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Archive for Dogs

Barking up the Right Tree: Carly Strife

Posted by Anna Scott

· Saturday, October 28th, 2023

· 3 Comments

How much do you love your dog? Enough to pay for a monthly subscription for dog toys and treats? Bark Box has found plenty of people willing to spend money to see their dogs happy.

Treats for man’s best friend.

When Carly Strife started Bark Box with Henrik Werdelin and Matt Meeker, she never imagined how successful it would become. Each month Bark Box sends thousands of boxes with curated themed dog toys and treats.

Although the founders were obsessed with their dogs, they never realized how many other dog lovers were equally obsessed with their pets. The company started with Carly selecting items from pet stores and Amazon. When Bark Box continued to grow, Carly began bulk-ordering special toys from artisans.

Customers began to respond, which inspired a unique marketing tactic. Carly realized that real videos from customers of their dogs tearing into the boxes were the best testimonies. Few can resist a video of owners laughing at their ecstatic dogs. So, Carly created BarkPost: a place where dog lovers receive curated posts and articles.

Bark Box eventually grew into Bark & Co. They have a second property called BarkCare. Customers pay $199 to connect with veterinarians at any time.

But how exactly did Carly Strife become involved with Bark Box and how did the company start? Carly was searching for a job. A friend referred her to Henrik Werdelin and Matt Meeker. They came up with the idea but lacked the ability to execute it. Werdelin and Meeker decided to invite Carly to help them start the business.

“I think it was because I was eager to do whatever… it took. I have a lot of energy and I’m kind of like a bulldozer when it comes to doing things. I don’t have a ton of experience but I like to think that I learn from my mistakes quickly and am risky enough to take them.”

The founders took their love of dogs and built Bark Box. It provides similar services as other subscription boxes but caters to dog lovers. Strife found the special niche enthusiastic and capitalized on customers’ emotions.

BARK: Shop BarkBox, Food, Toppers, Treats, Dental, Toys and more!

3 Comments

Categories : Dogs, Toys

Ryan Kelly: 10-year-old Founder of Ry’s Ruffery

Posted by kriegeral21

· Sunday, November 28th, 2021

· 3 Comments

Ever since Ryan was a young boy, he had an interest in selling products. He was known for setting up lemonade stands in his neighborhood and selling Halloween candy on the school bus. It was no surprise to his family that he was the one of the youngest kids to ever appear on Shark Tank.

Ryan started his dog treat business when he got his first dog named Barkley. He had this idea after he purchased a bag of regular dog treats that were not up to his (or Barkley’s) standards. Ryan couldn’t stand the smell and Barkley wasn’t all that interested in them either. Ryan began testing combinations of flavors to make Barkley happier.

Once Ryan found the perfect combination, he took it to Shark Tank to gain some support. He got Barbara Corcoran to invest $25,000 into his business!

Ryan is the perfect example of taking the jump on your ideas even if you don’t have all of the details worked out- just start!

3 Comments

Categories : Dogs, Young Entrepreneur

Curly Tail Coffee

Posted by Sophia Whiteman

· Wednesday, November 24th, 2021

· 4 Comments

Curly Tail Coffee is a very cool coffee company started by a young woman named Nicole Waltenbaugh. This business started out as a coffee roasting business alone, but Nicole soon added two food trailers to the business to capitalize on the demand for coffee on the go. These little trailers sell her bags of roasted coffee, pastries and muffins, hot tea, hot chocolate, and their specially roasted hot coffee. Part of the inspiration behind starting this business was the founder’s love for animals and her passion for rescue pugs specifically. One dollar of each bag of coffee that she sells is donated to an animal rescue. Because of this, Curly Tail Coffee has been able to donate over 30,000 dollars! Nicole’s love of pugs is also where the name came from, curly tail for the curly tails of the pugs that Nicole loves so much! It also applies to the curly tails of pigs which she has two of.

Curly Tail Coffee is the perfect example of a business built out of the combination of two passions. She started with the two passions of roasting coffee and the support of rescue pugs.

This business is especially cool to me because this is in our home town of Kittanning! I love Nicole and her coffee. She often has one of her pugs or one of her pigs at the trailers when you go to visit to buy coffee.

http://www.curlytailcoffee.com/

4 Comments

Categories : Baking, Beverages, Business, Business::Entrepreneurs, Charity, Coffee, Cookies, Dogs, Food, Food Trucks, Pets

Jordan Karcher – Grounds & Hounds

Posted by lockwoodbj19

· Monday, November 2nd, 2020

· 4 Comments

In 2012, Jordan Karcher adopted his first dog from a rescue shelter and realized he had a passion for saving dogs in shelters. This is what prompted Jordan to find a way to combine his passion for coffee with his new passion for rescue animals. This solution to this issue was the creation of his brand, Grounds & Hounds.

Karcher is unique in his entrepreneurial journey because he combines two passions in his life to make a difference. Grounds & Hounds donates 20% of their proceeds to animal rescue organizations. Their slogan is “every pound saves a hound.” This combination allows Grounds & Hounds to stand out from competitors who only focus on coffee, rather than helping a cause along the way. Helping animals drives Karcher to build his brand in the best way possible, because the funds he raise all contribute to his passion for animals.

Grounds & Hounds is also unique in the way they produce their coffee. Rather than producing coffee in mass amounts, each batch is homemade in small amounts by their “roast masters.” This production process certainly makes the coffee product seem much more personal to the consumer. It enforces the idea that Grounds & Hounds is high quality coffee made with a purpose.

Innovation

Grounds & Hounds is constantly innovating in order to stand out on the market. Instead of purchasing the cheapest coffee beans, they source their beans from the top regions around the world to ensure the best quality taste. In addition, the 20% proceeds are donated to innovative animal rescue centers to promote better living conditions for animals. Grounds & Hounds also offers a monthly subscription called “Coffee Club” where consumers can receive various coffee flavors each month. This is different than other brands that only sell coffee individually.

My Takeaway

Jordan Karcher’s story has certainly inspired me. He found a way to combine his passions for coffee and animals and create a successful company to benefit both passions. It was very encouraging to see that someone so young found a way to act on his passion and create a successful company. I always saw the coffee industry as one that was controlled by large companies, but Karcher showed that it is possible for anyone to be successful in a market if their brand can stand out.

4 Comments

Categories : Coffee, Dogs, Male Entrepreneurs, Social Impact

Beaux and Paws – 12 year old makes bow ties for a cause

Posted by Laura Mosley

· Sunday, October 13th, 2019

· 2 Comments

Meet Darius Brown – a 12-year-old entrepreneur with a passion for bow ties and helping animals find their forever homes. It all began back in 2017 when Darius was watching hurricanes Harvey and Irma on TV. As homes were destroyed, so were pets’ lives. Shelters became overcrowded and began to consider euthanasia as an alternative. Darius saw this need and decided to do something. He began sewing bow ties for the shelters to put on their animals in hopes of making them look cuter to prospective adopters. This would help animals find a home and free up the system for new animals who would inevitably come in.

Later in 2017, he created “Beaux and Paws” to reach a larger audience. He began making his custom bow ties for both people and pets and donating a portion of each profit to the ASPCA. His additional GoFundMe has allowed him to visit other cities around the U.S. and volunteer his services as local shelters, helping even more pets to find a loving home.

Darius’ commitment has gained him national attention and he has appeared on NBC, the Rachel Ray Show, and has even received a letter from former President Barack Obama.

His story is particularly amazing because of his own struggles. When Darius was two years old, he was diagnosed with speech delay, comprehension delay, and fine motor skills delay. With the help of his mother and sister, he overcame these challenges by learning to sew, and today he hopes to one day attend Standford and launch his own clothing line.

2 Comments

Categories : App, Charity, Clothing, Dogs, Fashion, Kids, Pets, Youngest Entrepreneurs

Cole Corley

Posted by Reese Kane-Corley

· Monday, September 16th, 2019

· 5 Comments

With a total population of about 10,000 people, reliable pet care is in high demand. Boarding pets can be extremely expensive, and several young entrepreneurs have taken to making pet care more affordable and convenient for busy families. At the age of fifteen, Cole Corley has been running Cole’s Critter Care providing in-home pet care in Prosper, Texas for just over two years.

Corely started locally before expanding his company. He employed his older brother to provide transportation, hoping to streamline the process for more effective outreach. There were some problems with Cole’s older brother not receiving compensation for his time and gas, but Cole patched things over with the transportation services with a Sonic Blast.

Customer service a priority. Cole’s Critter Care initially targeted pet owners but has expanded to general home care after observing the demand for both pet care and home care. Cole’s business relies heavily on returning customers. Corley now feeds animals, plays with animals, and even waters plants and collects mail. Cole’s Critter Care guarantees returning customers by going above and beyond the needs of customers.

Corley ensures his ability to provide for his customer’s needs by increasing Care employment. He hired both his younger sister and best friend to cover shifts, ensuring quality of care. also ensures customer satisfaction by staying committed to providing quality service despite adversity. Cole has walked or and even skateboarded to customer’s houses countless times when transportation proved difficult.

The newest development in Prosper’s pet care industry is the emergence of a new pet service. Cole’s service is now threatened by a younger, cuter competitor: Mally’s Critter Care. Mallory Corely operates in neighborhoods untapped by Cole’s operation. Cole Corley has decided to step back from his business to focus more on academic growth but will maintain a solid customer base.

5 Comments

Categories : Dogs, Kids, Pets

Should We Go?

Posted by smithJG18

· Thursday, November 29th, 2018

· 1 Comment

Elise Hennigan took a huge risk and left her high up position in a startup to pursue her own idea. She found inspiration in her dog, Emmet, because of how kind and loving he is. “Dogs light people up. They bring out this love and passion in people, and they connect us to each other. I started Should We Go? to honor this idea,” Hennigan says. Rather than jumping into the market with her own assumption of what would sell, she instead conducted research on Amazon. Figuring out which products were well liked and which ones were not, Elise constructed her idea: a hands-free dog leash. While she knew this was a great niche market idea, she also knew that these products already existed, so she did more research. After looking through the reviews of the existing product, she decided to switch up her design to solve these problems.

Elise says,“Everyone else is using the same criteria for product launches, so you really, truly need to think outside of the box. Like so many things in life, you should be aware of the rules so you can break them thoughtfully and with intention.” This type of innovative thinking perfectly exhibits a great entrepreneur: figuring out what everyone else is doing wrong and counteract it. With this incredible entrepreneurial mindset, Hennigan was able to branch out her brand by creating unique, handmade dog bowls on Etsy. With a company like Should We Go? there is now way to go except up.

By analyzing the market rather than assuming what people want, Elise Hennigan shows her brilliance in understanding that marketing (and selling) is “Finding out what people want and giving it to them” (as Dr. Powell wisely says). I look forward to seeing more products flow from this lucrative company. Good luck Elise!

Image result for elise hennigan

1 Comment

Categories : Dogs, eCommerce, Great Ideas

Should We Go?

Posted by glusjv18

· Tuesday, October 16th, 2018

· 4 Comments

Elise Hennigan recognized that she wasn’t following her passion when she was working for a young startup company and decided to pursue an idea that originated from her love of her dog Emmet. She wanted to create something that would be popular for dog owners and would fill a need in the community of such individuals. She used Amazon as the platform for her first project due to the amount of consumer data based on key word searches and advertisement traffic on the site which she could use to determine consumer attitudes. She then designed her product, hands free dog leashes, because of the amount of traffic related to those products. She then used negative user reviews of current options to determine the needs in the market and design her product to take care of those issues. After finding large amounts of success in the market she expanded her business model to include the production and selling of customized dog bowls through the use of Etsy.

Hennigan now does business through her website and is constantly working on new products that she can intelligently add to her line to meet what her consumers want. She says that Should We Go? is a very customer driven enterprise and she really tries to focus on the needs of fellow dog owners. She includes advice about owning puppies and training dogs as well as selling her products on her website. She also invites visitors to her site to be more personally invested in her life by subscribing to her email newsletters and following her Instagram page. She really loves the connections that dogs inspire between people and she hopes that she can help people show their loves for the best friends that mean so much to them.

4 Comments

Categories : Dogs

Bark’N’Borrow

Posted by rogersnw18

· Monday, September 17th, 2018

· 3 Comments

A unique business emerged in 2016 through the form of an app called Bark’N’Borrow. This app allows users who cannot take care of a dog full time to find people who need a temporary dog sitter and enjoy a short time with someone else’s pet. In addition, different dog owners can connect and trade dog sitting duties with each other. Many options such as dog breed, personality, and distance can be made available on the app for other users to see. The platform donates 5% of all subscriptions to Best Friends Animal Society. Liam Berkeley, 26, founded the company two years ago on National Dog Day and has mentioned how much animal rescues love the app because it brings awareness to their cause.

Berkeley has done a fantastic job of finding a need and filling the gap. Finding a dog sitter can be an arduous, time intensive process, but now someone can connect with lots of other users for $7.99 or $4.99 a month. Berkeley has also been diligent in making sure all users are properly checked and that the company has adequate insurance for any incidents.. This app demonstrates Liam’s commitment to dogs and dog-lovers. Bark’n’Borrow shows this passion with an excellent social entrepreneurship aspect. They focused on a passion and Liam was observant enough to recognize a fantastic solution for a simple problem.

3 Comments

Categories : Business, Dogs, Uncategorized