Thread

1. rrrrrrrrrrrryan · 1789953795 · focus · HN ↗

   It's actually worse with veterinary practices.

   Younger veterinarians are drowning in school debt and can't buy the practices from the older folks that are retiring. So, private equity is basically snatching all of them up right now, betting that childless millennials are going to pay tons of money on veterinary care when their pandemic pups begin to reach end-of-life.

   They're going to cut wages for all the staff, and hike all the prices, because unlike with human medical care, there's hardly any regulation (yet).

   1. kirubakaran · 1789958430 · focus · HN ↗

      My life goal that I can't work on yet is to run vet clinics as a non-profit in locations where private equity has a monopoly and are in extraction mode. With operational excellence, I think they can be out-competed by running a cost effective practice, so people don't have to decide between putting their pet down prematurely, and spending $5k per night (yes, that happened to my friend in San Francisco. $5k/night is not an exaggeration).

      The predatory businesses are able to do the extraction only because of the practical monopoly they have in a neighborhood.

      I believe the ops can be open sourced and replicated franchise style. And vets, who originally get into the career because they love animals will be drawn to it, and they have bills to pay, but that can be taken care of with a reasonable payment structure.

      I hope someone else does this so I don't have to. But I think I have to at some point. I'd also love to hear if this is a dumb idea.

      1. paimapi · 1790005687 · focus · HN ↗

         I love this idea but I think the PE angle also means suppliers and vendors will charge them far less for bulk order and those suppliers/vendors themselves may be a horrible little mix of MBA-brained owner practices that actively upcharges small businesses who have far less negotiating leverage

         I think the only way to do it is to have your neighborhood actively being okay with seeking local services something that a lot of neighborhood groups I frequent seem to be a big fan of (farmer's markets are an indication of this - if there's strong and regular FMs being hosted, there's people willing to burn a little extra disposable income for better, more reliable products)

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