Meet the brothers disrupting the PetTech space

Brothers Timothy and James McElroy, co-founded HouseMyDog, a web based group that allows canine house owners to seek out and e-book native, relied on canine sitters and walkers.

The corporate used to be began in 2015 after the brothers skilled first-hand the battle to discover a dependable canine sitter for his or her circle of relatives canine, Holly, once they went on vacation. Wishing there used to be a provider that used to be so simple as Uber for taxis or AirBnB for leases, they got down to construct a platform that would to find the best canine sitter or walker in only a few clicks, from that HouseMyDog used to be born.

Since launching, HouseMyDog has grown swiftly with consumers throughout the UK and increasing speedy into Europe. Today, it’s certainly one of the quickest rising firms in the £4bn European puppy products and services marketplace.

The McElroys talk to Business Leader about the expansion of PetTech and the place their trade suits inside the trade.

Can you give me an outline of HouseMyDog?

HouseMyDog is a web based group that allows canine house owners to seek out and e-book relied on, native canine sitters and walkers. Each month, HouseMyDog connects 1000’s of canine house owners with canine boarding, pup daycare and canine strolling execs who supply one-on-one care and a spotlight, in a home-from-home identical to they might a member of their very own circle of relatives.

Since launching, HouseMyDog has grown swiftly throughout the UK, Ireland, and Germany and is instantly increasing in Europe. Today, HouseMyDog is certainly one of the quickest rising firms in the £10bn world puppy products and services marketplace.

What used to be the inspiration in the back of putting in the corporate?

While getting ready for a circle of relatives vacation, me and my brother, Timothy, actually struggled to discover a dependable canine sitter for our circle of relatives canine, Holly. We’d seen the luck of marketplaces like Uber and Airbnb and noticed the alternative to utilise that more or less type to attach canine house owners in want, with skilled sitters, all in only a few clicks. From this, HouseMyDog used to be born.

What products and services do you be offering and what towns do you perform in?

For canine house owners searching for relied on take care of their pooch whilst they trip, HouseMyDog allows them to seek out loving canine sitters who will take care of their puppy identical to they might a member of their very own circle of relatives. Alongside canine boarding products and services, HouseMyDog additionally supplies an on-demand canine strolling provider to assist busy canine house owners be certain their doggies obtain much-needed, common workout.

HouseMyDog permits house owners to take a look at evaluations of native vetted sitters and walkers previous to reserving; securely pay for the provider and obtain common messages and photograph updates. All bookings include Vet quilt and 24/7 reinforce so you’ll trip with peace of thoughts.

For skilled canine sitters and fanatics, HouseMyDog is the most straightforward technique to advertise and arrange their canine sitting or strolling provider and earn some more money putting out with guy’s highest good friend.

Currently, we perform in numerous key towns throughout the UK & Ireland and Germany, together with Dublin, Manchester, Liverpool, London, Edinburgh, Glasgow, Bristol, Leeds, Berlin, Hamburg and Munich. We are making plans additional European enlargement in early 2019.

Has it been tough for other folks to believe the use of a web based provider for a circle of relatives puppy?

We give potential customers peace of thoughts as now we have such rigorous exams in position to verify handiest authentic, faithful canine fanatics are authorized to sign up for the group. Only 10% of canine sitters and walkers who enroll will likely be authorized. People are inspired to go away evaluations on the website too, so canine house owners get a really feel for other folks prior to leaving their puppy with them, and we additionally inspire other folks to have an preliminary assembly to verify the chemistry is just right and so they really feel comfy they’re leaving their hairy good friend in secure fingers.

Can you inform me about how your corporate has grown?

Since our release in Ireland in 2015, we’ve swiftly expanded throughout the UK and Ireland. In January 2018, we closed a £850ok seed spherical. Part of this spherical used to be a crowdfunding marketing campaign on main platform Crowdcube wherein we broke the crowdfunding file in Ireland through elevating £200,000 in simply 48 hours and, inside 5 days, our marketing campaign had raised a complete of £650,000. HouseMyDog went directly to win Crowdcube’s ‘best crowdfunded business of the year 2017’ because of the luck of this lift, one thing we’re immensely happy with.

What were the primary demanding situations?

Our primary problem is ensuring that customers and their canine have an ideal revel in. We’ve been blown away through the call for from canine house owners for the provider. While it should glance easy from the outdoor, a large number of paintings is going into making sure that during each and every town we offer a very easy to make use of site and app, in addition to a relied on community of native sitters and walkers in order that each consumer can to find the best fit for his or her canine.

What does the long term cling for the puppy products and services marketplace in the UK?

More than a 5th of European families personal a canine, that’s a inhabitants of over 86 million canine and rising swiftly each and every 12 months. Yet regardless of this massive expansion and a shift in canine house owners attitudes in opposition to their pets, the trade is caught in the previous. HouseMyDog’s personal marketplace analysis finds that 85% of canine house owners are unsatisfied with the present products and services to be had for his or her loved pets – HouseMyDog goes to switch this. Our imaginative and prescient is to create Europe’s biggest platform to seek out and e-book native, relied on canine sitters and walkers.

In the long term, we even have plans to incorporate further value-add products and services in accordance with the comments and insist now we have won from the HouseMyDog group equivalent to canine grooming, puppy diet, and puppy insurance coverage.