Dr. Gianluca Bini

Who are you and what do you do?

I am Dr. Gianluca Bini, I received my Doctor of Veterinary Medicine degree from the University of Perugia, Italy. I then moved to the United Kingdom, where I completed two internships, one in veterinary anesthesia and one rotating, at Dick White Referrals, one of the largest referral centers in Europe. After completing my anesthesia and analgesia residency at North Carolina State University, I worked as an Assistant Professor of Anesthesiology and Pain Management at The Ohio State University.

After realizing how limited the access to a board certified anesthesiologist was, I decided to found Safe Pet Anesthesia. Due to my passion for teaching and devotion to spreading safe anesthetic practices, I speak at many national and international conferences while also currently working as an anesthesiology and pain management faculty at Oklahoma State University.

What did it take/how did you get started?

There are only a little more than 200 active board certified veterinary anesthesiologists in the US at the moment. They all work in academic institutions or in few highly specialized referral centers. Unfortunately 99% of pets do not get anesthetized in either of those; they commonly go under anesthesia in general practices or small referrals, without one of us helping: a nurse anesthetize the animal directed by the veterinarian while the veterinarian is also busy performing the procedure.

For the longest time the majority of the animal population did not have access to one of us, mostly due to cost and availability. There are many pets that are too "risky" to be anesthetized without an anesthesiologist or owners that would like to have an anesthesiologist helping during their pet procedure, but either do not have the finances to go to an expensive referral or their pet can't wait the 6+ months waitlists to be seen in a referral with an anesthesiologist. As a result a lot of pets do not get the treatment they need.

We believe this is extremely sad and unfair for those animals, hence we decided to create Safe Pet Anesthesia, the only company offering anesthesia tele-consulting with boarded anesthesiologists following the anesthetic event on video-call from start to finish. Using video-calls allow us to keep our services affordable and expand access to an anesthesiologist for general practitioners and small referrals.

What does the future look like for you and your business?

We started our business in December 2023, most of the business came from word of mouth. We have about 14 clinics that use us. We recently went to 2 trade shows to promote it, we were selected for the startup circle at the Veterinary Meeting and Expo (VMX) in Orlando, we had a lot of traction for our company.

The veterinarians love it because they can finally focus on the procedure, without having to worry about the anesthesia. The nurses love it because they have extra support from a specialist. The practices can also market that they offer an anesthesiologist tele-consultant, differentiating them from others around them.

What drives / motivates you on a daily basis?

Helping as many animals as possible. Allowing them access to care never available to them before.

What advice would you give someone interested in doing what you do?

For someone used to a "regular" job, starting a business can be daunting. We had to start from the ground up, from the management software, to CRMs, etc.. We had to create a custom platform to receive the video feeds, and assigning them to members of the team. There is way more to figure out than we initially thought. Creating a business isn't easy at all, especially if done without any outside investment.

But to be honest we would all of it again. Especially if you have a new concept, people will take a while to understand it, veterinarians are not used to have help from one of us, because it has never been available to them.. but once they try it, they love it and cases never stop coming. So my biggest advice is... be persistent, never give up, it will take time but it is definitely worth it!

What has been the hardest part of your business journey?

The hardest part has been the lack of mentorship and the ignorance for business/marketing strategy. We figured it out little by little, mostly by goggling/redditing, it costed us way more than necessary, not just financially, but also in terms of missed opportunities.

How have you managed burnout thus far?

Burnout? What's that!? In veterinary medicine, and the medical field in general, as you may have heard/read online, we are very used to be overworked. I either went straight past the burnout phase and got desensitized or it didn't hit me yet. :-)

What are a few resources that you'd recommend?

Reddit, reddit, reddit. Don't spend any money before you do your research, super easy to overspend or spend in the wrong tool.