, they cry and smile but unlike humans cant explain their problem verbally. Pets needs special care & attention and are always dependent on their owners for the same. We need to provide a special attention and care to raise our pets and need specialized people in their fields to grow and nurture our pets.
Today we are brining the exclusive interview of Vidhisha Chaturvedi who is founder of Pedibreed and love being called a parent to two furry kids – a rescued golden retriever and a poodle. Pedibreed is an online aggregator trying to disrupt how the pet care industry works. Lets See how Pedibreed helps the pet owners and understand her journey in her own words.
1.What is the Name of Your Venture? Any specific reason for this name?
My venture is called Pedibreed. Pedibreed is an online aggregator for the pet care industry connecting pet owners to pet care service providers. The words – pedi and breed resonate with dogs and cats and “Pedibreed” easily connects with the pet community.
2.Who is your target Audience/clients?
Our target clients are pet owners living in Metropolitan cities like Mumbai, Delhi, Bangalore, Pune, Hyderabad, Chennai and Gurugram.
3.Where is your venture based (city, state, country) & What are your geographical target areas?
Pedibreed is an online venture and our team mostly works virtually from different locations across India. Our target cities are – Mumbai, Delhi, Bangalore, Pune, Hyderabad, Chennai and Gurugram.
4.What problems does your venture resolve? What are your products or services?
Pedibreed is an online aggregator trying to disrupt how the pet care industry works. Most pet parents experience problems raising their pets including – finding the right pet care professionals (VETs, trainers, groomers, boarding Etc.) resources, online connection with other pet parents. Through Pedibreed, we are bridging the gap by connecting pet owners to trustworthy pet care services, access to online community, tips and advice, online support and helpdesk thus simplifying Pet Parenting.

5.Share the idea or story behind the venture. How did it come to existence? What motivated you to start your own venture?
The idea of Pedibreed started from my very own experience of raising a pet.
When I was raising my dog, I was constantly hassled with basic parenting needs like finding the nearest VET in my suburb, connecting with other pet parents, organising playdates for my dog and finding easy resources online on pet parenting. That’s when the idea of Pedibreed transpired. Pet parenting is not just my own struggle but a common problem for all pet owners and with this platform I want to simplify pet parenting.
6.Who are your biggest competitors and how do you differentiate yourself from them?
Pedibreed started with the idea of bringing together pet parents through technology and connecting them with pet services. We are not here to compete, but here to disrupt the pet care industry. The onset of digitalisation and demonetization in India has created thriving opportunities in the online world especially for people living in Urban cities. With rapidly growing pet population, many young startups have plunged into the pet industry with prime focus on pet care and food products. Pedibreed stands from the crowd with a specific focus on services only.
7.How did you identify your co-founder? Tell us some thing about your co-founder/s
Pedibreed is the brainchild of Vidhisha Chaturvedi who is the sole Founder and CEO. Vidhisha has a solid background in Communications, PR & Marketing having worked in Australia for over 8 years. She holds degrees in Public Relations, Communication Management and Business Management from the University of Technology, Sydney, Australia.
Vidhisha is a parent to two furry kids – a rescued golden retriever and a poodle. Her passion for technology and pets is the result of her entrepreneurial venture.
8.How did you hire your first team members? What skills do you want in your employees/team?
We started as a team of young University Students passionate to work in the Startup Industry and break the conventional professional choices. We hired interns from different colleges from Metropolitan cities including Mumbai, Delhi and Bangalore. From there on we have grown to a small team of young professionals from various backgrounds ranging from IT to Marketing & Sales.
We are constantly looking for smart employees. As Steve Jobs believed “It doesn’t make sense to hire smart people and tell them what to do; we hire smart people so they can tell us what to do.” In the startup world, it is very important to hire people who think out of the box, can learn quickly and contribute to the growth of the company.
9.What expansion plans are you looking for the next 2 years, next 5 years?
In the next 2 year, we want to grow to become the largest online community for pet parents in India. Our vision is to get every pet owner in living in Urban cities to use our platform.
Our plans for next 5 years are aligned with our vision to serve the pet care community . We want to see Pedibreed grow into a resourceful platform for Complete Pet Care in India and Internationally.
10.Where do you want to see yourself in next 10 years?
Pedibreed is a startup which grew from a passion for serving the pets’ community. Our aim is to continue growing into a futuristic resource for pet parenting worldwide in the next 10 years.
11.What are your immediate goals over the next 1, 3, 6 and 12 months?
We are currently focussing on growth and our goal for the next 6 months is to focus on user growth and acquisition through engagement. We are working towards bettering our platform each day so we can serve better. We are constantly in touch with our users and customers to understand their needs.
12.Have you raised any funding? Or have any plans for the funding?
We are bootstrapped at the moment and are positively open to funding opportunities with investors who believe in changing the pet care industry.
13.What were the problems you faced during the starting days and how did you resolve them?
For every startup, the most important thing is to understand the minds of the consumers. It has been challenging yet interesting for us to understand the market size, needs and demands and customize our platform as per the users’ demand. From a technology perspective, it took us months to design and develop and test a user friendly web interface. Moving forward, our focus on branding and experimental digital marketing helped us to acquire our users and customers.
14.What was the most challenging part of your journey till now? How did you overcome those challenges?
The most challenging part of my startup journey has been deciding what to do and what not to do. It’s a curvy road with unpredictable turns and obstacles. I’m continuing to unravel and face the challenges as they come.
15.What are your hobbies? What do you do in your non-work time?
Whenever I take time off from work, I indulge in cooking, reading and painting.
16.Whom do you consider your idol or biggest motivator?
I am a true blue fan of Steve Jobs.
17.What do you feel is the major difference between entrepreneurs and those who work for someone else?
When you are working for an employer, the environment in which you work is much controlled whereas working for own self has a lot more freedom for creativity, innovation and flexibility.
18.If you had the chance to start your career over again, what would you do differently?
I am quite content with the kind of opportunities I’ve had in my career so far and wouldn’t want to change a thing. Each experience has been a learning experience professionally and personally.
19.How has being an entrepreneur affected your family & Social life?
Being an entrepreneur has its PROs and Cons. Managing time between personal and professional life can get seriously difficult. I often space out and disconnect myself from family and friends which does impact my relationship with each. The startup stage that I am in right now, definitely requires me to be working round the clock.
20.Anything, you would like to say to our readers or upcoming entrepreneurs?
As much as it is important to learn new things, it is also very crucial to ‘unlearn’ things..
21.Tell us something about your education & family background.
I grew up in Lucknow and finished my schooling from Loreto Convent. My parents always encouraged my sisters and I to pursue academics and following the footsteps of my older siblings, I moved to Australia after finishing my schooling in India. I pursued my undergraduate degree in Public Relations, a Postgraduate in Communication and Business Management from the University of Technology, Sydney.
22.What is your USP which makes it unique & different from other start-ups in similar domains.
Pedibreed is an aggregator and that is what sets us apart from other startups in pet care. While most startups are focussing on e-commerce and selling products for pets, but none with pure focus on services. Finding the right pet care services can be a lot of hassle for pet parents. We connect pet owners to pet service professionals and service providers based on hyper location, affordability, availability and convenience. That’s our USP!
23. What do you think is the biggest threat to the success of small businesses & Start-ups today?
The biggest threat for any startup to thrive is lack of vision. Ensure you have a vision for your company’s future. Everything, from motivating staff and attracting customers to raising finance and developing a marketing plan will be far easier to do when you have a strong idea of where you are going. When everyone has the same vision – or can see it for themselves – your startup will have a high chance of success.
24. Do you consider yourself successful and by what means do you measure success?
The definition of success is very subjective and for me right now success is achieving small and short goals that have set for Pedibreed.
25.Please share complete name, address, phone number, email id & website of Your Business & Contact Person
Vidhisha Chaturvedi
Email – [email protected]
Website – www.pedibreed.in