Brad Malin is a former athlete. Facing an 18th surgery and a daily bout with chronic pain, he was contacted by a former colleague about the benefits of CBD. After some research, he tried it. “It helped me significantly,” he said. “The lightbulb in my head went off. I knew I had to create a business in this sector.”
After some additional groundwork and consultations with animal health experts, Companion CBD was born.
Companion CBD is the first veterinarian-owned CBD manufacturer and education company exclusively for veterinary medicine. The company’s products are carried in animal hospitals across the U.S. and other parts of the world.
Education, though, is the company’s first priority. The company has trained more than 20,000 veterinarians on the dynamics of CBD for animals.
Because CBD is unregulated, “there are many companies and middlemen selling unsafe, adulterated products and providing misinformation, making erroneous claims,” the company said. Companion CBD aims to educate because “an educated consumer is our best consumer.”
Malin’s belief in CBD wasn’t the only impetus for starting Companion CBD, where he serves as co-founder and CEO. He has a background in medical device distribution and has consulted with the biotech, solar, real estate, entertainment and venture capital industries. And he grew up with a role model to follow for entrepreneurship.
“My father was an entrepreneur, and I always was exposed to that mentality as a child,” Malin said. “I knew I wanted the freedom of what my father had in his businesses. It’s not just about the money, but the freedom of being your boss, the freedom of raising children on your own terms, and not missing them grow up.“
CBD continues to gain momentum in the veterinary industry, which can only be of benefit toCompanion CBD going forward. Pet CBD is projected to be a multibillion dollar industry by 2025, the company said.
To date, Companion CBD has won four product innovation awards. On the education front, it launched Ask-A-Vet, where anyone can reach out online for a free veterinary consultation. More products and education initiatives are on the horizon, the company said.
Malin credited his team for helping the business excel and helping him learn to delegate.
“My greatest leadership lesson that I have learned is to invest in yourself,” he said. “What I mean by this is, business is changing ever so quickly in all industries. Understanding the most effective ways of doing business today are significantly different from even five years ago. Trying to do it all yourself, just doesn’t work and is not efficient. Delegation is paramount in order to scale effectively.”
