Today we’d like to introduce you to Greer Wilk.
Greer, please share your story with us. How did you get to where you are today?
Shaina, our CEO, was living and working in China and had just returned to the US. The first thing she did was get a mini dachshund named Poppy and she realized she needed help while she was running around for work. Shaina realized quickly that just 2-3 hours of daycare per day benefited Poppy is so many ways – socialization, behavior, and overall wellness. She wanted to find a way for all dogs to experience that. Around that time, Shaina and I reconnected (we knew each other in high school), and we started talking about the dog market and how to possibly create a solution for what she and other people were dealing with.
We started out with a slightly different concept, but after testing that out for a bit we realized that the only way to really do great dog daycare was to stay with the four wall model and reimagine it. We came up with the concept for Dogdrop by thinking about all the shortcomings of the traditional model and imagining what would be required to make it as convenient, well-designed and flexible as possible.
Early 2019, we got backed by Science-Inc (a venture fund and incubator) and started building out our first location.
Great, 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?
We’ve faced some obstacles, of course, but most of them have been related to doing things for the first time. Those are good obstacles because they help you learn and refine what you’re doing in a really tangible way so that you don’t have to make the same mistake twice. We’re a four wall concept, and I’m really passionate about helping investors understand that we can be a billion dollar company, even though they might not be comfortable with that idea, so that’s another good challenge.
Alright – so let’s talk business. Tell us about Dogdrop – what should we know?
Dogdrop is more than a daycare. We’re creating a lifestyle brand that allows our dogs to live their best life.
Dogdrop is a new dog care concept built with ultra-convenience, flexibility and quality care in mind. Our spaces are small and very well designed so we can provide the best care to our dog members and the best experience to our human members. Our monthly memberships were created to facilitate different use cases than have traditionally existed, like being able to come in for just a few hours at a time or coming in and out throughout the day. We have very highly trained Droperators who are familiar with dog behavior and have backgrounds in pet healthcare as well. It’s super easy to check in and check out, and as we scale we’ll have multiple locations everywhere people already spend their time–where they live, work and play. As a Dogdrop member, you’d have access to any of our locations, no matter where they are.
We’re really proud of our Droperators. They are the heart of what we do and they are so dedicated and really make Dogdrop what it is, and we want to help them continue to grow and reach their own goals within our company.
Is there a characteristic or quality that you feel is essential to success?
I think for Dogdrop to succeed, we really have to focus on two things. The first is the quality of care we provide, and the second is our ability to help people understand why dog daycare is really important to the overall health and happiness of their pet.
The quality of care has to be consistent and extremely high at every single location, both for the dogs and the human members because that helps keep people in our family.
Helping people understand the importance of play and socialization for their pet is the second thing that we feel really passionate about. The more people recognize that they have a high-quality place to bring their dog and that they have the flexibility to do so in a way that fits into their lifestyle, the more I find a whole new group of customers that didn’t exist in the space before.
Pricing:
- Our Starter membership is $20/month. If you need more time, you can upgrade or add drop in hours or days.
- Our Hourly membership starts at $75/month and our Daily membership starts at $185
- Our Unlimited membership is the best price around, at $600/month for all day, any day access
Contact Info:
- Website: www.dogdrop.co
- Email: [email protected]
- Instagram: @dogdropco
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/dogdropco/
- Yelp: https://www.yelp.com/biz/dogdrop-los-angeles
Image Credit:
Yuya Parker (for the first image)
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