Today we’d like to introduce you to Andria Beal
Hi Andria , please kick things off for us with an introduction to yourself and your story.
The idea for EpiPaws started when I was a PhD student, studying epigenetics in sharks and dolphins. I created the first age estimation test for dolphins and I wanted to make age estimation tests for all animals. I was blown away by the size of the market for pets with unknown ages and decided to create a test for dogs and cats. During this same time, my dogs that my husband and I had had since we were 18 were becoming seniors and we kept feeling blind-sided by illness. I was frustrated with how reactive pet healthcare was, even human health care was frustrating me, my dad was starting to have his own health issues. I knew that epigenetics was going to be a game changer for animal health and that the things we would discover would be helpful for humans as well. This was really what solidified the idea to make EpiPaws more than a side project and really go for it and try to make a big impact. We’re now working towards a goal of extending health spans (how long an organism lives without illness or disease) using new technologies with a focus on DNA methylation first.
EpiPaws was officially founded in January 2022, we launched our first product, the pet age test, in January 2023. This year, we’ve doubled our revenue already for 2024 compared to last year and we project finishing out the year at about 3X. We raised a small angel round of funding last year ($125K) and won $50K in cash prizes. This year, we’ve opened up our pre-seed raise. We’re also excited to announce some new partnerships later this year so stay tuned!
Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
I think any bootstrapped company must have its ups and downs. When I decided to start this company, I was fresh out of my PhD program and decided to bet on myself and this idea for a company. It was hard, but it forced me to be very careful and smart about how I did everything. I designed an age test with a good profit margin and did all the work myself to get it onto the market. I went to local dog events to get samples, I pitched, got into incubators/accelerators, and slowly worked my way up to steady sales. All this while having no salary, right out of school. I was doing all kinds of side jobs and luckily my husband was able to grab a second job for a little while to make it all work. With all of these sacrifices we were making… even I felt like I was crazy at points. So yeah, there were some struggles and there still is, but that’s part of the journey.
Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know?
Our mission is to increase health spans for pets and their humans.
EpiPaws is developing the first platform for understanding health status with epigenetic biomarkers for dogs and cats. Starting with our flagship product the Pet Age Test that estimates age in dogs and cats from a mouth swab of DNA, our product pipeline extends into health monitoring and disease diagnostics. Our technology has the ability to provide health insights for any company that wants to understand the effect of their product on health and develop new products with certain health outcomes. Started by a scientist with a love for epigenetics and animals, EpiPaws has grown its vision from providing an age estimation solution to seeing a world where we can confidently understand our pet’s and our own health with new epigenetic health monitoring tools. Along with that growth in vision, the company has experienced success with sales and partnerships and has grown the team to accomplish new milestones.
What sets EpiPaws apart with our technology is our focus on why disease develops in the first place. Understanding this is complicated and modern health care has focused largely on reacting to disease which is understandable when there are so many suffering from it. Over the years, healthcare has gotten pretty good a dealing and managing disease and lifespans have increased, for humans and animals alike. This brings us to an era where the number afflicted by age-related diseases is unprecedented. At EpiPaws, we’re focusing on why age-related diseases develop in the first place so we can work to avoid them rather than deal with them once they’ve developed. Our approach to this starts with our animal companions whose healthcare is even more reactive than human healthcare. Pet owners are frustrated, they love their pets and want the best for them so we want to help them.
Can you talk to us a bit about happiness and what makes you happy?
Helping pet owners learn new things about their pets! And knowing that new biomarkers are around the corner that will make taking care of my own pets a little bit easier. I love my pets and want the best for them and it makes me happy to think that we have this new technology right around the corner.
Overall, conquering challenges is something that makes me happy. In my personal life, the things I do for fun are things that challenge me such as dirt biking, mountain biking, and rock climbing.
Pricing:
- Pet Age Test – $120
- Citizen Science Research Program- Free!
Contact Info:
- Website: https://epipaws.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/epipaws4pets/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/EpiPaws4Pets
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCt1sd4SRX6TcCTtj9hKDF3g
