Trey Steidle launched his personalized dog nutrition startup Breed Science while still working full-time for Conshohocken-headquartered John Ritzenthaler, writes Lisa Dukart for Philadelphia Business Journal

Steidle, who grew up in Gladwyne, decided to pursue the idea while also earning his MBA through the Wharton School of University of Pennsylvania’s executive program.

After he graduated in 2021, Steidle quit his full-time job to pursue his business idea. He partnered with CJ Gottuso, who joined him as a co-founder.

The pair developed proprietary software called Smart Bowl.

The program can plug into veterinarian medical records to get key data points for a dog, such as its age, weight, gender, body condition, and medical history. The software then uses that data to make a recommendation on how many calories the pooch should be consuming. They then offer a customized meal delivery of fresh, human-grade foods for dogs.

The meals are cooked using the sous vide method to “optimize the ingredients’ nutritional output,” said Steidle.

They entered the market this March and are currently finalizing a seed round for north of $1 million and plan to use the funds to scale up their business and hire a full-time veterinarian.

Read more about Breed Science in the Philadelphia Business Journals.