HelloRalphie
SeedVet care, on your terms
Veterinary telehealth marketplace connecting pet owners with licensed vets via video and chat.
About
Hello Ralphie is a veterinary telehealth marketplace that connects pet parents with licensed veterinarians and veterinary technicians through video and chat appointments. Founded in 2019 by Felicity Johnson, a former iOS developer at Rent the Runway who enrolled at Wharton to build the platform, the company was inspired by Johnson's struggle to schedule veterinary appointments for her cat Tiffany during a cancer diagnosis. Hello Ralphie won the Penn Wharton Entrepreneurship Startup Challenge in May 2020 and experienced 800% user growth as pet telehealth adoption surged. The platform enables nationwide access to veterinary care with prescription fulfillment partnerships, available via iOS app and web.
DailyDropout Take
Hello Ralphie caught our attention as a Wharton-backed bet on the inevitable digitization of veterinary care. Founder Felicity Johnson's personal pain point — juggling a demanding tech job while managing a sick pet — resonated with millions of pet owners. The 800% growth surge during 2020 validated that pet telehealth wasn't a pandemic fad but a permanent shift in how people access vet care.
Discovery signal: Wharton Startup Challenge winner, strong founder-market fit (personal pain point + technical background), 800% growth during pet adoption boom
What Makes Them Unique
Hello Ralphie combines video and chat veterinary consultations with licensed vet tech triage and prescription fulfillment in a single marketplace, offering multiple access points for pet care at lower cost than in-person visits.
800% since March 2020
User Growth
$1.1M
Seed Round
$4B
Market Size (Vet Telehealth)
Target Markets
Founders
Felicity Johnson
Founder & CEO
Former iOS developer at Rent the Runway. MBA from The Wharton School, BA from Villanova University. Won the Penn Wharton Entrepreneurship Startup Challenge in 2020.
Funding History
Lead: HearstLab