tailwinds
Vetted Capital Ends Fund I Pursuit, Launches Vetted Capital Partners for Deals & Advisory
September 2025
Dear Friends of Vetted Capital,
After a lot of thought, we have made the difficult decision not to move forward with launching a blind pool Vetted Capital Petcare Fund I. Ultimately, in spite of some very close calls, we did not land the anchor investor for the fund as planned amidst the most challenging fundraising market in decades. We also saw more investor appetite for larger deals with 3-5 year paths to liquidity.
Accordingly, some of the team will pivot to focus on structured deals & advisory via the newly created Vetted Capital Partners, an evolution into a more flexible platform for creating value for founders & investors on a deal by deal basis.
As part of the close of Vetted Capital, General Partners Aaron Wallace DVM and Brock Weatherup will be respectfully stepping away from the firm. They are exceptional humans. We love working with them, have tremendous respect for their contributions and expect to work on projects together in the future.
Every member of our team remains excited to continue to support entrepreneurs building the future of the industry. It is clear to us —and to all those involved— that the Pet sector has a bright future ahead.
We want to thank everyone who has been part of the Vetted Capital effort to date, especially our remarkable team: Alan Rudolph, Art Polk, Brett Chugg, Brian Hur, DVM, PhD, David Feitel, David Haworth, DVM, PhD, Derick Whitley, Eleanor Green, Eli Hasson, Michael Crossey, Ryan Buck, Stephanie Thomas and Will Hendricks – you’ve brought grit, passion and 100% dedication. We are grateful and we are in your debt.
Best regards,
Aaron, Brock & Charlie
Former Ethos Veterinary Health President Ryan Buck joins VC as Venture Partner
April 2025
Vetted Capital has announced the addition of Ryan Buck as its newest Venture Partner. Ryan is an elite veterinary operator and a longtime former colleague of Vetted Capital GP Aaron Wallace's.
"We are grateful to have Ryan joining the team to help founders win. He's a great colleague and already contributing on deals. His complementary operating and deal expertise in Veterinary Services is unrivaled."
Ryan is the Chairman of Sterling Group and former President of Ethos Veterinary Health, JAB Holdings’ 140+ Specialty / ER vet hospital platform. Ryan was previously the VP of Operations for NVA Compassion-First and EVP and COO of Compassion-First Pet Hospitals, and led the rollup of a series of Texas-based Specialty / ER vet platforms (Gulf Coast Veterinary Specialists, Mission Veterinary Specialists, Austin Veterinary Emergency and Specialty Center.) These hospitals were sold to Quad-C Management, Inc. backed Compassion-First Pet Hospitals and later recapped by JAB Holdings to ultimately form the basis for their Ethos platform.
Ryan is a Johnson & Johnson DePuy Synthes, Merck, Harvard Business School, Cornell University, and Temple University alum.
Former Mars General Counsel David Feitel joins VC as Venture Partner
March 2025
Vetted Capital has announced the addition of David Feitel as its newest Venture Partner. Feitel is the President of Life Science Strategies and former General Counsel and Senior Vice President for Banfield and Mars Veterinary Health group where he led the purchase agreements for roughly $15B in vet services acquisitions. David was also the former General Counsel of both Mars Snacking (f/k/a Mars-Wrigley) and life sciences incubator Mars Symbioscience. Before joining Mars, David was General Counsel for DSM Nutrition and Martek Biosciences ($1.1B exit to DSM).
David is a nationally recognized, strategic attorney with global public & private company expertise spanning transactional, IP and regulatory affairs (inc. antitrust & FDA approvals) law at every stage of growth. David currently serves on the advisory boards of multiple early stage companies where his efforts are focused on accelerating commercialization.
"We’re thrilled to welcome Dave to the Vetted Capital team," said Charles Tapp, Managing Partner at Vetted Capital. "Dave was a longtime colleague at Mars. His depth and breadth at the intersection of Petcare, Veterinary Health, Food & Life Sciences is unrivaled, and he is already actively contributing on our first deals. I’m excited by the opportunity to build a great firm together. Dave’s public and private transactional, IP and regulatory experience at every stage of growth uniquely positions VC to help founders win."
Axios interviews Vetted Capital’s newest Partner Brock Weatherup
February 2025
Axios’ Natalie Breymeyer delivers smart brevity, while Brock shares while he’s still bullish on the Pet sector after all these years.
Excerpt:
“How he got here: Weatherup has a history in the pet industry as an angel investor, an alum of Petco, PetSmart, GreatPet and PetCoach, and more than $200 million in operating exits.”
Read the full piece here.
January 2025
Serial entrepreneur and investor Brock Weatherup has joined the Vetted Capital team. Brock will help early to growth stage Consumer/Retail founders win in a category where he has successfully built, sold, acquired and advised multiple Petcare companies.
Excerpt:
“Weatherup brings an unmatched track record in the Pet sector as serial entrepreneur & investor. Brock is a Petco, Petsmart, GreatPetcare, PetCoach, Fathead & IAC alum with >$200M in operating exits, a 3X lifetime investing track record and strong Consumer/Retail expertise in a category where eCommerce accounts for >40% of sales. His investments include PetLabCo, Roo and Petfolk.”
Read the full piece here.
Brock Weatherup joins Vetted Capital as a Partner
November 2024
Pet Industry newsletter The Woof News interviewed Vetted Capital’s Founder & Managing Partner Charles Tapp to learn more about our fund’s investment thesis, criteria and what we like to see in founders.
Excerpt:
“Portfolio Management Matters. Pivoting Mars’ focus from mature confectionery to high-growth Petcare has added over $100B in enterprise value. At VC, we’ve similarly been intentional about our focus on stage, ownership, and target markets.
Demographics are Destiny. Long-term trends, like pets becoming family, are predictable and enduring. Technology changes rapidly, but humans always need companionship.
Stage Discipline is Essential. Mars’ growth ambition required a later-stage focus to drive meaningful growth. Similarly, we avoid deals that are too early to achieve the returns we need.”
Read the full piece here.
The Woof News interviews Vetted Capital
October 2024
Vetted Capital partnered with Pitchbook on an exclusive to announce its First Close in Pitchbook’s 3M subscriber Daily Pitch newsletter. The fund announced an expected $50M target for its First Close, including an undisclosed strategic investor that has pledged 10% of the fund.
Excerpt: “There is a long, secular tailwind behind this category, and there is a momentary opportunity to have a strong vintage year for early partners,” Tapp said of the timing.
Read the full piece here.
Pitchbook announces VC’s flagship $150M fund’s forthcoming First Close
August 2024
Vetted Capital has been highlighted by Pitchbook Research in their H1 2024 Healthcare Funds report, noting our differentiated specialist investment thesis and experienced team.
Excerpt: “Among notable VC specialists … is Healthier Capital, led by One Medical Founder Amir Dan Rubin, and Vetted Capital, founded by a team of industry veterans to invest in the Animal Health market.”
Read the full report here.