They eat, sleep and breathe their business
They eat, sleep and breathe their business
Natasha and Chris are co-CEOs. Natasha is also in charge of marketing and Chris is in charge of business development.
Company: Petplan Pet Insurance
Owners: Chris and Natasha Ashton
Headquarters: Philadelphia

Chris and Natasha had the idea for Petplan Pet Insurance about a decade ago when their one-year-old cat racked up a $5,000 vet bill. Turns out, quite a few pet owners were looking to defray costly veterinarian bills.

The company's sales have grown more than 2,200% in the last three years, said Natasha. They have almost 50 employees, "though it is probably over 70 if you include the dogs and cats that come in" each day, she added.

Chris and Natasha's offices are right next to each other, and they work together frequently. "I am invariably in Natasha's office because she insists" that it be 20 degrees warmer than anywhere else, Chris jokes.

The upside to running a business with a spouse is that you know who you are dealing with, she said. "In this day and age, you read so many cases of businesses where the partners don't get along and are constantly stabbing each other in the back," said Natasha. "So to be working with someone who you know has your back is a big deal."

The hardest part for the ultra-driven duo is time off. "This is more than just a business for us. This is our life. It really is. We eat, sleep, breathe it. It is everything," said Natasha. "People think we are crazy: 'You two must be nuts, you went to business school together and now you are running a business together!' "

The time spent away from their now 4-and-a-half-year-old son also is tough. "We have missed out of a great deal of the 'firsts' in Ben's life," said Natasha. "His first word was dog, closely followed by Petplan."


Last updated October 28 2011: 4:25 PM ET
Ditching debt

These seven business owners are determined to become debt-free. They are ditching credit cards and giving their bank loans the old heave-ho.

Most Popular
 
 
 
 
 

Most stock quote data provided by BATS. Market indices are shown in real time, except for the DJIA, which is delayed by two minutes. All times are ET. Disclaimer. Morningstar: © 2018 Morningstar, Inc. All Rights Reserved. Factset: FactSet Research Systems Inc. 2018. All rights reserved. Chicago Mercantile Association: Certain market data is the property of Chicago Mercantile Exchange Inc. and its licensors. All rights reserved. Dow Jones: The Dow Jones branded indices are proprietary to and are calculated, distributed and marketed by DJI Opco, a subsidiary of S&P Dow Jones Indices LLC and have been licensed for use to S&P Opco, LLC and CNN. Standard & Poor's and S&P are registered trademarks of Standard & Poor's Financial Services LLC and Dow Jones is a registered trademark of Dow Jones Trademark Holdings LLC. All content of the Dow Jones branded indices © S&P Dow Jones Indices LLC 2018 and/or its affiliates.