An entrepreneur meets a rancher
Rent A Goat began in 2010 when Matthew Richmond — then just 22 — launched the first operation, later partnering with veteran goat rancher Mike Canaday. It was a classic complementary pairing: the entrepreneur who saw the market, and the experienced hand who knew how to move and manage herds.
That combination of vision and animal-husbandry expertise is what took the idea from a clever concept to a real, working service.
The "Mikes of the world"
On Shark Tank, Barbara Corcoran’s concern was that the business depended on skilled operators like Mike. It’s a fair point — and also a feature. Managed grazing genuinely requires expertise: reading terrain, setting fencing, protecting the herd, and matching animals to vegetation.
Rather than a weakness, that hard-won know-how is exactly what separates a professional grazing service from simply turning goats loose.