In this exclusive CanadianSME Small Business Magazine interview, Lisa MacIntyre-Smith, CEO and Co‑Founder of Furble, shares how two decades in health and veterinary leadership inspired her to build a Canadian-made platform that makes pet prescriptions and wellness products more affordable and accessible. Drawing on her experience scaling hundreds of clinics and her own life as a devoted cat parent to Ben and Jerry, she explains how Furble is helping families manage rising pet care costs, strengthening collaboration with veterinarians, and redefining what compassionate, modern pet care can look like across Canada.
Lisa brings over 20 years of leadership experience in health care and veterinary services. She spent nearly a decade at VetStrategy, where she helped acquire more than 340 clinics and played a key role in growing the business into Canada’s largest veterinary consolidator. With a background that spans Eli Lilly, Medicine Shoppe, and executive leadership, Lisa is driven by a deep respect for the people behind the profession. A proud cat parent to Ben and Jerry (yes, named after the ice cream), Lisa understands how pets bring people together — and she’s passionate about building a platform that does the same.
Furble was created to address a clear gap in online pet care access. What inspired you to build a Canadian-made platform that focuses on prescription fulfillment, and how have pet owners responded to this new approach?
Canadians have been facing affordability barriers in pet care for far too long. As a long-time pet parent, I know firsthand how much our animals mean to us, and I’ve always been passionate about improving how we care for them. Even though e-commerce has transformed almost everything we buy, pet parents still didn’t have a trusted homegrown platform to fill prescriptions online legally and safely. That’s what inspired Furble: to create an accessible and affordable, Canadian-built platform so families don’t have to choose between essential vet visits and the prescriptions and products their pets rely on.
Although we’ve only just officially launched, the early interest and feedback from pet parents have been incredibly encouraging. People have been waiting for a solution like this, something affordable, transparent and built specifically for Canadians. The initial response reinforces that we’re meeting a real need and gives us a strong foundation as we continue to grow.
With families feeling the impact of inflation, how is Furble helping pet parents manage the growing cost of care while ensuring their pets continue to receive safe, essential medications and supplies?
Inflation has put real pressure on families, and pet care is one of the areas where those rising costs are hitting hard. With 50% of Canadian pet owners now skipping vet visits due to rising costs, the system is under real strain. Furble was built specifically to help pet parents manage those expenses without compromising on the quality or safety of their pet’s care. By partnering with licensed Canadian pharmacies, we’re able to offer transparent, competitive pricing on essential medications and wellness products.
We also streamline the process as veterinarians send prescriptions directly to our pharmacy partners, and orders are shipped to the customer’s door, saving both time and unnecessary costs.
Rural and remote communities often struggle with access to veterinary services and pet products, especially during harsher seasons. How does Furble’s model help close this gap and improve accessibility nationwide?
Furble’s model was built with these communities in mind. By partnering with licensed pharmacies across Canada and offering fully online prescription fulfillment, we make it possible for pet parents to access the medications, food and wellness products they need without relying on long drives or limited local inventory.
Because veterinarians can send prescriptions directly to our pharmacy partners, and orders are shipped straight to the customers’ door, we’re able to remove many of the barriers that have made ongoing pet care harder outside major cities. We aim to give families nationwide an equal opportunity to support their pets’ health year-round.
One of Furble’s standout features is its transparent pricing and partnership with licensed pharmacies. How do these elements foster trust among pet parents and strengthen collaboration within the veterinary ecosystem?
Transparency and trust are essential because everyone in the pet care ecosystem – veterinarians, pharmacies, and pet parents – ultimately shares the same goal: ensuring pets receive consistent, reliable care. Families are struggling to keep up with costs, and veterinarians are seeing the impact when pets miss essential checkups, preventatives or ongoing treatment.
By offering transparent pricing and partnering exclusively with licensed Canadian pharmacies, Furble helps rebuild that bridge. Pet parents gain access to safe, legally fulfilled medications at prices they can understand and plan for, which makes it easier for them to follow through with the care their veterinarian recommends.
As someone who has spent over two decades shaping the health and veterinary industries, what advice would you give to Canadian entrepreneurs who want to build businesses that combine innovation, compassion, and impact?
After more than twenty years working across the health and veterinary sectors, the biggest lesson I’ve learned is that meaningful innovation starts with compassion – and with listening It requires a real understanding of the people and communities you’re serving. My advice is to ground every idea in a genuine problem worth solving, and then build with empathy, not just ambition. Go into every discussion with an open mind and a seek to understand approach; you’ll uncover insights you would have otherwise missed. When you stay connected to the everyday challenges people face, your solutions naturally become more impactful.
Also, don’t underestimate the importance of collaboration. In health and veterinary care, no single organization can create change alone. Build relationships with professionals who will ultimately rely on your product and treat them as partners. Their insight will sharpen your thinking and ensure your innovation actually works in the real world.
