Attract Investment. Accelerate Growth. Align your offering with market needs.
Want to catapult your business to success?
Brands attending include:
Pet Connect USA attracts businesses from categories including health and nutrition, grooming, accessories, telehealth, vet technology and boarding and services.
Attract Investment
Meet face to face with 50+ investors each dedicated to 10+ hours of 1-2-1 meetings.
Apply to pitch on the main stage to our audience of 500+ comprised of accelerators, investors, strategic acquirers & potential partners.
Eliminate the guesswork from pitching by attending the Innovation and Investment Pre-Day, where you'll hear directly from investors about exactly what they’re seeking in their next venture.
Accelerate Growth
Maximise your time through focused and productive meetings with key individuals and industry leaders scheduled in advance via our Swap card app.
Harness our network of 500+ decision makers to gain product feedback on your offering.
Utilise our CEO & Founders forum to connect with fellow innovators in the industry, exchange ideas, guidance and fresh perspectives for solving challenges.
Increase brand visibility as part of the only event that connects c-suit executives across the entire pet ecosystem.
Prepare and Scale for Exit
Stay ahead of your development with insight into valuation, timing, due diligence and intellectual property shared by top investment banks on the exclusive innovation & investment pre-day.
Hear firsthand the considerations and pivotal decisions taken on the path to successful exits from fellow founders in the pet industry in our Successfully Exiting: Rover and Blackstone case study discussion.
Align your offering with market needs
Participate in consumer-focused roundtables lead by top pet consultants and industry leaders and understand how GenZ, AI, Subscription models and Sustainability should influence your offering.
Hear from experts how AI innovations could increase efficiencies in your supply chain, and better integrate your product into pet parents' lives.
Relevant Speakers include:
Miles Thorson
Ruben Alcaraz
Heidi Sirota
Heidi Sirota serves as Nationwide’s Chief Pet Officer, leading the nation’s first and largest provider of pet insurance protecting more than 1 million pets. She joined Nationwide in 2018 as vice president of marketing for the Retirement Solutions business and led an expansion of its capabilities and markets.
Before joining Nationwide, Heidi transformed consumer experiences in human health care. As UnitedHealth Group’s Optum Bank vice president of marketing, she pioneered the retailization of health savings accounts, and as a marketing executive at Aetna and ConnectiCare she introduced new, engaging ways for consumers to shop for health insurance and get care.
Heidi started her career in commercial bank operations, then moved into investment and insurance marketing leadership at The Phoenix Companies. She holds a bachelor’s degree in communications from Loyola Marymount University and completed executive education from Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University.
Heidi sits on the Board of Trustees of the Human Animal Bond Research Institute (HABRI) and the Board of Directors of Second Harvest Food Bank in Orange County, California. Also she is an Advisory Board member for the University of California Santa Barbara-Extension, Customer Experience Certificate Program and the executive sponsor of Nationwide’s Pet Advocacy and Wellness Support (PAWS) Associate Resource Group.
Owen Ensor
Owen is the CEO of Meatly, a leading cultivated meat company. From a single sample of cells, they can create an infinite amount of meat forever without growing an animal. Their process uses ~80% less water, 90% less land, and 60% fewer GHGs than traditional agriculture. Start two years ago Meatly has dramatically reduced costs and aims to sell product this year. Owen is a serial entrepreneur who previously scaled an insect protein company.
Audrey Yoo
Mariel Devesa
What to Expect:
Innovation & Investment Pre-Day
A bonus day included in the price of your ticket to meet with investors, perfect your pitch and learn about the current state of the investment landscape. Finished by a drinks reception with IPH.
Best in Show Spotlight
Showcasing the coolest innovations in petcare, the Best in Show Spotlight is where up-and-coming brands get to pitch their game-changing ideas to investors. Finalists, handpicked by a top-notch committee, will have just 3 minutes to wow the crowd before a rapid-fire Q&A.
Facilitated Meetings
Plan ahead by scheduling meetings with fellow experts via our Swapcard networking tool. You'll get access to the full attendee list a week before the event to connect and set up meetings.