Alex Chieng co-founded Vetsie, one of North America's first veterinary telemedicine platforms, at a time when regulatory frameworks barely existed. That experience taught him something crucial: in specialized markets like animal health, timing and compliance matter more than product velocity.

Last October, he launched Pawsible Ventures, a $10 million fund and venture studio for pet and animal health startups backed by Victory Square. Now the program is opening applications for its first incubator cohort—a six-week, remote program that accepts just five to seven companies and runs on a model built around vertical depth, not generalist playbooks. Applications close March 17.

Before launching Pawsible, Chieng spoke with more than 250 pet and animal health founders. The most surprising pattern wasn't lack of ambition—it was the opposite. These founders, he found, are building because they deeply care about the problem, not because it's trendy.

"What stood out was how resilient they are despite capital friction," Chieng says. "Many are building incredible companies in a market that traditional venture still underestimates."

Pet health sits at the intersection of veterinary medicine, regulation, and consumer emotion. Veterinary clinic economics are different from traditional SaaS. Distribution is relationship-driven. Pricing psychology shifts when you're dealing with a sick animal versus a convenience purchase. The ecosystem doesn't just need more funding, according to Chieng. "It needs aligned capital and long-term partners who understand how this market actually works."

Pawsible deliberately caps cohorts at five to seven companies for its six-week remote program. With that size, the program can build alongside founders rather than just host sessions. Each week includes focused working sessions on distribution strategy, regulatory considerations, pricing, and capital planning. Founders get structured mentor office hours and direct access to the investment committee for candid feedback. There's real document review, partnership conversations, and hands-on pressure testing of business models.

When the cohort is tight, according to Chieng, founders open up more. "They share real numbers, real challenges, and real mistakes. That level of trust doesn't happen in a larger group."

Generalist programs like Y Combinator excel at company formation and speed. What they're not designed for is vertical depth in a specialized industry like animal health. The difference at Pawsible: "We're not teaching founders how to start a company. We're helping them navigate a very specific ecosystem with fewer expensive mistakes."

At Pawsible, advisors have operated in animal health. LPs understand healthcare infrastructure. Conversations are grounded in the realities of veterinary economics, clinic distribution, and regulatory timing. Chieng's Vetsie experience gives him pattern recognition for what's signal versus noise. "I can often recognize whether something is real or just noise. I've made many of those mistakes myself," he explains. "That gives me empathy. I understand the emotional weight of building in a specialized market where validation is slower and wins are harder earned."

The biggest technology gaps in pet health today are structural. Financial infrastructure is immature relative to the cost of care. Diagnostics data remains siloed across labs, at-home tests, and clinic systems. Preventative and longevity-driven models are gaining traction, but tools to support predictive care are still early.

What excites Chieng most are founders solving foundational problems rather than launching incremental brands. Infrastructure plays, enabling platforms, and technologies that connect fragmented parts of the ecosystem are especially compelling.

Founder-market fit matters most. Chieng looks for deep domain insight from veterinary medicine, biotech, fintech, or serious operator experience. Early traction is important, even if it's small. A clear wedge into a larger opportunity and coachable but opinionated founders. What would make him pass? Someone chasing a trend without understanding veterinary economics or building a purely brand-driven business with no defensibility. "We're not looking for polished decks," he says. "We're looking for conviction backed by signals."

In five years, Chieng wants Pawsible to be where pet health founders go first—not because it's the biggest, but because it's trusted. The goal: a tight portfolio of companies that meaningfully improve access, affordability, or quality of care. "If we do this right, we help build the foundational infrastructure layer for modern animal health," he says. "That's the long game."