Dodo

What do they actually do

Dodo provides an AI receptionist for specialty clinics, with an initial focus on veterinary practices. It answers calls, texts, and emails 24/7 and reads/writes directly into the clinic’s practice management system (PIMS) to book, cancel, and reschedule appointments, process prescription refills, handle new‑client intake, route emergencies, and log every interaction in the record while avoiding double‑booking (Dodo; ezyVet integration).

Clinics onboard with a short setup: a 30‑minute call, a brief set of labeled test calls (about 15–20) to tune responses, then connecting the clinic’s phone provider and PIMS to go live—often within hours. Many start in a staged mode (e.g., forwarding voicemails first) before fully cutting over (Dodo; Conversational AI News).

Dodo integrates with major veterinary PIMS (e.g., Digitail, Impromed, Vetspire, Avimark, Provet Cloud, Cornerstone, DaySmart) and can update records in real time. Partner docs describe read/write behavior for client records, appointments, refills, payments, and notes (Dodo; ezyVet integration).

Who are their target customer(s)

• Small independent veterinary clinic owner/manager: They lose revenue and trust from missed or after‑hours calls and spend many staff hours on scheduling and intake. They want 24/7 coverage that books directly into their PIMS to stop leakage and reduce manual work (Dodo; ezyVet).
• Front‑desk/reception staff at specialty clinics: High call volume and repetitive tasks (booking, refills, new‑client registration) cause stress and mistakes. They need automation that reliably handles routine workflows so staff can focus on in‑clinic patients (Dodo).
• Practice/office managers responsible for records and compliance: They spend time on manual data entry and worry about missed documentation. Real‑time read/write into the PIMS and automatic logging reduces errors and follow‑up gaps (ezyVet; Dodo).
• Multi‑clinic group or regional operations lead: Scaling front‑desk staffing and enforcing consistent scheduling across sites is hard. They want centralized outreach, analytics, and usage‑based pricing that works across multiple locations (Dodo).
• After‑hours or emergency clinic director: They need reliable triage and routing outside normal hours to reduce inappropriate visits and avoid missed urgent cases. A 24/7 agent that routes emergencies and answers FAQs helps maintain coverage (Dodo).

How would they acquire their first 10, 50, and 100 customers

• First 10: Founder‑led pilots with independent clinics using supported PIMS: run a 30‑minute demo, collect 15–20 labeled test calls, and do a staged go‑live by connecting the phone system and PIMS, with discounted/waived pilot fees to de‑risk (Dodo; ezyVet).
• First 50: Turn early pilots into case studies and expand via referrals and PIMS partners; run targeted outreach to practice managers/owners and standardize the onboarding checklist so sales and customer success can onboard in batches (Dodo; ezyVet).
• First 100: Formalize channel partnerships with multiple PIMS/phone vendors, add self‑serve sign‑up that defaults to staged rollouts (e.g., voicemail forwarding first), and offer clear usage pricing and playbooks for multi‑clinic buyers; leverage YC and partner networks (Dodo; Conversational AI News; YC).

What is the rough total addressable market

Top-down context:

Dodo is initially focused on U.S. veterinary clinics. The broader U.S. veterinary services market is sized in the ~$60–70B range, with global veterinary services estimates around ~$145B, providing long‑term expansion context (IBISWorld; Grand View Research).

Bottom-up calculation:

There are 34,296 U.S. veterinary practices (AVMA). Median veterinary receptionist pay is about $32,905/year; using a ~30% benefits share implies a fully loaded cost of ~ $47,000/year (ZipRecruiter; BLS). Replacing one FTE per clinic implies a labor‑replacement TAM of ~ $1.6B/yr. Realistic software revenue depends on price: $500–$2,000/month per clinic equates to roughly $200M–$800M/yr across all clinics.

Assumptions:

• Baseline assumes one receptionist FTE displaced per clinic on average; some clinics have more/less front‑desk staffing.
• Clinics pay a fraction of displaced labor as software price (illustrative $500–$2,000/month range).
• Adoption rolls out over time (after‑hours first, then broader coverage), and multi‑clinic groups can push ARPU above single‑site averages.

Who are some of their notable competitors

• PetDesk: Client communication and online booking platform for veterinary clinics. Competes as a communications/engagement suite that reduces inbound call volume via reminders, requests, and self‑service scheduling.
• Vetstoria: Online scheduling integrated with major veterinary PIMS. Competes on booking automation and real‑time schedule management, a core slice of Dodo’s workflow.
• Weave (Veterinary): VoIP phone, texting, and engagement tools for clinics. A communications platform alternative that improves front‑desk efficiency without a fully autonomous AI agent.
• GuardianVets: After‑hours veterinary call triage and client communication service. A direct substitute for overnight coverage and emergency routing.
• Otto (formerly TeleVet): Veterinary client communications, two‑way texting, appointment requests, and payments. Competes by streamlining front‑desk workflows and client engagement rather than running autonomous phone agents.