Brett Podolsky

Brett Podolsky is an American entrepreneur and co-founder of The Farmer's Dog, a direct-to-consumer fresh pet food company headquartered in New York City. He co-founded the company in 2014 with Jonathan Regev and continues to serve as co-founder, overseeing operations from Brooklyn, New York.^[1][2]

Before entering the pet food industry, Podolsky interned at Morgan Stanley during college and worked at a Boca Raton–based hedge fund after graduating from Lynn University in 2011.^[14][1] He and Regev launched The Farmer's Dog after Podolsky's Rottweiler recovered from chronic digestive issues when switched to home-cooked meals, an experience that led both founders to question the commercial pet food industry.^[4] The company has raised approximately $268 million in venture capital, reached an estimated $1.2 billion in annualized revenue in 2024, and delivered over one billion meals as of early 2025.^[12][7][7]

Podolsky grew up on Long Island, New York.^[16] He initially attended Penn State University before transferring to Lynn University in Boca Raton, Florida, where he has said the smaller class sizes and supportive environment were a better fit for his learning style.^[9][16] He graduated from Lynn in 2011 with a Bachelor of Arts in liberal arts.^[14] Podolsky has credited professors Jeff Morgan and Erika Grodzki, as well as academic adviser Diane DiCerbo, as formative influences during his time at the university.^[9]

Morgan Stanley (c. 2008–2010)

During his college years, Podolsky completed internships at Morgan Stanley over multiple summers, approximately from 2008 to 2010.^[14][7] The experience provided his initial exposure to finance, a field he would continue working in after graduation.

Boca Raton–based hedge fund (2011–c. 2014)

After graduating from Lynn University in 2011, Podolsky took a position at a hedge fund in Boca Raton, Florida.^[1][14] During this period, he simultaneously pursued stand-up comedy, performing at open mic events and comedy clubs in New York City — a dual life that Crain's New York Business later described as the unlikely prelude to building a pet food company.^[1][17] Podolsky left the hedge fund around 2014 as The Farmer's Dog began to gain traction.^[7]

The Farmer's Dog (2014–present)

Podolsky co-founded The Farmer's Dog in 2014 with Jonathan Regev, whom he had met while traveling in Israel and who later became his roommate in New York City.^[4][15] The company originated from Podolsky's experience with his Rottweiler Jada, who suffered from chronic stomach issues for the first two years of her life. After exhausting commercial dog food options — including brands marketed as organic and all-natural — a veterinarian advised him to simply cook the ingredients listed on the dog food bag at home. Jada's symptoms disappeared almost immediately.^[4][12] Investigating the commercial pet food industry further, Podolsky found what he described as minimal regulation and a manufacturing process — extrusion — that produces acrylamide, a known carcinogen.^[4]

Podolsky and Regev each invested $5,000 to launch the company, spending over a year developing recipes before beginning operations.^[1][15] In the early days, the two founders cooked the food by day and delivered it by night across New York City, handling customer service themselves.^[15] The company commercially launched in July 2016 and grew rapidly, with month-over-month sales growth of 40 to 50 percent in 2017.^[14] One of the early operational challenges was finding a manufacturer willing to produce human-grade pet food; the founders approached more than 200 factories before securing a partner.^[13]

The Farmer's Dog raised a $2 million seed round led by Forerunner Ventures, with participation from Collaborative Fund and SV Angel.^[12] In May 2017, the company closed an $8.1 million Series A led by Shasta Ventures, by which point it had delivered over one million meals.^[2] A $39 million Series B followed in January 2019, led by Insight Partners — at the time, the largest Series B ever raised by a pet food startup.^[14] Subsequent rounds included a $54 million Series C in January 2020, a $65 million Series D in March 2021 that valued the company at approximately $1.5 billion, and a $100 million Series E in June 2022 at a $2.5 billion post-money valuation.^[12]

By 2018, the company had reached eight-figure revenue and 500 percent year-over-year growth.^[1] Revenue continued to scale from an estimated $45 million in 2019 to approximately $800 million in 2023 and $1.2 billion in annualized revenue in 2024, representing roughly 50 percent year-over-year growth.^[15][7][13] The company reportedly became profitable in 2022 and was generating more than $10 million per month in profit by 2024.^[13] As of early 2025, The Farmer's Dog had delivered over one billion meals and employed approximately 880 people.^[7][13]

In February 2023, The Farmer's Dog aired a 60-second Super Bowl commercial titled "Forever," which won the USA Today Ad Meter as the top-rated advertisement among all 51 commercials during Super Bowl LVII.^[12] In April 2026, the company launched on Walmart.com with personalized meal plans, marking its first retail distribution partnership and a strategic expansion beyond its direct-to-consumer origins.^[7][16][17] The company also opened a second office in Boca Raton, Florida, in 2025.^[4]

Podolsky co-authored The Farmer's Dog Handbook: Recipes, Tips & Advice for Giving Your Dog the Best Life with Regev, published by Simon & Schuster in 2021.^[15]

Podolsky lives in Brooklyn, New York, with his wife Michaela and their dog Jada, the Rottweiler whose health issues inspired the founding of The Farmer's Dog.^[1][17] He became a first-time father in early 2021.^[16]