Our Founders

Inspired by Veterinarians, Startup Professionals and Innovative Thinkers

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Robert Parkins
CEO & Co-Founder
Superhero to pets & vets

A life-long learner and health enthusiast, Dr. Robert’s passion has always centered around helping others and bringing people together. As an emergency veterinarian for the last seven years, he saw how having inconsistent access to his patient’s medical records often resulted in increased costs for pet owners. From that need spawned the creation of myBalto with his brother, Nathan. When not working to improve the lives of our pets, Dr. Robert spends time with his one-eyed husky, Loki, in the beautiful city of San Diego.

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Nathan Parkins
COO & Co-Founder
A smooth operator

As a serial entrepreneur and technology-lover, Nathan has spent 10+ years in the FinTech, start-up industry. Following graduation at DePaul University, Nathan found his niche in streamlining business operations and introducing technology to expedite production. Since then, he has helped numerous companies create high-level MVP's, and has helped secure over 10M in financing through Series B rounds.

Our Team

Inspired by Veterinarians, Startup Professionals and Innovative Thinkers

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Samantha Dawson
DVM, Brand Ambassador
The Essence of myBalto

Dr. Sam comes from a family of doctors, and grew up trying to save any creature she came across. In her practice as a small animal veterinarian, she strives to make caring for her patients stress free and as accessible to her pet parents as possible. Working to help make the vision of myBalto a reality has been an inspiration to her, especially after seeing first hand the struggle some have to do what’s best for their pets due to cost of care and access to good information. She is a proud wife and mother of three human children, a goofy lab, and two rescue Guinea pigs.

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Vaibhavi Elchetty
Marketing Manager
Marketing Geru

After 5 years of working in the AdTech and Fintech industries, Vaibhavi became interested in PetTech after noticing the disparity between the care that pets need and what they receive due to lack of finances and awareness. After she got the party hard, sleep harder frenchie, Jett, her intrigue turned into a passion! Her purpose and vision at myBalto is to make pet care simple and stress-free by providing pet parents with all the resources and tools they need to make this journey as seamless as possible.

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Amy Pionkowski
RVT, Sales Associate
Purrsuasive Prodigy

Growing up, Amy has always carried a passion for animal health and their welfare. She graduated from San Diego Mesa College in 2009 with a degree in Science/Animal Health Technology and became a Registered Veterinary Technician. She has worked extensively in both specialty and general practice medicine, culminating in over 12+ years of experience. When she is not taking care of her patients, Amy spends her time traveling and hiking outdoors with her husband and baby girl!

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Sami Carlson
Jr. Design Associate
The User Architect

Sami is one of the biggest dog-lovers you will ever meet. She is studying Business Information Systems with a focus in UX/UI design at San Diego State University. She grew up in Chicago with her furry baby Sophie, who is a morkie. Now being away from Sophie in college, she is willing to do anything to give back to animals. Using her creative and technical skills, she has been able to bring myBalto to life through web/app development and design. She is passionate about what she does because she believes that all pets deserve affordable pet-care.

Advisors

Exceptional leadership, unwavering guidance

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Steven Sheiner

A serial entrepreneur and avid couch potato, Steve enjoys nothing more than reading a good book in a prone position. When he’s not lying down, he enjoys working with entrepreneurs to solve business problems and better execute their business plans. His experience runs the gamut from hiring and training thousands of salespeople to pioneering business concepts and identifying new opportunities by exploiting core competencies. Along with his wife and Golden Retriever, Steve currently lives in Munster, Indiana, if you can call that living.