Recorded live at the AVMA Convention’s first ever podcast day in Anaheim, California. This conversation with Dr. Natalie Marks - CEO of VANE, the Veterinary Angel Network of Entrepreneurs, and one of the most compelling voices in animal health innovation today - is shorter than most episodes — but the ideas inside it are anything but small. Pick the section that resonates most and let it move you toward one next step.
💡 Big Ideas from This Episode
1. Say yes before you’re ready — because ready never actually arrives. It’s the single most repeated message of Natalie’s career pivot — and the reason is simple: every opportunity she has taken, she has taken before she felt fully qualified. The startup world, angel investing, the CEO role. Imposter syndrome is not a stop sign. It is the entry fee for most things worth doing.
2. Pre-invention is better than reinvention — start now, while you have energy. Reinvention can be hard. It’s hard to pivot when you’re depleted, when the walls are closing in, when the only option feels like starting over from nothing. Pre-invention is different. It means exploring your curiosity now — while you still have energy and passion — so that when you need a change, you already have a plan B, C, and D sketched out. You don’t need the details. You just need to know: do I like this? Could I see myself here? Have I made a connection? That’s enough to start.
3. Your veterinary degree is a global passport — not a local library card. There are very few people in the world with a veterinary degree. It is a credential that opens doors in diagnostics, therapeutics, policy, public health, biotech, startups, media, and government — in every country, across every species. The clinical lens you carry is exactly what companies building the future of animal health are desperately looking for. They will give you a seat at tables that are currently being run without you. Stop saying “I’m just a vet.” You are the secret sauce.
4. Barriers are not stop signs — they are problems to solve with your village. Natalie names the barriers honestly: imposter syndrome, lack of time, not being media trained, not knowing where to start. And then she does something important — she refuses to let any of them be the end of the conversation. Every barrier has a person who has solved it before you. Every door that’s closed has a different door beside it. The village — your network, your mentors, your community — is the mechanism by which barriers get solved. You don’t have to overcome them alone. You just have to ask.
🗣️ Quotes Worth Sitting With
“Say yes before you’re 100% ready.”
“The world is permissionless. Nobody is going to give you permission. Just do it.” — Sahil Bloom, as shared by Natalie
“Pre-invent yourself — do it now while you have the energy and the passion.”
“You are the secret sauce.”
“Your veterinary degree is your global passport.”
“Feedback is a gift — every single piece of it.”
“When a barrier comes, it’s not ‘I’m just gonna stop.’ It’s open a different door.”
🔍 Reflect: Questions for Yourself
Natalie describes pre-invention as exploring your curiosity now — before you need to. What is one area of veterinary medicine or animal health you’ve been vaguely curious about but haven’t pursued? What would one conversation in that space look like this month?
She says the world is permissionless — nobody is going to give you permission to start. Where in your career are you waiting for someone to tell you it’s okay to begin? What would it look like to just begin anyway?
The veterinary degree a global passport. Are you using yours like one? What are 1 or 2 things you might be interested in exploring that you may not have been explicitly trained to do in school or may not have considered when you first thought about a career in veterinary medicine?
She names imposter syndrome as the most common barrier she hears. When did imposter syndrome last stop you from saying yes to something? And what might have happened if you’d said yes anyway?
✅ One Thing to Do This Week
Pick one. Just one.
Say yes to one conversation. If a company, a journalist, a committee, or a colleague has asked for your veterinary perspective recently and you haven’t responded — respond this week. See where it goes.
Pre-invent yourself in one hour. Pick one area you’re curious about. Spend an hour exploring it — a LinkedIn search, a journal article, a podcast, a name to reach out to. You’re not committing to anything. You’re just opening a door.
Reach out to someone in your village. Think of one person who has done something you’re curious about. Send them a message this week — not to ask for a job, just to ask how they got there. People love being asked that question.
Connect with VANE. If the startup and innovation space has been on your mind, VANE is exactly the community Natalie describes.
📚 Learn More
Connect with Dr. Natalie Marks on LinkedIn
miRNA (subclinical HCM detection and more)
Natalie’s original Vet Life Reimagined episode on audio and video
Diversify Veterinary Medicine Coalition
Not One More Vet (NOMV)
Thanks for being part of this community. If this episode made you want to raise your hand somewhere you haven’t raised it yet — do it. The profession needs your voice in that room.
🎙️ Vet Life Reimagined | Megan Sprinkle, DVM, DCAVIM (Nutrition)