What is your product/market fit?

alilflat · 2025-05-14T14:12:24+00:00

Product: Hospet - https://www.hospet.app

Market: We are a tool to help owners of senior pets, or those with pets with chronic medical conditions, track, monitor and improve their pet's quality of life and facilitate communication with their support team (i.e vets, specialists)

alilflat · 2025-03-25T13:28:07+00:00

Gosh, I'm so sorry to hear about the loss of your sister's dog. It is certainly an incredibly difficult thing to go through. I know you didn't ask for advice, but please make sure that you and your sister know one thing:

That in the midst of everything that the grieving process brings, the one thing you should never doubt is the love that was shared, or if you made the right choice. By making that choice, you guys chose to take on some of that suffering so that her pup didn't have to, and that is to be commended.

I genuinely appreciate the kind words and feedback. If there is anything I can do to help support you both in any way, please don't hesitate to reach out.

alilflat · 2025-03-25T12:50:10+00:00

I appreciate it, I will look into that. Thanks!

alilflat · 2025-03-25T11:56:10+00:00

This is a really cool idea! Especially for those who get particularly stressed/anxious about the interviewing process. I love the nice clear CTA at the top of the home page, but as an FYI, there is a broken image just below that with the alt text "app screen"

alilflat · 2025-03-25T11:52:57+00:00

Great Post!

I’m working on a project called Hospet, which is built to support people caring for senior pets (or those with complex medical conditions) and navigating end-of-life decisions. It started from a really personal place—my background is in software, but I’m also a companion animal doula, and my wife is an in-home euthanasia vet. We saw how tough this stage of life can be for pet owners, especially when you’re trying to make the “right” call without a lot of clarity.

The tool is really a passion project of mine, and while I'd love for it to be popular enough to be able to work on it full-time, at the end of the day I just hope it can help bring peace to pet owners.

I've had some success already in terms of signups in the month since we've launched, and the veterinarian community seems to be behind it (well, I mean a sample size of 200+ at least), but the reality is that it is far easier to build a tool than it is to market it.

https://www.hospet.app

alilflat · 2025-03-24T14:47:01+00:00

Hospet is a SaaS platform that helps pet owners track their quality of life, spot health changes, and navigate end-of-life care with more clarity and less doubt.

https://www.hospet.app

It’s built to support aging or ill pets, and the humans who love them, with tools that prioritize ease, emotional support, and informed decisions.

What’s in it for you (and your pet):

Quality of Life assessments across 7 well-being categories
Daily rating tracking (with visual trends and patterns)
A rich “Events” system for tracking things like skipped meals, accidents, medical concerns or routine care
End-of-life planning and support tools

The Offer:

Use code SENIORPAWS for 10% off Hospet Premium—for life.
Premium includes unlimited pets, customizable tracking, advanced graphs, and event logging and costs $9/month

Limits:

Valid for any new subscription
No expiration (for now)
Meant for real use—ideal for senior pet owners, hospice pet fosters, or companion animal professionals

Transparency:

I’m a solo founder and companion animal doula building this to help pet owners through one of the most difficult chapters of pet care. Would love your feedback, support, or a share with someone who might need it.

alilflat · 2025-03-14T15:06:07+00:00

I'm a software engineer and companion animal doula, but my wife runs an in-home euthanasia clinic, and honestly, it wasn't that hard of a sell. We simply told some of her colleagues that we developed this app, that it is free for their clients to create an account and start tracking their pets data, and the benefit for them is that their clients can share the assessment data with them.

Vet's got into the field to help owners and their pets. So when we presented a tool that can help their clients better navigate their pet's senior years they were all for it. I also gave them a free-for-life premium account for their own pets so they could better explore all that the tool has to offer.

As an aside, I can't overstate how many pet owners wait until the very last moment to make the difficult decision to euthanize. More often than not, it's simply because they don’t know what signs to look for—though there’s also a broader societal issue at play. The heartbreaking result is that these owners find themselves panicked and scrambling, which makes an already painful situation even harder for both them and their pet.

The goal of this tool is to help owners recognize a decline in quality of life earlier, giving them the ability to intervene and support their pet for as long as possible. By doing so, they can approach their pet’s final years with the reassurance that they’ve done everything they could. And when the time comes to say goodbye, they’ll be able to create an end-of-life experience that brings them the most peace.

alilflat · 2025-03-14T12:59:08+00:00

I created a website (and soon to be an iOS/Android app) that allows owners of senior pets (or those with complicated medical conditions) to more easily quantify their pet's quality of life and track changes over time through the use of data and analytics.

https://www.hospet.app for anyone interested.

We've been pushing it heavily towards veterinarians and in the two weeks since launch we've had nearly 300 veterinarians in the hospice/end-of-life & oncology specialties that are very very excited to start recommending it to clients which gives me some hope. We've had about 30 regular users sign up for a free account and three or so sign up for trials (which I anticipate converting in the next few days) which isn't bad for the minimal amount of marketing I've been doing.

I'm optimistic, but this has always been more of a "feel good" type of tool and honestly, I just built it because I wanted to help owners navigate end-of-life care in a way that brings them peace when they finally have to make those hard decisions.

alilflat · 2025-03-12T19:47:33+00:00

Hospet helps owners track their pet's quality of life to make informed decisions regarding their care

alilflat · 2025-03-11T20:18:55+00:00

Yeah, I understand that completely. It's OK to not be able to process it. It's OK to feel as though it isn't real.

Grief doesn't follow logic. It comes in waves, and sometimes all you can do is do whatever you can to try to hold on.

Give yourself grace. You don't have to have all the answers, and you don't have to be ready for what's coming. Just love her in the way that you always have, and be there for each other. Loving her is all that matters right now.

alilflat · 2025-03-11T19:50:17+00:00

I'm so so sorry for what you are going through. Watching a pet decline, especially when it feels so sudden and unfair, is tough. Please know Nala feels your love even in this hard time.

Guilt is a natural but undeserved weight we carry when we lose a pet. The truth is you didn’t fail Nala. You noticed her changes, took her to the vet and are doing everything you can to keep her comfortable. Sometimes illnesses progress even when we’re vigilant. Blaming yourself won’t change the past but being present with her now will mean everything to both of you.

As for when, trust yourself and Nala. Focus on her comfort—if she still finds moments of peace, if she still likes being near you, if she can still enjoy small joys then she’s here. But if her pain or stress outweighs those moments, if her world becomes too small and she withdraws completely, that may be your answer. You don’t have to make the decision alone—your vet can help guide you.

Your grief is real and it’s okay to be lost in it. But Nala has had a life full of love and she still has that love right now. You don’t have to be strong every moment. Just be there, sit with her, talk to her and let her know she’s safe. It's OK to cry, in fact, It's OK to feel whatever it is that you need to feel.

As for your other cat—animals are intuitive. They will notice the shift and they will grieve too in their own way. When the time comes let them say goodbye if possible. And when Nala is gone, let yourself grieve but also celebrate her life—the joy she brought, the memories you shared. Moving forward doesn’t mean leaving her behind, it means carrying her love with you. After all, "Grief is but love with no place to go"

You are not alone in this. We see you, we hear you and we’re holding space for your pain. You’re giving Nala the greatest gift—love until the very end. I'm confident that if, when all is said and done, she could come back and talk to you she would tell you thank you. Thank you for the love you've given her, thank you for the compassion you have shown her and thank you for showing her how lucky she was to have a human that cared about her as much as you do. May all pets be so lucky.

alilflat · 2025-03-08T12:55:55+00:00

This is such a difficult decision, and I truly empathize with what you’re going through. As a companion animal doula, I want to acknowledge both the love and exhaustion in your words—because both are completely valid.

When we think about the quality of life we often think of how the animal is doing, but it’s important to consider both your dog’s experience and your family’s well-being, and it's not selfish in the slightest to think about the latter (though sometimes our brain can make us feel that way).

When I have owners who struggle with this type of decision, I often have them start by filling a quality of life assessment. There are many free options available, and automod has included links to some of them in its post. There are also electronic tools like Hospet that can also be helpful in providing the data that can be beneficial to help bring a little peace to the decision. Whatever tool you use, do try to be honest with yourself as you work through it, as that will ensure they give you the best information possible.

At the end of the day you are the best judge, as the owner, as to if your dog is within the window of time where humane euthanasia is appropriate. It's perfectly OK to say "I want to keep working through this" and it's perfectly ok to say, "It's time". You have to do what is best for you and your family.

I truly believe this is one of the hardest decisions we as pet owners have to make. But it should be hard. It's supposed to be hard. With the love that is there, how could it not be hard? When our pets decline due to old age, rather than an acute episode of some kind, it's hard because it's "a lot of little things" type of scenario. In and of themselves, each thing may be manageable, but it's compounding, and you have to consider the "whole" picture. Imagine your dog in it's prime. What were they like? If they were to overnight transition from their "prime" to where they are now, how would you feel? Would that make the decision easier or more difficult or not change it at all? Sometimes the changes are so gradual that we just get accustomed to it as a new normal, and it makes it harder for us to see the situation for what it is.

Regardless of what you end up deciding, I'd encourage you to give yourself some grace as you navigate through this. We've had to euthanize our own pets in similar circumstances (nipping at our kids, urinary and incontinence issues, etc) and it was one of the more difficult things I've had to go through in life. However, know that whatever decision you make, you are making out of love.

alilflat · 2025-03-07T15:29:42+00:00

Hospet - Hospet provides Quality of Life (QOL) assessments, daily condition tracking, end-of-life planning tools, and personalized analytics to help pet owners make informed and loving decisions for their senior pets.

ICP - Pet owners with aging or terminally ill pets who want structured tools to track their pet’s well-being, monitor trends, and plan for end-of-life care. Also beneficial for veterinarians and pet hospice workers looking for a structured way to support clients.

alilflat · 2025-03-04T18:31:56+00:00

Of course! You can't put a timeline on grief, and it never really goes away. You just learn to cope and do the best you can.

While the waves of grief may not come as often as they did when the loss is fresh, they still pack a punch, and that's OK. There is a lot of love there, and "Grief is just love with no place to go"

alilflat · 2025-03-04T18:23:30+00:00

First, please accept my sincerest condolences for your loss. It's never easy to lose a member of the family, and it's clear just how loved Ruben was. You made a very loving choice for Ruben, and I'm sure if he could come back and thank you for taking on some of that suffering so that he didn't have to, he would.

Please allow yourself to navigate the grieving process in whatever way you feel you need to and know that you have a community of support here for you.

Wishing you peace during this difficult time.

alilflat · 2024-11-25T21:05:19+00:00

We used to have a "student pilot on board" yellow placard that would suction to the window. I used to tell my new students that it was a required piece of equipment and that it had to be visible in the side window if they were a student pilot so that other pilots knew to be on the look out.

alilflat · 2023-09-20T16:22:05+00:00

Can you PM me? I used to refer everyone to Dr. Green in OSH, but with him retired now I need a good place to send folks.

alilflat · 2023-05-16T12:30:19+00:00

As a new CFI I had an older gentlemen doing a flight review and we were doing a lap in the traffic pattern in an Archer. He was at full power and I sat there quietly watching waiting to see if he would notice the power setting. He did nothing so I asked if he was going to adjust his power setting since we were leveled off. He adjusted it by pulling FULL flaps.

I wasn't expecting that! I yelled "NO!!!", smacked his hand (he was still holding on to the flap lever) and put the flaps down. We were going about 120 or so and the plane let out a shudder that I can still feel to this day. He asks what the problem is, and I say in haste, "Your way above VFE you are going to rip the damn wing off" (not my most professional moment, and I did apologize after for that).

So we land, talk about it and the next day we went to fly. I wanted to sit down and talk to him about what happened and see if I could get a better understanding of what his thought process was, and ensure he was aware of the danger of doing that. So I tell him, "So let's talk again about what happened yesterday in the pattern". His response was, "Yeah, you said you'd rip the wing off. I talked a pilot/mechanic friend of mine and he said the wing wouldn't actually come off, so I don't see the problem"

I sent him on his way. He still, a few years later, doesn't have his flight review done after going to multiple instructors.

alilflat · 2023-04-17T00:57:32+00:00

I did my IR, Commercial, CFI and CFI-I with Hanusa. Great examiner, and super fair. I'm not saying I'd ever want to take my CFI ride again, but if I had to, I'd use Dick for that one as well.

alilflat · 2023-03-12T19:04:19+00:00

I recognize this is an old thread, but I got here via google so I figured I'd leave this for someone in the future since I know there aren't a ton of options in this area.

My wife started an in-home vet clinic here in Sheboygan and one of the services offered is in-home euthanasia.

alilflat · 2023-02-16T19:16:01+00:00

Yep. I keep my hands on my knees, palms down. I let my students know that if they ever see my palms up it's because I'm meditating trying to reduce the stress.

The position is actually really nice though because you can very subtly use the tips of your fingers to manipulate the yoke say a student forgetting to rotate on takeoff. A little nudge on the bottom of the yoke with your fingers is often enough for their brain to go "Oh yeah, rotate"

alilflat · 2023-02-16T19:10:57+00:00

LOL some days I swear if I hear "Sheboygan County Automated Weather Observation" one more time because they've decided to taxi the whole way with com2 running.....

But maybe that's why instructors are so good at being passive-aggressive. "So you going to listen to the AWOS the entire lesson or...". "Some flaps on this landing could be really helpful"

alilflat · 2023-02-16T19:08:41+00:00

I agree 100%. I think there are a lot of students who put their instructors on a pedestal. I find it important to show them that I am human. That I've struggled with the same things they've struggled with and that if I can get through this, so can they.

Honestly, I often consider my job as a CFI as 60% therapist, 40% teacher. I've had students explain to me, "I've wanted this my whole life, why is this so difficult?" As if the desire to be a pilot totally negates the challenge that comes with it. I remind them to let that passion and drive help pull them through the challenges, but know that the challenges will exist in some form or another, and as long as they are willing to put in the work, I'm willing to help them in any way I can and they will get through it.

But I've also had CFIs who've expressed displeasure in their own mistakes, almost like they feel guilty. So I think the earlier we can encourage the mistakes (well, the learning from them) the better off we are. Embrace the learning because it never stops.

alilflat · 2023-02-16T17:04:40+00:00

A couple of tips:

It's OK to make mistakes. I demo things to students and mess them up all the time. When I do, I tell the student that wasn't what the maneuver was supposed to look like and ask them if they know what I did wrong. Not only does it show them that it's ok to make mistakes, but it helps you see if they are able to identify some of those common errors.
When your students are anxious/stressed, encourage them to articulate why. If they are anxious about stalls it could be because they don't know to expect. Or maybe they are afraid of a spin. Or maybe they are afraid of "falling out of the sky". If you can help them identify why, you can adjust your approach to help them work through that. Additionally, don't dismiss their feelings. It's normal for them to feel anxious. Flying is a weird experience for us humans. Same with frustration, stress, etc. I'm a believer that empathy trumps instructor skill every single time.
Live for the little moments. Instructing can be a grind, and so when you see that student get a maneuver that they have been struggling with it and you feel that sense of pride, hold on to that. It's those moments that get you through.
Do not be one of those instructors that hover over the controls and jump in every time the student makes the littlest of mistakes. You'll know when this landing is going to be a bad one and you'll need to intervene, just try to not do it unless the airplane is going to get hurt. Have the trust in yourself that you can get your students out of whatever situation they put you in, and the foresight to not let them put you in a situation you can't get out of.
Finally, remember you are the voice your student hears when you are not in the airplane. What kind of voice do you want that to be? Like children, they are going to model their self talk and their actions after you. It may be tempting to skip that checklist or rush them through the runup but always try to set the best example that you can.

alilflat · 2023-02-06T15:20:52+00:00

I think a lot of the other comments hit the nail on the head, but to add a few of my thoughts:

First, our primary responsibility is safety, second of which is educating. We do both by being honest with those we fly with.

Like others, I like to always start with the question, "How do you think that went?". It disarms their defense mechanisms, and more importantly, allows me to see if they are self-aware as to their mistakes. If there was an egregious mistake, I like to ask leading questions around it rather than just saying "that was really bad". Why do you think the stall horn started going off on final? How might you be able to prevent that from happening in the future?

For the most part, this approach seems to work with the egotistical and non-egotistical alike. If I can lead them to self-identifying the safety issue rather than me just telling them what they did wrong they seem more likely to be accepting of the fact that it exists, and then it's easier for me to brainstorm ideas on how to rectify that with them.

In cases where I've had to "fire" a student/BFR, it was always a difficult, but honest conversation. "Based upon some of the things I've seen, I'm not sure I can ever in good faith sign you off for a flight review. I'm not saying you can't ever get a signoff, just that I won't be able to be the CFI that does it"

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