Today we’d like to introduce you to Meagan Yip
Hi Meagan, thanks for sharing your story with us. To start, maybe you can tell our readers some of your backstory.
You can see my founder story here on IG Reels: https://www.instagram.com/reel/DAXFYL8S2YB/?igsh=NjZiM2M3MzIxNA%3D%3D
Meagan Yip is a former Director of Growth Marketing with 10+ years of experience with high growth business in the DTC space. Having grown businesses to the $100M+ mark & consulted companies to hit their first $1M – she decided to turn her passion into solving a problem for her rescue pup, Korra. (Korra was adopted in 2021, during the height of the pandemic)
While training a 5 pound Korra, Meagan felt that there weren’t many healthy options for smaller dogs. On top of that, Korra was incredibly picky and gravitated towards freeze dried proteins. Struggling to find any other options, Meagan meticulously cut up treats for Korra’s training sessions. She figured: Why not make treats smaller to begin with? And that’s the moment when Snaggletooth was born.
We spent the last 18 months developing single ingredient, freeze dried treats, small enough for Korra and all her (little) dog & cat friends – who might need something tasty, healthy, and bite sized! We officially launched our business on September 30, 2024 and have been in business for around 6 months now!
Snaggletooth is 100% bootstrapped business. Woman & AAPI Owned. Proudly an LGBTQIA+ Ally.
Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
Like any small business there are the ups and downs. I had zero experience going into the pet industry starting out, and had to “ask the stupid questions” and look a bit foolish in front of manufacturers. Getting the product into the market was a bit of a slow process (18+ months) – but we are finally here!
The largest challenge of being a bootstrapped business is that there isn’t unlimited money or resources. Passion can only bring you so far when you are competing to survive in a world where businesses need to be great operators, stand out branding, and pure the numbers to make the financials work. I am a one woman show at the moment (with help of lots of friends and family of course) – I have to be a lot more precious with my dollars and don’t have as many chances to make mistakes. With my performance marketing background, I know there are lots of calculated risks that I must take to continue to grow the brand and have the business survive in the highly competitive pet food world. Growth of the business is essential to stay alive, but you can’t give away unlimited products or spend tons of money on marketing. I’m trying my best to get Snaggletooth in front of potential customers and have those customers stay and become brand loyalists because they also believe in giving their pets better treats!
Thanks – so what else should our readers know about Snaggletooth Pets?
Snaggletooth’s mission is to reward pets, pet parents, and their bond – one treat at a time. I created Snaggletooth as a passion project for Korra, but really I’ve always wanted to be an entrepreneur ever since I was a kid. My first business idea was created in middle school – which was to sell mini donuts with a mini donut machine. As I entered into the world of big tech & start ups in my early career, I always would stop and think, “there must be a better way” and that one day I would build something with a better business vision. Having worked in huge businesses that had either had investors or was publicly traded, this was something that I wanted to avoid. Snaggletooth’s vision is to grow sustainably – slow and steady, without investor money.
To stay true to our business values: we currently sell Direct to Consumer online & in Independent Pet Stores/local businesses only – we are not looking to go into mass or amazon.
Our products are premium pet treats – they are single ingredient, human grade & are nice bite-sized treats. It was very hard finding a contract manufacturer that was willing and able to make the treats this small.
Lastly, the main thing that sets us apart is really our branding. Snaggletooth’s name is inspired by Korra’s most unique and loveable quirk – her little tooth that sticks out. We want to celebrate all of our little snaggletooth’s to champion diversity & equity. Growing up I was a huge animation/comics/video game and I wanted to bring those elements into the brand’s packaging and storytelling. Korra is our brand’s mascot with her cat friend, Kat. You’ll see these cute little touch points in our branding, marketing, and socials.
How do you think about luck?
Without getting TOO philosophical about what luck is or how it’s created, to some extent I think luck is definitely part of the equation. I once heard a business person say that successful businesses are lucky but that hard work creates their luck. Working hard has always been the key to my career success. For any founder that decides to pour their life savings into starting something, we need to find ways to make it work and not just rely on luck either.
I’m definitely privileged that I’m lucky in that I adopted Korra who helped me have my “aha” moment to create Snaggletooth. I’m lucky in that I have created lots of strong friendships and bonds with people who were willing to help me bring Snaggletooth to life. I’m lucky that the best case scenario for Snaggletooth is that it grows and I can build up my community and local economy & the worst case scenario is that the life savings I invest was just tuition for the greatest life lesson that I can bring into my next chapter.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.snaggletoothpets.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/snaggletoothpets/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/snaggletoothpets/
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/snaggletooth-pets/
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@SnaggletoothPets
- Other: https://www.tiktok.com/@snaggletoothpets
Image Credits
Photo Credit: Sarah Deremer (https://www.sarahderemer.com/)
