Dr Ineke Meredith, surgeon, and founder of Fur Love, speaks about surgery and her new beauty brand for dogs.
How many dogs do you have and what breed are they?
I had a beautiful caramel labradoodle. Charli. Sadly she passed away in September of 2020 at the very young age of seven years. I was, and still am, heartbroken. We were inseparable. My friends knew if they were inviting me for dinner, my plus one was Charli. But she was such a humans’ dog. When I found out she had a liver packed full of cancer on the Wednesday, I called my cousins and friends and everyone who loved Charli. I told them all to come and spend time with her and kiss her goodbye. Our house was packed full of people from that moment until Sunday night. And then we had to say our last goodbye on Monday morning. But it was incredible. We had flowers spilling out our front door. She was definitely a gift to everyone who met her.
What are some similarities and differences between surgery and business?
Both require incredibly hard work for sure. When I first started the company, of course I consulted widely, and there was no shortage of people telling me how hard business was. I usually replied that I was a surgeon, and quite capable of working hard. But business is very hard. It requires a lot of passion and conviction before you have something that actually works. The main difference for me is that medicine is very prescriptive. It has to be. There are well defined pathways for patient care based on high quality evidence to ensure the best possible patient outcomes. I have found that with business, one has to be more flexible. One word I love is ‘pivot’. You have to be able to pivot when something doesn’t work, and pivot quickly. I enjoy that challenge. You are always thinking and moving.
Biggest challenge?
It’s deciding what advice to take, and what to leave behind. Of course, everyone has an opinion and likes to give advice. I am a surgeon, so definitely people were looking at me like I was crazy. But I knew it was a thing that could live. I had been reading veterinary literature, because I couldn’t find anything for Charli that she needed. I knew there was a gap that Fur Love could fill. I have spent over 10 years training in surgery, and business doesn’t go with that. So I had to spend a lot of time reading and learning. I still do! I took a couple of business coaches, and I have tried to develop a very wide network to harness knowledge which is both good and bad. The analogy would be for a patient who is seeking opinion after opinion after opinion. If you see five professionals for a problem, you will come out with five different recommendations. It is frustrating, but for me, this just means that there is no right way. My biggest challenge has been navigating this. I have to be mindful to keep the positive with me, and remain resolute in my goals and self-belief.
What is ahead for you?
Keep learning and growing. I love surgery. I love my commitments around this. Just before Covid shut the world down, I presented at an International Cancer Meeting in Egypt on Breast Reconstruction and Radiotherapy. I love the acquisition of knowledge. And for business, I am addicted. I love it. The ability to be inventive, and make something that doesn’t exist, that’s fun. I guess you could say I am pretty lucky to be able to do all this.
